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.