Control

1. Control Plan:
A control plan was prepared to ensure  the improvements made would be sustained following implementation.  The control plan consists of the following aspects;

This acted as an aid to assign actions and track their completion.  I found wk 14-wk 16 extremely busy trying to get actions completed myself and to also follow up with others on their actions.  I spent a lot more time on this phase of the project than originally forecast. I have captured this in the lessons learned section below.

Documents to support the new standard:
All documents to support the new standard were finalised and approved in wk 14.  Prior to this project being completed, there were 10 different SOP's in relation to assembly/disassembly, which was confusing for staff within the area.  On completion of the project there is now only 1 assembly and 1 disassembly SOP. These have been made more visual and easier for employees to understand. 

Feedback on these new improved SOP's has been excellent.  Because the SOP's are so visual and standardised they are easy to follow.  These SOP's were used as an aid when training all crews on the new standard.

Train the Trainer with Subject Matter Expert
I carried out a training session with each of the production guys that were on the Kaizen team.  The purpose of this session was to introduce the TWI (Training Within Industry) method to them and to go through the sequence of the training they would deliver to each of their shifts.

"Training Within Industry (TWI) is a set of learning disciplines and problem solving tools that enable people doing work to effectively create, improve, train and sustain standard work, while increasing productivity through problem-solving.” 
Ref http://www.twilearningpartnership.com/about_round_pond_consulting_serv.asp
You can find more information on TWI at the above link. 


Training sessions for Production crews 
The training sessions delivered were based on the TWI method.  The training was carried out as a 1:1 training session with each production member for 4 hours.  You can see the method and sequence in the slides below;

It was the first time this method was used and the feedback on the training was really positive. It highlighted how critical following the new standard is, as this training was a huge investment of time for the company.

Trial of the new Standard
I conducted a trial on the standards developed and the 5S mats with a production team member and the production support engineer.  The trial followed the same sequence as the training.  The purpose of this trial was to ensure the mats were fit for purpose and the standard sequence flowed correctly.  This was also an opportunity to time each phase of the process, which has assisted in the cost saving/improvements achieved analysis.

You can see a picture of the 5s mats below, these are now in use during the comprehensive clean process which involves, disassembly, cleaning & assembly.

Engineering Equipment Picture Library
Every part was inspected and pictures taken to store in a picture library.  These will be used as a reference point to monitor damage to equipment going forward.  Following the training, trial and launch of the standard, the engineering department are confident we have achieved our goal in reducing spend on parts/equipment repairs and replacements.  This will be monitored on a monthly basis as part of routine engineering equipment checks.

Adherence to the new Standard
We are using the PDCA - Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle to ensure the standard is adhered to and improved when necessary.  Now the standard has been developed and all of the crews have been trained we must ensure that adherence is checked and monitored by the production supervisors.  If the standard is not being followed we must find out why by using RCA and VOC.  The standard will be continually updated to ensure we have the most accurate and best practise methods to complete the process. 

The checks will be carried out as per the below diagram.  This will now become part of the production supervisors, manager's & Director's standard work.  A check sheet was prepared for use during each GEMBA, this will document the process step number and whether it was followed by the production team member. 

You can see the list of roles and responsibilities in the table below to ensure adherence to the standard.

SPC Charts to monitor comprehensive clean times

SPC charts are being used to record the time taken for each comprehensive clean. These are live documents and are being filled in manually by the production team member.  These will be reviewed to monitor progress on the reduction of comprehensive clean times.  If a time is recorded above or below the control limits a comment must be made and an action taken if required.  These are now in use and times have been recorded, which has enabled me to forecast the success/result of the project.

KPI  to monitor adherence to the standard
The following KPI will be updated following a review of the GEMBA Check sheets.  Target for compliance is 100%.  If the target is not reached SMART actions will be taken following RCA & VOC.

The data for the graph above will be entered into the following excel template.

5s Audit sheet & KPI

General 5s will be monitored within the process room to ensure parts/tools are not missing and there is a high level of housekeeping in the area. These audits will be carried out at the beginning and end of every shift by a member of the production crew.  Target for compliance to the 5s standard is 97%. SMART actions should be taken when the KPI is off target.

2. Cost Saving Calculations:
I forecast the cost savings with the assistance of Engineering, Production and the Director of Operational Excellence/EHS - who is the project sponsor.  Following the cost saving analysis we believe the project has achieved its goals and been successful.

3. Lessons Learned
I conducted a lessons learned exercise with the team and project stakeholders on completion of the project.  You can see them listed below;

• Having a manager on the team was a major benefit
• The Kaizen room was a great location to conduct all the document updates, meetings and training sessions
• The team should have been given more notice about their involvement in the project
• The team worked well together - having a cross functional group for future projects is recommended
• Going forward, training time should be included in the original project brief that is submitted into the company PPM (Project Portfolio Management) system
• Would allow more time to get actions completed following the Kaizen event as the last few weeks were very pressurized trying to get actions over the line.

Feedback from Production staff 
Following the implementation of the project, I conducted a VOC exercise with the production staff.  The purpose of this exercise was to get their feedback on the improvements made.  I grouped their comments which you can see below;

• Worth carrying out similar project in all process rooms
• Well managed and communicated project
• Happy with Engineering solutions for difficult tasks
• Small parts aren't going missing - don't spend hours looking for a nut/bolt
• SOP's really easy to follow and work well as training aid - especially for new employees
• Crews are taking more care with the parts
• The material of the mats is quite tacky so it takes time to lay them out, but once they are on the trolleys they work well
• Positive impact on changeover times
• Every task is standardised which makes it easy to do it the right way
• The transfer of engineering task to production has reduced change over time
• Could the SOP's be developed for two people working together in tandem? - (this is something CI are looking into following this query)

Overall I am extremely happy with the outcome of the project.  I have learned a lot over the last few months, especially in the use of the tools.  There was a lot of interest in the project as it was part of the companies PPM - (Project Portfolio Management) system; therefore I believe this has been a really good development opportunity for me.  I'm now looking forward to the next one :-)

Improve

The Improve phase of the project was broken down into two stages - Kaizen Event Pre-planning and the actual Kaizen Event.

1. Kaizen Event Pre-Planning

Kaizen Event Map
I mapped out the Kaizen event by the hour so the team would know the plan for the week and what was expected of them.  This plan consisted of a daily schedule and a list of objectives required as a daily output.

Each task was allocated to a team member or in some cases the full team.  I used the following symbols to do this and to make the plan more visual and easy for us all to understand.

This was very successful as I was able to keep track of the team/their location and the tasks that needed to be completed.

Team Training
Prior to the actual event I delivered some refresher training to the team on 5S and FMEA.  This was to ensure we were all up to speed and had the knowledge and skills required to complete the task ahead of us. The team  previously completed these modules as part of their yellow belt training but we all agreed it was a good idea to have a refresher.

Pre-Event Workshop with Site Leadership Team (SLT)
We conducted a meeting with the SLT to present  our findings from the Define, Measure and Analyse phase of the project.  This was an opportunity for the group to present the project and gather feedback from the SLT.  Each of the Directors agreed to be on-call during the Kaizen week if we encountered any roadblocks.  This meeting turned out to be a really useful exercise as following the meeting the team were extremely engaged and looking forward to the week ahead.  The team and the SLT agreed to meet again at the end of the Kaizen event week so the team could present the improvements made.

2. The Kaizen Event

Brainstorming
The team spent the first day of the Kaizen event brainstorming the improvements that were required for the following;

• Standard  procedure should be trialed and the best practice methods recorded 
• Ownership of Engineering task which identified waste in waiting should be transferred to  production 
•  Standard procedure for the storage of parts to be developed
• 5s aids to be sourced to store parts and equipment
• Standard for the transportation and cleaning of parts to be prepared
•  Engineering solutions (mistake proofing) required for a number of issues identified 
• SOP’s need to be improved and made more visual

This helped us to map out best practice methods for each of the above.

Standardization of the assembly/dis-assembly Process
The team developed the best method for performing assembly & dis-assembly tasks and then trialed these methods observing for possible failure modes and waste in the process.  Whilst doing this the team collected  images and observation data.

Example of images collected during the trials

The team also identified the most suitable locations to store trolleys and tools during assembly and dis-assembly. We trialed these locations and observed the process using spaghetti diagrams, you can see the improvement below.  This was achieved by simply moving trolleys/tools closer and making them more accessible for staff.

Ownership of Engineering task transferred to Production (Risk Assessment)
During the analyse phase we identified waste in waiting as one of the assembly/dis-assembly tasks had to be completed by Engineering.  This involved production raising a work order and then waiting for Engineering to arrive to complete the task.  Depending on other issues that were happening in the plant, production could spend 10 mins to 3 hours waiting on an Engineer to arrive. The team agreed to transfer this task to production.  This required preparing a standard method to carry out the task, raising a change control, conducting a risk assessment and delivering training to all production staff.

Screenshot of Risk Assessment

Standard Procedure for the storage of parts/5S aids 
The team identified locations on trolleys for the storage of parts during assembly, dis-assembly & cleaning.  When this was completed tracings were taken of each part and we transferred them into CAD, we then had the images printed by a company called Dycem onto 5s mats that would be stored on the trolleys.

Sample 5s Mat

Going forward these will be used during the assembly/dis-assembly process which will mean each part has a place and it will be easy to identify if a part is missing.  This will also prevent metal on metal damage to parts and equipment which will improve the quality of our process.  

Standard for the transportation & Cleaning of parts 
We then prepared a standard for use in the washroom for the cleaning of parts, you can see a screenshot of this below.  This standard will help to prevent damage to parts and equipment.

Engineering Solutions
During the analyse phase the team identified some issues that required an Engineering solution and mistake proofing to prevent damage to the equipment.  The Engineer that was on the Kaizen team spent time negotiating a solution with different suppliers during the Kaizen week.  

Standard method documented in a visual format

Following the trials we completed on the new process, the team documented the best practice methods and transferred them into new visual format SOP's.  The new SOP's contain what task needs to be completed, how it should be completed and why it should be completed.  The why is critical as it details the risks involved if the step isn't followed correctly.

Failure Modes & Effects Analysis - FMEA
The team carried out a FMEA on the changes that were made. This worked well for the group as it helped us to identify what some of the possible failures could be, their severity and what we needed to do to ensure this didn't happen.

Screenshot of FMEA

Close out meeting with the SLT
On the last day of the Kaizen event we conducted a meeting with the SLT to show the improvements we had made.  Each team member presented on one of the above improvements.  For many of the team this was the first presentation they had delivered, so although some of them were terrified it was a really good development opportunity.  This meeting was also a chance to recognise the hard work and effort that was put in by the team during the week.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Kaizen event. At times it was difficult, pressurised and we had a number of really long days, but it was fantastic to see the improvements we made and how much we could achieve by focusing on nothing but this project for the week.  The improve phase has by far been my favorite part of the project.

Analyse

Cause and Effect Analysis: The team carried out a cause and effect analysis on all of the issues that were identified during the measure phase.  We performed this at a scheduled workshop that was an extension of the weekly team meeting.  We used the standard categories of this tool to try and understand the root cause of each issue: Man Method Machine Mother Nature Materials Measurements The team found this tool to be really useful as it helped us to identify a root cause for each issue and propose a recommendation.  Visual Analysis of Data:  Following the cause and effect analysis we gathered all of the information and broke each issue into three categories - Observation, Risk & Recommendation. The team put these into a powerpoint presentation to visually outline each issue.  We found this to work well as it helped us to visually display the risks identified and recommendations to improve them.  We used the following template to show this information. Process Map Review and Analysis: The team mapped the process during the Define/Measure phase.  It was now time to carry out a robust review and analysis on the map.  The team also identified where there are risks to the process during each step using a basic risk analysis tool.  This worked well for the group and created a lot of discussion about what the risks during each step of the process are. Ideal State process sequence re-mapped and documented: The ideal state process sequences were re-mapped and documented following the review and analysis.  As the team identified where there are risks to the process during each step, we decided to highlight these using warning symbols. This will allow the team to develop the best practice method for each step involved whilst taking these risks into consideration. You can see a screenshot below for each of the symbols that we used and an example of the process map. Key findings of Analyse phase: As a group we conducted an exercise to summarize our findings during the analyze phase of the project, so we would remain focused as we prepared for the improve phase. We identified 8 key improvements that we will focus on during the improve phase. ·         Standard  procedure should be trialed and the best practice methods recorded during the Kaizen event (improve phase) ·         Ownership of Engineering task which identified waste in waiting should be transferred to   production  ·         Standard procedure for the storage of parts to be developed ·         5s aids to be sourced to store parts and equipment ·         Standard for the transportation and cleaning of parts to be prepared ·         Engineering solutions (mistake proofing) required for a number of issues identified  ·         SOP’s need to be improved and made more visual The improve phase of the project will be carried out as a week long Kaizen event where the team will work together to identify solutions to problems that have been recorded and prepare any necessary documentation that is required.  This is due to take place wk commencing 25th March.

Measure

Data Collection Plan
A data collection plan was developed to outline the data the team needed to collect and how it should be captured and recorded.  The following headings were used for this;

• What is being measured
• Measure/Data type
• How measured
• How and where recorded

This tool was really useful as it allowed the team to understand what we needed to focus on and how we should go about it.  At this point we were also able to split the data collection between us based on expertise and work schedules. You can see a screenshot of the template we used below.

Team Brainstorming (Current state - Ideal state)
At one of our team meetings we held a brainstorming session to determine the current state issues and what the ideal state should be.

This session proved to be really worthwhile as it opened up a very honest and frank discussion with the team as to what some of the issues are.  The production staff are working closest to the process so are in the best position to outline what the critical issues are.  In some cases it was a surprise to the department manager and engineering that there are such problems with the equipment and the process.  At times production and engineering can blame each other when issues occur during the production process. As a team we felt that this exercise helped to break down some of those barriers.

Detailed Process Mapping
We mapped the process from a high level as part of the define phase so we needed to drill down on the process a bit further to understand what the actual flow is.  There was a lot of discussion when the team were doing this.  It became apparent that each shift carries out the process in a different sequence and there is no clear standard in place.  Again this tool was highly successful as it created excellent discussion and understanding of the process among the group.

As a team we documented the process to the best of our ability.  We would then have to verify it with the other production staff at the second round of workshops.

GEMBA - Process Observation sheet
The team carried out a number of observations on the process.  The purpose of these observations was to observe issues with the assembly/disassembly process and to time the sequence. During the define phase a number of problems were identified in relation to the quality of the process and the variation around standard operating times. These observations were carried out to verify that data.  We used a basic process observation sheet for this and took numerous pictures of the equipment and the process.  You can see the template we used to observe the process below.

In my opinion, this was one of the most useful parts of the measure phase as we began to really understand the process and current issues, as we were observing the process live.

GEMBA -Spaghetti diagrams
During the observations we also used spaghetti diagrams to map out the movement within the process room so we could identify waste in motion.  This tool has identified a huge amount of waste due to movement within the room and outside the room looking for tools and parts. This has helped the team to understand why there is such variance around standard operating times for comprehensive cleans.

VOC Workshops - Part 2
Following the above data collection the team led another set of workshops with each of the production crews.  We used these workshops to verify the process flow and to present the data that was gathered during the observations.  The second set of workshops were a much more positive experience for the team, as the production crews seemed more engaged due to the fact they have taken part in a lot of the observations that have been carried out.


The project is now well into the analyse phase.  The team are beginning to prepare for the improve phase which will be completed as a week long Kaizen event. The team will work together for the full week to identify solutions to problems that have been recorded and prepare any necessary documentation that is required.  This will be the most challenging part of the project to date.

Define

My name is Amy Wiktorski and I am a 2nd year student on the BSc in Manufacturing Management  program.
My project involves the standardization of the assembly/dis-assembly procedure and the storage of parts and equipment within a process suite in a production area.

Project Charter

A Project charter was developed to define the problem statement and objectives of the project.  I found this to be one of the most useful parts of the define phase, as I had to learn more about the process and gather some initial data to outline the problem statement/objectives, business justification, stakeholders and metrics.
As part of the initial data gathering the process was observed and timed.  The process showed huge variance around standard operating times.  This was investigated further using spaghetti diagrams to identify waste in the process.


Project Schedule/Plan

Screen shot of Project plan 

The project plan was developed using Microsoft project.  I believe outlining the plan was extremely beneficial, as I was able to map out every step within the project and consider how long each phase would take.
The project plan was also critical when requesting project resources as it enabled me to present the exact resource requirement to each of the Managers involved.

                                                                                 


Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis was carried out to determine the key stakeholders of the project.  I identified all  stakeholders and then ranked them in relation to power, influence and interest.  I used the following template to record this,

Stakeholder Analysis template

I found this tool really useful as it allowed me, as project manager to understand who the key stakeholders are and who I need to spend more time consulting with during the project.

Project Team
The project team is critical to the success of the project.  When choosing team members with key stakeholders we had to consider the following;

• Process Knowledge
• Knowledge or previous use of lean/six sigma tools
• Needed a representative from each of the production shifts so they could train their crew on completion of the project
• Management representation required to ensure support of the change following implementation
• Engineering & Quality SME (Subject Matter Expert) required 

Team Building
Once the team was formed I scheduled weekly project meetings.  At our team kick off meeting we used a tool called the Enneagram as a team building exercise.  The Enneagram is a  personality test which after a number of questions outlines an individuals personality type.  Although this is not a lean/six sigma tool the team really enjoyed it, as it helped us to bond and understand each other more. I believe this is really important as we will be working together closely over the coming months. More information on the Enneagram can be found at the following link, http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/intro.asp#.URlVKh1g8oM


Project Communication Plan
A project communication plan was developed to ensure that the team would communicate effectively with stakeholders.  We developed the plan under the following headings,

• Communication - Communication type
• Who - Who would be targeted
• Purpose - Purpose of the communication
• Frequency - How often the Project manager or team would communicate with the stakeholder
• Method - Method of communication that would be used, e.g. meeting, e-mail, workshop

This seems to be working well so far and the team are sticking to the agreed schedule for communication.

VOC (Voice of the Customer)
VOC was carried out by GEMBA (go and see) to the process area.  A workshop was also carried out with each production crew to gather their information and feedback.  At the workshops the team gathered a huge amount of information that can be used during the project.  The workshops were also challenging for the team as we were faced with resistance from some of the staff within the area.  This has forced us to consider all of their opinions and helped us try to understand why they were resistant so we can strive to change this.

High Level Process Mapping
The processes the team are improving were mapped from a high level.  These will be outlined further during the measure phase of the project.

The team found this very useful as it helped us to understand the flow of the process and think about each step that is involved.

So far the project is on schedule and the team have built up strong momentum which I hope continues for the duration of the project.