Supervisory Development Program -- Think Out of Box

Supervisory Development Program -- Important of Communication

Lean Manufacturing: Basic Introduction about “Andon Systems”

Lean Manufacturing: Basic Introduction about “Andon Systems”: Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem...

Basic Introduction about “Andon Systems”

Andon is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The centerpiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pullcord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system may include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Some modern alert systems incorporate audio alarms, text, or other displays.

An Andon system is one of the principal elements of the Jidoka quality-control method pioneered by Toyota as part of the Toyota Production System and therefore now part of the Lean approach. It gives the worker the ability, and the empowerment, to stop production when a defect is found, and immediately call for assistance. Common reasons for manual activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or found, tool malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a solution has been found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that they can be studied as part of a continuous-improvement program.

A3 thinking

What is an A3 report?  

An A3 report is simply an 11 x 17 inch piece of paper outlined into several structured sections. The exact structure depends upon the type of A3 and the needs of the situation. A general one consists of the following pattern 1) Background, 2) Current Situation & Problem, 3) Goal, 4) Root Cause Analysis, 5) Action Items / Implementation Plan, 6) Check of Results, and 7) Follow Up. The report is used to standardized and simplify report writing, proposals, status updates, and other common methods of communication. The content follows the logic of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

Where does the term A3 Thinking come from?

The term A3 Thinking was coined in English by our mutual friend Al Ward who passed away several years ago in an unfortunate accident.  In Japanese it is simply referred to as "A san" where "san" is the pronunciation for the Japanese number three.

Who invented A3 reports?

There is really no single inventor of A3 reports. Former manager of training at Toyota Isao Kato describes it more as a combination of forces including the PDCA cycle, the basic steps for a QC circle, the Toyota concept of making things visible at a single glance, and the humorous anecdotes of Taiichi Ohno refusing to read more than the first page of written reports. Instead he'd say "let's go and see" and make people "get the facts" while he tested their thinking.

How does A3 relate to other lean tools and concepts?

It really compliments anything in TPS (Lean Manufacturing). In fact we sort of cringe at the notion of calling it a tool. The last thing we want to see is another movement of starting QC Circles or drawing Value Stream Maps just for the sake of the activity. A3 Thinking is about a logical and critical thinking process that can be applied in any discipline. Think of it is a thinking pattern to be used in problem solving, improvement or any activity rather than a tool.

Waste In Manufacturing

One of the key steps in Lean is the identification of which steps add value and which do not. By classifying all the process activities into these two categories it is then possible to start actions for improving the former and eliminating the latter. Once value-adding work has been separated from waste then waste can be subdivided into 'needs to be done but non-value adding' waste and pure waste. The clear identification of 'non-value adding work', as distinct from waste or work, is critical to identifying the assumptions and beliefs behind the current work process and to challenging them in due course.

There are seven wastage in manufacturing.

01.  Transportation

Each time a product is moved it stands the risk of being damaged, lost, delayed, etc. as well as being a cost for no added value. Transportation does not make any transformation to the product that the consumer is willing to pay for.

02.  Inventory

Inventory, be it in the form of raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP), or finished goods, represents a capital outlay that has not yet produced an income either by the producer or for the consumer. Any of these three items not being actively processed to add value is waste.

03.  Motion

In contrast to transportation, which refers to damage to products and transaction costs associated with moving them, motion refers to the damage that the production process inflicts on the entity that creates the product, either over time (wear and tear for equipment and repetitive stress injuries for workers) or during discrete events (accidents that damage equipment and/or injure workers).

04.  Waiting

Whenever goods are not in transport or being processed, they are waiting. In traditional processes, a large part of an individual product's life is spent waiting to be worked on.

05.  Over-processing

Over-processing occurs any time more work is done on a piece than is required by the customer. This also includes using tools that are more precise, complex, or expensive than absolutely required.

06.  Over-production

Overproduction occurs when more products is produced than is required at that time by your customers. One common practice that leads to this muda is the production of large batches, as often consumer needs change over the long times large batches require. Overproduction is considered the worst muda because it hides and/or generates all the others. Overproduction leads to excess inventory, which then requires the expenditure of resources on storage space and preservation, activities that do not benefit the customer.

07.  Defects

Whenever defects occur, extra costs are incurred reworking the part, rescheduling production, etc. This results in labor costs, more time in the "Work-in-progress". Defects in practice can sometimes double the cost of one single product. This should not be passed on to the consumer and should be taken as a loss.

The Evolution of the Manufacturing Management

The History and the evolution of the manufacturing management can be identified and categorized in to mainly three arenas. Such as,

ü  Craft Production

ü  Mass Production

ü  Lean Production

Before the organizations are joined with the lean production, the pre industrialized world had an intention towards the craft production. Basically, the Craft production is the process of manufacturing by hand with or without the aid of tools. There, the final production which comes from the craft production was unique with a highest quality. Further, craft markets were highly dependent on social interactions and it consisted with high cost and the products were produced for specified market group. When the world was developing, the craft production concept shifted in to the mass production and it basically highlighting the manufacture goods in large quantity often using standardized designs and assembly line techniques.

Eventually, the industrialized world has become more competitive and drive towards the achieving the waste reduction through lean production. Hence, in modern business scenarios, most of the countries have accepted the lean concept and change their thinking in to the lean philosophy. When consider the lean philosophy, it is basically dealing with the waste reduction through reducing the lead time in the particular production process. There, by minimizing wastage in the production process, organizations are trying to achieve the highest quality, increasing the delivery time and reducing the cost of the production. Further, lean production is one of the remedies for the inefficiencies existed in the craft and mass production.

When consider the history of the lean it has thoroughly described in the book called "The Machine that change the world (1990) by James P. Womack, Daniel Roos and Daniel T, Jones. Further, the Toyota Company explained the excellence way of lean manufacturing by introducing their Toyota Production System (TPS) house. The Toyota Production System consisted with main pillars of Just in Time, Jidoka, standardized work, kaizen, and PDCA. By introducing different systems in to the business world the Toyota Company has created a new production scenario to the world by showing the correct pathway to the success.