Manufacturing Improvement

2009-04-27T09:49:00.007+08:00

Manufacturing Improvement : Industrial Engineering Overview

2009-03-06T00:29:00.000+08:00

Industrial engineering is also known as operations management, management science, systems engineering, or manufacturing engineering; a distinction that seems to depend on the viewpoint or motives of the user. Recruiters or educational establishments use the names to differentiate themselves from others. In healthcare, for example, industrial engineers are more commonly known as management engineers or health systems engineers.
One of the central principles in industrial engineering is the "system" concept. A system is any organization or business process in which people, materials, information, equipment, processes or energy interact in an integrated fashion. This high-level view of business operations enables industrial engineers to manage various industries. Therefore, industrial engineers apply their skills across a diverse set of sectors such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, logistics, aviation and education.
The term "industrial" in industrial engineering can be misleading. While the term originally applied to manufacturing, it has grown to encompass virtually all other industries and services as well. The various topics of concern to industrial engineers include management science, financial engineering, engineering management, supply chain management, process engineering, operations research, systems engineering, ergonomics, value engineering and quality engineering.
Whereas most engineering disciplines apply skills to very specific areas, industrial engineering is applied in virtually every industry (hence the term "industrial"). Examples of where industrial engineering might be used include designing a new loan system for a bank, streamlining operation and emergency rooms in a hospital, distributing products worldwide (referred to as Supply Chain Management), manufacturing cheaper and more reliable automobiles, and shortening lines (or queues) at a bank, hospital, or a theme park. Industrial engineers typically use computer simulation, especially discrete event simulation, for system analysis and evaluation.

Manufacturing Improvement : How DMAIC Can Improve Your Process

2009-01-28T07:19:00.001+08:00

If you are looking into six sigma and what it can do for your company, you have run across a lot of rather confusing and bizarre terms and acronyms, like DMAIC. This article will answer the following question: what is DMAIC and what does it have to do with lean six sigma?

DMAIC (pronounced duh-may-ick) is one of the tools used in lean six sigma. It stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. DMAIC is a quality control strategy that is driven by data gathered from analysis of products and processes. It is a central part of Six Sigma quality processes. Each stage of DMAIC is interconnected, each leads to the other, and they are all dependent upon each other.

Let's go through what each step of DMAIC means and what it can do. The important thing to remember while we are going through DMAIC is that it is a cycle-you will constantly be running through the process so that you can always be on top of the quality of your processes and products.
The first step is define. In this step, you will define the customer, define customer Critical to Quality issues, and define the Core Business Process that is involved. Who is your customer? What are the boundaries of your project? Where does the process start and where does it stop? You also define the process by producing a map of the process flow.

The second step is measure. In this step, you measure the performance of the Core Business Process that you are analyzing. First, you will develop a data collection plan, you collect data from all different sources, and then you compare that data to the results of customer surveys.
The third step of DMAIC is analyze. In this step, you will analyze the data that you have collected so that you can discern and find the root causes of defects and problems in your processes. You will also find the places where processes can be improved.While you are going through this process, you will identify the gaps between your performance goals and how you are currently performing. Then you make a priority list of different opportunities that you have to improve your process. Finally, you will find and identify what is causing variation in your processes.

The fourth step of DMAIC is improve. In this step, you work to improve the process through coming up with creatively designed solutions. You will also use this step to prevent problems in your processes. The way that you come up with these solutions is through the use of technology, discipline, and data. This step also includes the deployment of your plan.

Finally, you come to the control step of DMAIC. This step is what will help you from going back to the way that things were. To keep from going back to old problems and mess ups, you will have to keep documents and design and keep on top of a plan to monitor your processes. You also need to make DMAIC part of your ongoing structure and the way that you always work within your company.
Lean six sigma is a management and a quality control and improvement process that is not just a one time event. It is something that you will continually be going through and working on so that you can make sure that you don't slip into the old problems that have been impeding your development as a company. The DMAIC steps are a central part of improving the quality of your processes and your products.

Manufacturing Improvement : How Sixsigma Help You To Save Money

2009-01-26T07:18:00.001+08:00

If you have been at all involved in business during the last two decades, then you've heard a whole lot about Motorola's development of the Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma has been hailed as one of the most powerful quality management systems to have ever been developed, promising incredible results as you use Six Sigma techniques and tools to statistically analyze your processes in an effort to locate where you can improve the value of your processes and increase customer satisfaction and perceived value.

But can Six Sigma really improve your business that much? Is it really worth the cost that you have to invest in receiving all of the training, revising your processes, changing your methodology? Is Six Sigma a waste of money, or can you actually save money by improving your processes and increasing their value?

Six Sigma is different from a lot of other quality management systems because of its financial benefits and how it can improve the finances of your business, as long as you implement the system correctly, hire the right people, and make Six Sigma the way that you do business all the time. Six Sigma will also analyze the financial benefit of the process improvements that you are considering, to help you decide whether or not the process will be both financially viable and beneficial for your company. The financial benefits are then re evaluated when you analyze the process to make sure that the amount of money that you spend on improving the process will be offset by how much the project will benefit your company. With this idea in mind, Six Sigma is supposed to increase the productivity of your process, thus increasing your cost savings and also increasing your incremental revenue. Six Sigma is also geared towards ensuring that you can tell the difference between serious process improvements and improvements that actually give you little value over the long term.

The cost savings that you will receive from Six Sigma will depend on how much you implement the system. The cost savings that are available from Six Sigma are also dependent upon your processes, and really how bad they are to start with and how much you can improve them. Lean six sigma can also bring about even more cost savings and benefits as you work to cut waste in your processes.

If you work in manufacturing, and you apply six sigma or lean six sigma to your manufacturing processes, then the cost savings that you receive will be pretty easy to see. For example, let's look at the case study of Celestica. Celestica implemented lean six sigma, and ended up reducing equipment setup time by 85%, reduced the time between receiving and shipment by 71%, cut down on the floor space used by 34%, and also reduced scrap produced by 66%. You can see where cost savings would be found, obviously. And these cost savings are based simply upon eliminating wasteful movements and other things that you might not initially notice are costing you time and money, but are sucking up a lot of your time. The question, of course, is whether or not implementing lean six sigma or six sigma will translate into an increase in your revenue. It's obvious that you can save money, but will that increase how much revenue you get? Well, that's up in the air. For example, Xerox has not seen a revenue increase after implementing Six Sigma. However, if you think about it, you're still better off because of the amount of money that you are saving by increasing the productivity and the value of your processes. As long as you implement six sigma the way that you are supposed to, and you hire people who are really trained in six sigma.

Manufacturing Improvement : How To Success : Worker View

2009-01-21T03:06:00.000+08:00

SUCCESS AT WORK'

Activity is the application of all that we knowand all that we feel, combined with our desire tohave more than we have and become more than we are.'
LIFE is not designed to give rewards in proportion to our needs but to the level we deserve. Whatever life has handed to us, it is our responsibility to

DO something daily at work with what we have been given. That is how we change obstacles into opportunities - by taking all that we have and all that we are and putting them into work on a daily basis. Sooner or later we must convert knowledge and good feelings (PMA) into activity at work. The better we feel about ourselves and our opportunities, the greater our chances for success at work (and at home).

But by just knowing and having a positive attitude will not bring results at our work place, as knowing and doing are poles apart! They merely determine our potential for achievement. Whether we actually achieve our goals at work (a promotion, a better job, a bonus, etc.) is ultimately determined by our daily activity. Completing the picture of your dream requires action. If we have a sincere desire to go for our goal, than we are compelled to find every possible means to implement all that we know and feel on a daily basis at work.

Every single day of our life at our work place, we need to do a little bit more that we already know. We must find ways to demonstrate on the outside all that we possess on the inside. Otherwise, our dreams will die inside of us and the desires of our hearts remain unfulfilled. Why some people fail and others succeed at a similar work place can sometimes seem unfair. Some seem to receive so much and yet merit so little.

Some good people seem to have so little while the dishonest seem to have so much. The answer might well be that we do not work at achieving our goals...and they do. We do not take all that we are and put them into our work daily. They do. We do not stay up late at night developing new plans to achieve our dreams and work hard day after day to make those dreams a reality. They do. We do not learn all that we possibly can about our industry and our markets. They do. We do not make every effort to get around the right sources of influence, to associate with those people who can help us to achieve our goals. They do.

While we are dreaming about the promise of the future, they are doing something about it. And they are doing it consistently and with an intensity and a level of commitment that would put many of us to shame. And so if life does not seem fair sometimes, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Imagine how different our world would be if we make a commitment right now to put into daily action at our work place all that we currently are, wherever we currently are and with whatever we currently have. What if, starting right now, we convert our dreams into plans and our plans into refined activities that would lead toward the achievement of our goals?

What an incredible difference we could make! What a life we could then share with our families and what an inheritance we could leave to the next generation - all because we cared enough to do something with our lives and to put all our skills and talents into our work. If we want to succeed, sooner or later our level of daily activity at work must equal our level of intent. Talking about achievement is one thing; making it happen is something altogether different. If we seem to take more joy in talking about success than we do in achieving it, then all the things that we should be doing and could be doing on any given day at work never seem to get done.
We already know more than we need to know at workto achieve our goals, to succeed. All we need todo now is begin to DO what we already KNOW! Finally, we must discipline ourselves daily at work to convert dreams into plans, plans into goals and goals into small daily activities that will lead us, one sure step at a time, towards a better future. Remember to ponder all that is possible, that to do what is possible we must sometimes challenge ourselves with the impossible. As said the ancient warrior: "It is better to aim the spear at the moon and strike the eagle, than to aim at the eagle and strike only a rock!"

THE CHANGE PROCESS TOWARDS SUCCESS AT WORK STEP

1: DECIDE

WHAT?We must first decide what we want to achieve and be.

WHY?Our mind must have order which is specific images of what we want to achieve and be. HOW?We must decide on our Goals, and align them to our Life Purpose

WHEN?Now!

STEP 2: INTERNALISE

WHAT?We must plant the images of our Success into our Unconscious Mind.

WHY?We have to integrate our thoughts, feelings and actions in order to move our images into reality.

HOW?We have to internalise the images through the technique of Spaced Repetition, Affirmations, Visualisation and Emotionalisation (S.A.V.E.) in a Relaxed and Emotional state.

WHEN?S.A.V.E. daily

STEP 3: PLAN

WHAT?Planning is the tool that outlines: What to do? When to do? Who to do? WHY?People do not plan to fail but fail to plan.

HOW?Define goal and deadline. Break down and list activities or work plan. Prioritise to do the hard things first. Work backwards from end to start. Block time. Delegate or contract out.

WHEN?Plan daily.

STEP 4: DO

WHAT?Steps 1-3 are useless if not done.

WHY?Only the doing gets things done.

HOW?We do/move into action only if we are motivated.

WHEN?Daily

STEP 5: CHECK

WHAT?Daily Activity level/daily activity deviations.

WHY?To provide information to make modifications/corrections.

HOW?If all planned activities are completed, seek new ways to further improve. If not, identify the cause and provide solutions.

WHEN?Daily

STEP 6: LEARN

WHAT?Learn form mistakes/successes.

WHY?Learning from mistakes makes us wiser; learning from success makes us confident and competent.

HOW?List down mistakes/successes and ask: how it happened, why it happened, what can I learn?

WHEN?Daily

Manufacturing Improvement : Pareto Analysis

2009-01-19T03:02:00.001+08:00

Pareto analysis is a statistical technique in decision making that is used for selection of a limited number of tasks that produce significant overall effect. It uses the Pareto principle - the idea that by doing 20% of work you can generate 80% of the advantage of doing the entire job. Or in terms of quality improvement, a large majority of problems (80%) are produced by a few key causes (20%).
Pareto analysis is a formal technique useful where many possible courses of action are competing for your attention. In essence, the problem-solver estimates the benefit delivered by each action, then selects a number of the most effective actions that deliver a total benefit reasonably close to the maximal possible one.

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Pareto analysis is a creative way of looking at causes of problems. It helps stimulate thinking and organize thoughts.
Steps to identify the important causes using Pareto analysis

Step 1: Form a table listing the causes and their frequency as a percentage.

Step 2: Arrange the rows in the decreasing order of importance of the causes (i.e, the most important cause first)

Step 3: Add a cumulative percentage column to the table

Step 4: Plot with causes on x- and cumulative percentage on y-axis

Step 5: Join the above points to form a curve

Step 6: Plot (on the same graph) a bar graph with causes on x- and percent frequency on y-axis Step 7: Draw line at 80% on y-axis parallel to x-axis. Then drop the line at the point of intersection with the curve on x-axis. This point on the x-axis separates the important causes (on the left) and trivial causes (on the right) .

Manufacturing Improvement : Poka Yoke

2009-01-18T02:59:00.001+08:00

Overview

Poka-yoke (ポカヨケ, Poka-yoke?) (IPA: [poka joke]) is a Japanese term that means "fail-safing", "Foolproof" or "mistake-proofing" — avoiding (yokeru) inadvertent errors (poka)) is a behavior-shaping constraint, or a method of preventing errors by putting limits on how an operation can be performed in order to force the correct completion of the operation. The concept was formalised, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System. Originally described as Baka-yoke, but as this means "fool-proofing" (or "idiot proofing") the name was changed to the milder Poka-yoke.
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Examples include:
automatic transmissions: the inability to remove a car key from the ignition switch of an automobile if the automatic transmission is not first put in the "Park" position, so that the driver cannot leave the car in an unsafe parking condition where the wheels are not locked against movement. (An example of a Trapped key interlock). 3.5" floppy disk: the top-right corner is shaped in a certain way so that the disk cannot be inserted upside-down. In the manufacturing world an example might be that the jig for holding pieces for processing only allows pieces to be held in one orientation, or has switches on the jig to detect whether a hole has been previously cut or not, or it might count the number of spot welds created to ensure that, say, four have been executed by the operator. high-security padlocks: it is impossible to remove the key from some high-security padlocks unless the shackle on the padlock is closed. Only by locking the padlock can the key be removed. Security mistakes/accidents are therefore much less likely to occur, particularly where the padlock key is kept on a chain attached to someone's belt. This is because the design ensures that a key cannot easily be left in an unlocked padlock, or a padlock left unlocked after opening it, or not fully closing the shackle of a padlock. Each of these three scenarios would be dangerous in high-security scenarios such as military installations, armories, prisons or bonded warehouses. In contrast, most standard-security padlocks do allow a key to be removed from a padlock, regardless of whether the shackle is closed or not. UK 13 amp electric plug: it is impossible to wrongly insert the plug into the socket, due to its arrangement of three rectangular pins.
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Implementation

Shigeo Shingo recognizes three types of Poka-Yoke
The contact method identifies defects by whether or not contact is established between the device and the product. Color detection and other product property techniques are considered extensions of this. The fixed-value method determines whether a given number of movements have been made. The motion-step method determines whether the prescribed steps or motions of the process have been followed. Poka-yoke either give warnings or can prevent, or control, the wrong action. It is suggested that the choice between these two should be made based on the behaviors in the process, occasional errors may warrant warnings whereas frequent errors, or those impossible to correct, may warrant a control poka-yoke.
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Manufacturing Improvement : Computer Is Main Thing In QA Department

2009-01-06T23:35:00.002+08:00

There are so many different things that you can do to improve the way your manufacturing company performs. One of the most important things to make sure that you do when owning manufacturing company is to make sure that your quality assurance process is up to par. The reason for this is because if you're not exceeding in quality assurance you are probably losing a lot of money. This is why it is important to pay close attention to your quality assurance process. One way that a lot of manufacturing companies are paying close attention to their quality assurance process is by using computers. If you need a better way to aid your quality assurance but don't have any ideas, here is some information on using computers to aid your quality assurance process that might help you.
The first thing is to make sure that you know what type of computers are out there that can help you. Depending on what type of manufacturing you are doing will depend on what type of computer you are going to want to aid your quality assurance process. Some computers will test your products every so often to make sure that they are working correctly. While others will test every single one of your products to make sure that the quality is good. The reason why there are different ones to choose from is because some manufacturing do not have to be crucial on having their quality assurance process be as exact as others might. For example if you are a manufacturing company that makes airbags you are probably going to need your quality assurance process to be more exact then a manufacturing company that makes basket ball hoops. This is the reason why there are different levels of computers out there.
The second thing is cost. Just because a computer costs a lot doesn't mean that it is going to be the best computer to aid your quality assurance process. You want to make sure that you look into different computers and see what type of functions they each have. You don't want to get a computer that is going to end up confusing you and making your quality assurance process more difficult then the way you do it now. You may also want to ask around and get references of different manufacturing companies that use the computers. This way you will be able to talk to some one that has actually experienced the computer and used all of its functions, instead of just talking to a sales person who wants to make a sale.
The third thing is research. You will want to make sure that you do your research. Find out what each computer does and if they have upgrades. Knowing if the computers have upgrades is important, especially if you are just starting out. The reason for this is because as your manufacturing company grows so will how much you are producing. You want to make sure that you computer will be able to handle the load and be able to aid your quality assurance process no matter what size it is.
This is just some of the information on using computers to aid your quality assurance process. There is a lot of other information that goes more in depth on how different computers work and how exactly they can aid your quality assurance process. So make sure to look around and get as much information as you can so you can get a better idea if using computers to aid your quality assurance process is right for your manufacturing company..

Manufacturing Improvement : Information Technology Aided Manufacturing

2008-12-29T00:07:00.003+08:00

The first thing is to make sure that you know what type of computers are out there that can help you. Depending on what type of manufacturing you are doing will depend on what type of computer you are going to want to aid your quality assurance process. Some computers will test your products every so often to make sure that they are working correctly. While others will test every single one of your products to make sure that the quality is good. The reason why there are different ones to choose from is because some manufacturing do not have to be crucial on having their quality assurance process be as exact as others might. For example if you are a manufacturing company that makes airbags you are probably going to need your quality assurance process to be more exact then a manufacturing company that makes basket ball hoops. This is the reason why there are different levels of computers out there.

The second thing is cost. Just because a computer costs a lot doesn't mean that it is going to be the best computer to aid your quality assurance process. You want to make sure that you look into different computers and see what type of functions they each have. You don't want to get a computer that is going to end up confusing you and making your quality assurance process more difficult then the way you do it now. You may also want to ask around and get references of different manufacturing companies that use the computers. This way you will be able to talk to some one that has actually experienced the computer and used all of its functions, instead of just talking to a sales person who wants to make a sale.

The third thing is research. You will want to make sure that you do your research. Find out what each computer does and if they have upgrades. Knowing if the computers have upgrades is important, especially if you are just starting out. The reason for this is because as your manufacturing company grows so will how much you are producing. You want to make sure that you computer will be able to handle the load and be able to aid your quality assurance process no matter what size it is.

This is just some of the information on using computers to aid your quality assurance process. There is a lot of other information that goes more in depth on how different computers work and how exactly they can aid your quality assurance process. So make sure to look around and get as much information as you can so you can get a better idea if using computers to aid your quality assurance process is right for your manufacturing company.

Manufacturing Improvement : Cp and Cpk In Simple Word

2008-12-25T23:08:00.001+08:00

When we speak about the capability of processes we often refer to a couple indices called Cp and Cpk. These two indices, used together, can tell us how capable our process is and whether or not we have a centering issue.

For the math geeks out there here are the formulas for calculating Cp and Cpk.Cp = (USL - LSL) / 6*Standard Deviation (within)

Cpk = Min (Cpl, Cpu); where:Cpl = (mu - LSL) / 3*Standard Deviation (within)
Cpu = (USL - mu) / 3*Standard Deviation (within)

For the rest of us here is a nice golf analogy to help differentiate between Cp and Cpk. OK, I admit I don’t play golf but work with me here.Let’s say you want to learn how to drive a golf ball like Tiger does. Your first mission is to learn how to hit the ball consistently and to the same spot. When you have learned this fine art and are indeed able to hit the ball to the same spot over and over again you may say you have good Cp. This is to say that you have a very capable golf swing.This is all well and good.

But there is one big issue. You now need to learn how to aim since you have not paid any attention to where the pin was when learning how to hit the ball to the same spot. You may say your process is “shifted” away from the target (i.e. the golf pin which is the center of the process). So your over paid golf instructor now teaches you how to shift your body and aim your now capable shot.Assuming this process is successful you are now able to hit the ball to the same spot (good Cp) AND you are now able to aim the ball toward the hole (good Cpk).

Life is good… Tiger watch out!In summary, Cp tells us how capable our process is. If there is tons of variation your process may not be very capable at all. In this case you will want to reduce variation which will improve your Cp.When you are happy with Cp you can move onto to Cpk which tells us how centered our process is.

If your process is capable (good Cp) but is hugging the upper customer specification limit your Cpk will be poor. In order to improve Cpk you will need to work on “shifting” the process back towards the mean of the process.

Manufacturing Improvement : What Should Company Do During Recession Period

2008-12-21T02:19:00.004+08:00

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Everywhere you go, everybody will talking with the same topic; recession. Is that too bad compare with 1998? Some say yes, some say no. We can compare by numbers of retrenchment of worker, or number of company close and run away, or we could compare with how many losses declared by the main market player.

If we compare with number of worker, i can says that the impact still cannot be seen clearlly. We have to wait until at the top of the 'tragedy'. When? wait until US have no money to bare their oversea base Navy salaries. I can say that the 'tragedy' just kick off. Be petian.

Lets go into the topic. What should we do if this impact knock our manufacturing door? In any situation, the is good and bad. So lets we analaysis from the good view. It is very important to keep as much as you can your yearly profit. Dont say that we forget to keep some amount. We have bad tracking record. Almost every 10 years, the point become at the cordinate 0,0. - one circle.

Training / Re-training ponentional staff - Identify who is your petentional staff. Send them for training. Let them mastering their current area. If posibble, train them to others area too. For example, if you have Quality Enginner wich is still not certified, send them to be Certified Quality Engineer.

House Keeping / 5's - Keep your manufacturing clean. Dont let even single dust stick in to your machine. If possible, paint the old machine. Let its look new.

Maintenance - If during peak season / year (last and past year) you have no time to make maintenance of machine, this is the right time to do it. Change any spare part, put grease, check the lubricant oil etc.

Select new Sigma project - This is the best time to identify and select the six sigma project to kick off. You might know what is the critical problem that may highly cost saving during your peak season. So, now you have to define, measure, analysis and improve. Once the economy going better in future, you just need to control it.

Hiring suitable personnel - There is a lot of retrenchment everywhere. Some of them have better knowledge, experience as well as attitude. If you thing that you will have good customer new project, you can get correct personnel under the cost.

That is some of the thing may you can do during this season.

Note : Effected company is company that may have new pending order, temporary freez order from customer and manufacturing company that monthly and yearly sales only depend less than 10% with US base company.
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Manufacturing Improvement : What Should I Do During Recession Period

2008-12-17T22:53:00.004+08:00

There’s a ton of talk recently that we’re moving towards a Recession. That’s right… a Recession! Isn’t that horrible? Well, sort of, but what exactly is a recession? A recession, by definition, is when the GDP declines for two or more consecutive quarters; but how does that really affect you? In reality, it’s a period of economic slowdown that is marked with companies earning less, paying less, and generally things in life are a little less prosperous.

So, what should you do to prepare yourself if a recession, specifically a prolonged recession, hits? It’s actually quite simple, the biggest fear you have and the biggest thing you should prepare for is the possibility that you could lose your job. In a recession, companies often scale back operations as sales lag and when that happens employees are often one of the things to hit the chopping block. To prepare for this, keep your ear to the ground and make sure that in the event that you are let go, the first you hear of it shouldn’t be the moment after your boss calls you to his office to deliver the bad news.

The second part of preparation is to pull back your spending and boost your emergency fund. What? Don’t have one? Start one immediately! That’s what you will be to lean on as your income because you won’t be earning money if you’re unemployed.Now, preparing for the worst is always a good idea but the worst may never happen. In recent memory, recessions haven’t been all that bad for most Americans so the doomsday scenario isn’t all that likely. What’s more likely is that raises won’t be as big and promotions won’t be as plentiful, which is fine because it’s better than being fired.

So, if the only real tip is to pad an emergency fund, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that you need to begin planning for it now. If you wait until it hits the cover of Time or the New York Times, it is already too late.How can you pad the emergency fund now? If you’re contributing more than your employer match in your 401k, consider pulling back so you can put that towards savings. If you’re making large payments on your car note, consider downsizing your car and getting into something you can handle better. Some things are easier than others (adjusting 401k contributions is easier than changing cars) but ultimately you want to reduce your spending to pad that fund.

Whether or not a recession does hit, having a nice fat emergency fund is certainly something valuable in any economic situation (one can lose their job during a period of economic prosperity!).

Manufacturing Improvement : Focus On Your Manufacturing Target

2008-11-27T23:34:00.001+08:00

Focused improvement is a way to approach manufacturing improvement that will help you improve all levels of the manufacturing process and your entire company. By implementing a focused improvement approach, then you will be able to ensure that your entire organization is working smoothly and that your organization's goals and efforts are being accomplished.
Before you can implement focused improvement in your manufacturing processes, you need to decide what your goal is going to be for focused improvement. You also need to set up a way to measure the improvement of your manufacturing performance. By measuring performance, you will be able to see how well your organization is succeeding at implementing your new plans, strategies, and goals. While you can use financial measures as a way to measure your performance and your improvement, financial measures end up having a number of problems with them. Here are some of the problems with traditional financial performance measures:
Problems with financial measures of performance-- they do not give you a good reflection of what the customer wants-- they do not give you strategies that you need in order to beat your competition-- they identify problems, but they cannot identify the causes of those problems-- they do not support measures to solve problems-- they are inflexible-- they do not support innovation, but rather prohibit it-- they encourage a large volume of activity, but they do not encourage useful activity
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A focused improvement approach to improving manufacturing operations will help you work against these problems with traditional financial performance measures. A focused improvement system will be more relevant to your actual strategies and goals, and will help you improve your overall approach to manufacturing. Focused improvement will support changes in your operations, rather than working against change and innovation.
The following are the different parts of the control system that you must implement in order to control and contain your manufacturing operations.
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Elements of control include the following:
Establishing a target or an overall plan.
Establishing a tolerable deviation from that plan or target.
A way to measure the actual deviation from the plan or the target.
A comparison between the actual results and your plan.
A way to identify potential areas for improvement as a result of the comaprison.
Feedback that will identify significant deviations from your plan or target.
A way to correct deviations.
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The only way that you can establish focused improvement in your manufacturing systems is by implementing a process of control that will let you take charge of your manufacturing operations. A focused improvement approach to manufacturing will help you achieve your goals to beat your competition, fulfill customer demands, and then measure how you are achieving what you desire. Your focused improvement approach to manufacturing will also help you communicate your goals and communicate whether or not your strategies are up to date and your decisions are helping you achieve your goals and your objectives. Finally, a focused improvement strategy will also help you come up with innovative ways to meet your goals and will help you find any problem areas. In addition, a focused improvement strategy will help you compare your practices to other practices, record your achievements, set your goals, and will give you feedback to how your strategies are working. Employing a specialist in focused improvement will help you implement focused improvement throughout your organization, helping you achieve your goals and improve your overall manufacturing processes.

Manufacturing Improvement : Avoid "Free Passanger" In The Manufacturing Team

2008-11-25T23:32:00.002+08:00

All organizations seek to avoid setbacks in their manufacturing processes. There are a number of different ways that you can avoid setbacks in your manufacturing processes. One of the most popular and successful approaches to quality management and control that will help you avoid setbacks in your manufacturing processes is Six Sigma quality control and manufacturing organization.
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In essence, six sigma is a management plan geared towards producing better results, better products, and better service. Developed by Joseph M. Juran and Peter Senge in conjunction with Motorola, six sigma is technically an objective of quality. This objective very specifically defines how variable a process needs to be in terms of product specifications in order to meet and exceed customer demands in terms of product quality and product reliability.
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Confused? Well, that's the technical definition. Ultimately, six sigma is an overall quality management program that uses leadership approaches, makes use of business infrastructure, and different management tools. General Electric was one of the very first users of six sigma, after Motorola, and defines it as "a disciplined methodology of defining, measuring, analyzing, improving and controlling the quality in every one of the company's products, processes and transactions--with the ultimate goal of virtually eliminating all defects."
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Six sigma is tailored to meet each company or business' specific needs. However, there are overall basics and tools that are used in order to achieve the ultimate level of organizational performance. The cycle of methods used is called DMAIC, which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control. The entire approach is oriented towards product--the quality, reliability, and production of quality products. Six sigma is different from other quality control approaches, because it combines statistical programs and tools with observation and experimentation. This means that experiments should take place on two levels, and then are analyzed using graphical methods. This is a combination of the analysis of product variance and also observation so as to aid instead of blocking the work of both statisticians and engineers. Another way to understand the basics of six sigma is to look at the term itself. Sigma, which is a Greek letter, is also a symbol used in statistics that measures how far a process (or product) moves from what is considered to be perfection. So basically, in six sigma, the idea is that if you can measure how many problems or defects exist in a process, then scientifically you can decide how to get rid of those defects and then move as close as possible to no problems or defects in a process or a system.
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There are several basic and central concepts that form the basis of six sigma. First is critical to quality. These are the attributes of a product that the customer considers to be most important. Defect is the failure to provide what the customer ants. Process capability is what the process or the product is capable of delivering. Variation is based on what the customer feels about a process/product and sees in that product. Stable operations are the attempts to make sure that processes are always the same and predictable in an effort to ensure that the customer always feels the same way--good--about a process or product. DFSS stands for design for six sigma. This is the methodology that uses tools, measurements, and specific training geared towards helping you design the processes and products that meet the needs and expectations of your customers.
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Six sigma is a highly technical and mathematical approach to product control and organizational efficiency. Individuals take courses in six sigma, and are then certified to be at different levels of understanding and proficiency. The terms for the different levels of certification are taken from martial arts practices that we're all generally familiar with--green belt, black belt, and master black belt.

Manufacturing Improvement : Manage Crises In Manufacturing

2008-11-14T18:13:00.001+08:00

Crisis management for manufacturing can take a number of forms and can be implemented in a number of different situations. For example, crisis management must come into play if your company has to admit to environmental quality control violations, or must answer to a lawsuit. Crisis management is necessary if a flaw in a product or a service is revealed and the news goes to the press and you must recall the product. Also, crisis management becomes necessary if you end up with a union strike, or if your equipment malfunctions, or if you are trying to wage a publicity campaign in a community that doesn't want you to move into their neighborhood. No matter what situation may arise, you must have a good crisis management plan and a good crisis management team in place so that any type of crisis can be handled, no matter what that crisis is.

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For an example for our discussion of crisis management for manufacturing, let us use the example of a very important critical piece of equipment failing. Even if you have the best maintenance team in the world, machinery is never foolproof nor perfect, and so something is going to break down sometime. The problem then becomes that your machine is not producing money. You should have a crisis management position in place so that you can minimize the impact on your business, the customers' products, and your credibility.

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Crisis management for manufacturing can take a number of forms and can be implemented in a number of different situations. For example, crisis management must come into play if your company has to admit to environmental quality control violations, or must answer to a lawsuit. Crisis management is necessary if a flaw in a product or a service is revealed and the news goes to the press and you must recall the product. Also, crisis management becomes necessary if you end up with a union strike, or if your equipment malfunctions, or if you are trying to wage a publicity campaign in a community that doesn't want you to move into their neighborhood. No matter what situation may arise, you must have a good crisis management plan and a good crisis management team in place so that any type of crisis can be handled, no matter what that crisis is.

Manufacturing Improvement : Always Remind Your Self

2008-11-13T13:10:00.004+08:00

In any organization, Human Resource development is very, very improtant. We can say that the development is the heart of the company. Potentional employee is value to the company. Company should identify this type of employee, before other company 'detect' this employee and hire them for their company.

There is many ways to keep this kind of employee, such as built up good relationship with them, setup good environment in the organization, hire only employee that can contribute something to the company, reward the employee (according to company gain), and soo on.

Selecting correct is not only depend on the qualification and / or experience. Many of Human Resource Manager forget to include this to thier one of the list - attitude.

Attitude will determine attitude. For me, that statement is 100% correct. If my employer give me an option - 1) 10 employee with high skill, good qualification but bad attitude, 2) 10 employee with fair qualification, and no experience but have very good attitude, I'll immediatelly will select group 2. WHY? because I'm part of them before.

Manufacturing Improvement : Manufacturing Improvement : Kaizen

2008-11-12T18:12:00.001+08:00

Kaizen principles are a comprehensive way of approaching the continual improvement of your manufacturing processes. Kaizen is the Japanese term for "change for the better" or it can be translated as "improvement". Kaizen is often translated into English as "continual improvement." Kaizen works to improve quality in the workplace, particularly in manufacturing companies, though it has also been applied to service providing companies and other types of companies. Kaizen is most often used in reference to Toyota Production System and is the combination of a number of different systems that are geared towards quality control.

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What the overall purpose of Kaizen is is to eliminate waste. Joshua Isaac Walters defines wastes as "activities that add cost but do not add value." Very little of the process that goes into producing a product is paid for by the customer; instead, you as the manufacturer have to pay for all of this waste. Reducing waste is ultimately an effort to improve your bottom line, so there is nothing that you can lose by reducing waste. Implementing Kaizen is a way to improve your own financial standing. Kaizen also works to standardize the production process through doing things like leveling off the production flow so that there aren't variations in the production process, and also by doing things like switching from push production to pull production.

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Kaizen principles are a comprehensive way of approaching the continual improvement of your manufacturing processes. Kaizen is the Japanese term for "change for the better" or it can be translated as "improvement". Kaizen is often translated into English as "continual improvement." Kaizen works to improve quality in the workplace, particularly in manufacturing companies, though it has also been applied to service providing companies and other types of companies. Kaizen is most often used in reference to Toyota Production System and is the combination of a number of different systems that are geared towards quality control.

Manufacturing Improvement : Visual Control

2008-11-10T18:09:00.001+08:00

Visual control is a key component of lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is a way of approaching manufacturing that strives to eliminate all waste, from materials that are not used to time that is spent doing unnecessary tasks. Waste, in lean manufacturing, is defined as anything that does not add to the actual value of the product. The customer is not paying for the process of manufacturing, so any waste that goes in to the production of a production or of a service is paid for by you, the manufacturer or the provider of the service. Lean manufacturing improves your bottom line, ultimately; lean manufacturing is a way to improve your flow of production by reducing variances in the flow of production. Lean manufacturing also continually improves your production and your production processes, and also improves the experiences of your employees by reducing the waste of their time and their own efforts.

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Visual control is a key component to this improvement of production through lean manufacturing. Visual control is a process that visually compares products as they move through the production process to other products to ensure that they are all the same. Visual control also works to ensure that the production processes are the same, and that there are not variances in production processes or production products. Visual controls works to eliminate variances in production processes, and strives to reduce variances in the flow of production. By doing so, visual control works to eliminate waste. By visually controlling aspects of the production process rather than testing each product for possible defects, quality is improved and less time is wasted by employees.

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Visual control is a key component of lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is a way of approaching manufacturing that strives to eliminate all waste, from materials that are not used to time that is spent doing unnecessary tasks. Waste, in lean manufacturing, is defined as anything that does not add to the actual value of the product. The customer is not paying for the process of manufacturing, so any waste that goes in to the production of a production or of a service is paid for by you, the manufacturer or the provider of the service. Lean manufacturing improves your bottom line, ultimately; lean manufacturing is a way to improve your flow of production by reducing variances in the flow of production. Lean manufacturing also continually improves your production and your production processes, and also improves the experiences of your employees by reducing the waste of their time and their own efforts.

Manufacturing Improvement : From Manufacturing Operation to Custom Manufacturing

2008-11-08T18:07:00.002+08:00

Custom manufacturing setups can seriously improve your manufacturing processes and your overall productivity within your company. If you have highly specialized products that you are turning out, then you need custom manufacturing setups so that you can eliminate waste and produce truly excellent products and services. By looking at a particular example of a custom manufacturing setup, you can see how implementing a custom manufacturing setup in your own manufacturing business can improve your productivity and your bottom line.

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Let's use Custom Machining Services as an example. This particular company serves a variety of industries but needed to expand its milling capabilities and turning capabilities in order to increase production levels. Because Custom Machining Services wanted to make better parts faster with less work, they needed a multitasking machine. So they turned to Mazak's Inegrex 30Y and Integrex 200Y so that they could use fewer setups for each process and thus reduced labor hours. Because they used custom manufacturing setups, they could cut machine cycle times on some products, and could also cut down on the actual human work. The production costs go down, yet the value costs stay the same, so that profit goes up.

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Custom manufacturing setups can seriously improve your manufacturing processes and your overall productivity within your company. If you have highly specialized products that you are turning out, then you need custom manufacturing setups so that you can eliminate waste and produce truly excellent products and services. By looking at a particular example of a custom manufacturing setup, you can see how implementing a custom manufacturing setup in your own manufacturing business can improve your productivity and your bottom line.

Manufacturing Improvement : Reduce Manufacturing Waste : SMED

2008-11-07T18:05:00.002+08:00

If you have been involved at all with business, especially with manufacturing, then you have probably heard of a number of different waste reduction strategies. One of the more popular waste reduction approaches to business is called SMED. SMED stands for Single-Minute exchange of Die. SMED is a theory and also a practical technique that works so that setup operations can be put together and performed in less than 10 minutes. In other words, setup operations should be able to be performed in a number of minutes that is only represented by a single digit: one minute to nine minutes. While SMED was first developed in the 1950s in Japan, it did not move to Europe in the 1970s (West Germany and Switzerland in 1974, and the United States in 1976). SMED was not really accepted in other countries outside Japan, however, until the 1980s.

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There are a number of different components of SMED, or Single-Minute Exchange of Die, that work together in order to improve production and manufacturing processes, and in order to reduce waste. All of these ideas are associated with and compatible with lean manufacturing.

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If you have been involved at all with business, especially with manufacturing, then you have probably heard of a number of different waste reduction strategies. One of the more popular waste reduction approaches to business is called SMED. SMED stands for Single-Minute exchange of Die. SMED is a theory and also a practical technique that works so that setup operations can be put together and performed in less than 10 minutes. In other words, setup operations should be able to be performed in a number of minutes that is only represented by a single digit: one minute to nine minutes. While SMED was first developed in the 1950s in Japan, it did not move to Europe in the 1970s (West Germany and Switzerland in 1974, and the United States in 1976). SMED was not really accepted in other countries outside Japan, however, until the 1980s.

Manufacturing Improvement : Manufacturing Strategy

2008-11-05T16:55:00.002+08:00

There are many custom manufacturing strategies available for your manufacturing plant. These different manufacturing strategies can be anything from the latest philosophy to the old tried and true manufacturing strategy. No matter what program you may choose you need to make sure it is a right fit for you, your employees and most of all your manufacturing plant as a whole.

One of the most widely used custom manufacturing strategies for your manufacturing plant is a strategy called six sigma. Six sigma is one of the most powerful process improvement strategies out there. The goal of six sigma is to do things better, faster and at a lower cost then you have done before or even other manufacturing plants. The best part about six sigma is that it can be applied to every part of your manufacturing business making it easily customized to your particular problems. This includes production, human resource, technical support and any of your employees on the maintenance floor.

One of the most widely used custom manufacturing strategies for your manufacturing plant is a strategy called six sigma. Six sigma is one of the most powerful process improvement strategies out there. The goal of six sigma is to do things better, faster and at a lower cost then you have done before or even other manufacturing plants. The best part about six sigma is that it can be applied to every part of your manufacturing business making it easily customized to your particular problems. This includes production, human resources, technical support and any of your employees on the maintenance floor.

Manufacturing Improvement : Low Cost Manufacturing Improvement Method

2008-11-04T16:53:00.002+08:00

There are many available low cost improvement methods for your manufacturing program. These programs can be anything from the latest philosophy to the old tried and true manufacturing programs. No matter what program you may choose you need to make sure it is a right fit for you, your employees and most of all your manufacturing plant as a whole.

There are plenty of programs available to improve your manufacturing plant. One of the most popular low cost improvement methods for your manufacturing plant is called Lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is a business model and it is also a multitude of manufacturing methods that focus on getting rid of the waste while at the same time producing quality products. This type of manufacturing program is all done at the lowest cost to you the manufacturer and also the lowest cost for the consumer.

There are many different techniques to implement a low cost improvement method for your manufacturing program. When choosing a program you need to make sure that all management is on board and then get the employees involved and excited about the new ideas your company will be implementing. To decide what improvement programs may be best for you and your company the following is a list of 5 of the most widely used methods.

Manufacturing Improvement : Idea For Manufacturing System

2008-11-03T20:50:00.002+08:00

There are so many different things that you can incorporate into your manufacturing systems. Depending on what type of manufacturing company you have will depend on what type of manufacturing systems you will have. If you have different types of manufacturing processes that other manufacturing companies do not, you might have to have more of a custom manufacturing system then others. If this is the case you might have to come up with creative concepts for custom manufacturing systems. Here are some tips for creating some of the creative concepts for custom manufacturing systems.

The first tip is to decide what types of concepts are going to make your manufacturing company run better. For example you might have a line that gets very dirty do to the residue left behind from one of the processes that is done on that line. Instead of waiting until the end of the day to clean it up, this will take you longer. Have it done during schedule maintenance checks. If you do not have schedule maintenance checks on your machines during each shift pick a time that the machines are down and do it on a regular basis. The reason why it might be better to have your line areas cleaned more frequently is so that there will be cause for fewer accidents.

Manufacturing Improvement : Productivity And Location of Material Consideration

2008-11-01T08:00:00.002+08:00

Productivity decisions in the modern corporation have a lot to do with time savings, costs and the flow of paperwork, product and services needed to run the organization. In manufacturing the location of the raw materials needed for production are a huge consideration, not only due to transportation costs, but also to insure timed deliveries as needed. If a shipment is missed this could take down the entire assembly line or cause a complete work stoppage.

To insure this does not happen, often a manufacturing company must store the raw materials as they arrive until they are needed during the production cycles. The further the distance or potential disruption in transportation or other issues, the more must be stored on the property or nearby, thus, drastically increasing costs and complicating the supporting supply chain.

A manufacturing company that wishes to stay competitive in a global economy must be as close to its' raw materials as possible to save in the transportation and storage costs to insure flawless and continuous production schedules. Work stoppages in assembly lines can quickly destroy profit margins and render the manufacturing company insolvent. The competitors seeing this weakness will flood the markets with products and make major inroads in market share if this occurs.

When a raw material mine closes often the manufacturing customers of the mine are putting into a terrible situation, often one that is unrecoverable and increases their costs to a point that they can no longer compete. It is like a cascading cost pile-up with inevitable consequences, so please consider this.

Manufacturing Improvement : Traditional Manufacturing Vs Lean Manufacturing

2008-10-27T15:10:00.002+08:00

When we think about lean manufacturing we think about work cells, kanban cards, TQM and so on. But many people do a basic mistake. That is the mistake of not understanding the concepts on which lean manufacturing built on. Many people who copied lean manufacturing failed because they did not understood the concepts behind lean manufacturing.

We shall give a simple definition to lean manufacturing before we go further. Lean manufacturing can be defined as a systematic approach to continuously identify and remove the wastes from the system. All the tools and techniques are based on fulfillment of this simple requirement.

To identify the conceptual difference between lean manufacturing and conventional manufacturing, we will have a look at the definition given above. There is a very important word to note. That is “Removing”. Removing of waste from the system might not sound very different to minimization of wastes in the system, what we talk in conventional manufacturing. But think carefully. These two words are very different in the context of manufacturing (or even services).

When you think about minimizing of waste, you are thinking about the current system where you have wastes. You think about minimizing those wastes by fine tuning the system. When you think about eliminating or removing wastes from the system, you will have to find the causes for the wastes and remove them from the system. This means that you will have to redefine the process in a way that there are no wastes generated. So in the first case you live in the system where there are wastes, and struggle to get some improvement. In the later, you change the system so that system itself will not have the wastes. Aren’t they really different?

I will give you one more example to clarify the conceptual difference between lean manufacturing and traditional manufacturing. Think about Work In Progress (WIP). In a traditional manufacturing process WIP is treated as an asset which helps to run the process smoothly. Lean manufacturing though, treats WIP as a waste itself. Further, lean manufacturing treats WIP as a mirror which reflects the imperfection of the system.
I can go on and on explaining conceptual differences these systems have. But it is very important to understand one thing about lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is not a fine tuning to the traditional manufacturing system you had. It is a completely different system. To be able to implement lean manufacturing correctly, understand the conceptual differences between lean manufacturing and traditional manufacturing.

Manufacturing Improvement : Increase Your Manufacturing Risk by Producing 'Acceptable' Part

2008-10-22T12:55:00.004+08:00

There is alot of area in the manufacturing company especially those running below than 2 sigma to produce part that we can say it is a 'acceptable' part. Acceptable part mean part that the specification (dimensional and cosmetic) may still can be accept by customer.

Customer (Quality Inspector) may accept that condition base on thier personnel judgement. What happend once that Quality Inspector resign? and end customer start to make complaint on the goods. Are they going to use the buffer stock? Are they going to accept your previous and current lot? Aha....??? Now the problem will return back to you..

I believe that we may sometimes or frequentlly do this to our customer. This acceptable part may generate because of lack of communication between external parties; suplier and customer, or internal parties ; interdepartment personnel, miss inspection, miss look, process change with out approval or notification, running without follow Standard Operation Procedure (SOP), lack of manpower training, and alot of thousand ceative reason.

In this issue, all of the parties must work together and make the unclear thing to be clear and ensure everybody get the same information.

There is no customer place any part order without drawing or dimensional specification. The best thing is, follow whatevet stated in the drawing / blue print. And as customer, don forget to put important information (no hiden information) in the drawing / blue print.

As a supplier, please ask whatever unclear information, get as much as you can information form customer, ask your capacity, either you can produce that part according your customer requirement before you start your mass production. If you has work on that field for couple of year, utilize your experience to help your company achieve the goal / objective.

As a employee, are you ready to make one step ahead to reduce your company risk? Ask your self...

Manufacturing Improvement : Importance of Improvement

2008-10-14T21:39:00.004+08:00

Thinking about how you can improve your company? In order to increase profit margins and develop better customer satisfaction, small businesses must embrace the idea of continuous improvement.

The basic idea behind continuous improvement is that there's always a better way, and never a best way.

By seeking out the "better way", small businesses can make significant improvements to quality, efficiency, employee satisfaction, customer service and ultimately the bottom line.
Whether you are in a service or manufacturing industry, the cost of materials and labor used in your operation is likely to increase over time.

As a result, any improvements that can be made in your process will result in savings necessary to offset increasing material costs. If your small business is to stay viable in the long run, you are going to need to embrace continuous improvement.

When Do You Try to Improve Your Business?

In many cases, the hardest time to implement continuous improvement techniques is when things are going well.

Profit margins are acceptable, waste is perceived as minimal, employees are happy and sales are strong. The problem arises when you're not seeking to improve your process, and you're simply treading water.

Even when things are going well, there is plenty of room for improvement. There are always opportunities to eliminate defects, bolster employee knowledge, increase cleanliness, and improve overall organization. Everyone in your company needs to feel they must improve on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis.

Improvement Can Be Difficult

One major enemy of continuous improvement is ego and self-perception. When I consult for small businesses and discuss the concept of continuous improvement, many managers are reluctant to make changes.

As with anything, change can be difficult. Moreover, when you tell an employee there may be a better way to complete a task, the employee may take this as a personal slight. For effective continuous improvement standards, all staff members need to understand how change and improvement are fundamental principles of any successful team.

There is no room for egos when it comes to building a successful business. Don't let emotional attachments get in the way of improving your processes.

Advantages Over Your Competitor

Companies that accept continuous improvement as part of their operations, maintain significant advantages over competitors.

For the small business, where many of the processes are being tried for the first time, continuous improvement standards can be of tremendous help.

When thinking about continuous improvement, I often use the example of a cook in the kitchen. Imagine a restaurant-sized kitchen where the idea is to produce two fancy pasta dishes.

The first time the chef walks into the kitchen and prepares the dish, he does not have the benefit of previous trials in that same kitchen. As a result, you would expect his process to have plenty of flaws. Rather than duplicate that first preparation for future orders, the chef will continually make incremental changes (for example, moving ingredients closer together for convenience) in order to reduce the overall cycle time for the dish preparation.

Make sure your processes aren't a duplication of the initial run. Remember there's always a better — and never a best — way to run things

Manufacturing Improvement : The Imprtance Of Research And Development

2008-10-14T21:22:00.003+08:00

In the economic literature R&D plays an important role in at least two different ways. First, in the theory of industrial organization and also in the theory of international trade R&D is seen as a strategic variable by which firms conquer, or at the least preserve, market shares, and governments give their domestic firms a competitive edge in international trade, either through cost reductions (in the case of process R&D) or through product differentiation (in the case of product R&D). Second, in growth theory and in the management literature R&D is seen as an investment in knowledge or in absorptive capacity and hence indirectly as a contributor to economic growth. I want to concentrate on the second aspect.

How can R&D contribute to economic growth? Remember Robinson Crusoe. He is stranded on his island and has to find ways to survive. First he uses his own labor to grow fruits and vegetables and to catch fish. Economists would call this the labor input. Then, he figures out that by devoting some of his time to make better fishing rods and agricultural tools he is able to raise his productivity: grow more vegetables and catch more fish with the same amount of effort. The equipment used to produce other commodities is what economists call the capital input. So far Robinson has spent 20% of his time producing capital equipment and 80% of his time fishing and harvesting. Now that he produces enough to survive, he starts spending some time away from production, thinking about producing ever more performing production equipment or new varieties of crop. Robinson Crusoe has discovered the power of research. From now on he spends 20% of his time producing capital equipment, 10% of his time thinking and 70% of his time fishing and harvesting. We could complicate the story but let’s leave it at that and remember from this simple story that production has been obtained by using three inputs: labor, capital and R&D.

R&D plays a central role in the new theory of economic growth, called endogenous growth theory, which is based on the idea that growth does not fall like manna from heaven but can be explained by R&D efforts leading to new products (consumer goods or investment goods) and new knowledge (see the work by Romer (1990), Arrow (1962), Grossman and Helpman (1991), and Aghion and Howitt (1998)). R&D has two properties that set it apart from ordinary investment in machines, namely the fact that the knowledge derived from R&D is non-rival and partly non-excludable, which means that knowledge can be used simultaneously by two different persons without losing any of its content, and that it cannot always be prevented from being used by others. Hence the innovator cannot appropriate all the benefits from his new ideas. Part of it leaks out to others. In practice R&D has two effects. It can lead to new commodities, on which the innovator gains temporary monopoly profits (i.e. profits derived from the fact that he is the own producer, without competitors driving the profit down to zero), and it can lead to new knowledge (in the form of theorems, algorithms, models), which can facilitate subsequent innovations. Because of the impossibility of perfect price discrimination, a part of the monopoly rents get transferred to other producers or the consumers. For instance, we all seem to derive a benefit from using computers which is greater than the price that we paid for acquiring them. Zvi Griliches (1979) called this first R&D spillover “rent spillover” to distinguish it from the second one, which has to do with the free transmission of knowledge and which he called “knowledge spillover”. The non-appropriability of the entire benefits from R&D and the intertemporal externalities of R&D keep the benefits of R&D from dropping below the discount rate and hence maintain the incentives to invest in R&D, and therefore assure sustained growth.

Manufacturing Improvement : Train Your Personnel

2008-10-14T21:15:00.005+08:00

As much as we hear about it, talk about it, and even meet about it, most of us are guilty of not focusing enough on employee training. This is usually true for all company levels— from the entry-level worker to the top strata of management. And while there are several options for training outside of your organization, the successful companies are those that have excellent training programs within their own companies.

Organization and structureIf your goal is to develop a truly successful training program in your operation, begin by formalizing it. This should include training curriculum from top to bottom—for your managers as well as your newest hires.

All too often we discuss the importance of training with our managers and then send them out with the mandate that they need to "train your people." The problem with this scenario is we have never trained our managers in the first place! Whether your supervisors are managing three people or 30, if you expect them to properly train their people you must first train them. Then move down your organization.

You also need to make certain that your training programs are structured—not only in their format but also as to their schedule. Whether sessions are held daily, weekly, or monthly, they should be held at the same time in order to create consistency. And once you set the schedule, stick with it. If your training is held regularly, you'll find that your employees will take it seriously, and attendance at these training sessions will be much higher. On the other hand, if your classes are held haphazardly, you will likely find that your personnel will begin regarding them as somewhat optional, rather than mandatory.

Mix it upIn my own company's training curriculum, we use a variety of instructors to keep the training fresh. Sometimes we will have our president lead the session, while other times it may be one of our department heads.

But we also have gone out-of-house, utilizing outside resources as "guest speakers" at some of our training sessions. Often, people outside of your organization will provide a unique view on a subject that otherwise may be received as "the same old stuff" if taught by someone within the organization. For example, you could bring in someone with extensive sales experience to share his or her perspective on how to interact with their customers, how to develop sales leads, how to retain customers, etc. While you may be able to tackle these subjects within your own management group, utilizing a variety of resources can be a very effective approach to your training.

Another way to invigorate a training program is to intermingle personnel from all your departments into a training session. This works particularly well with general subject matter: If you have a training topic that a large group or all of your employees need, divide the training up into smaller groups and organize the groups with representatives from every company department. This ensures that your employees have a chance to mingle with various people in your organization and to do so in a different setting from the standard one.

Who do you train?One of the challenges of training is deciding who exactly do you train in your organization and when you train them. The answers are: a) everyone, and, b) all the time.

Let's begin at the top of the ladder: Your philosophy should be that every manager must be in the process of training his or her replacement. This may seem threatening to some, but it's the only way people within your organization can grow. How many times have you had a key employee quit, only to find that you have no one even close to being qualified to replace them? That is a direct reflection on your training program.

Nor can your sales force ever have enough training. In addition to training them in sales skills, make certain they are trained in the technical aspects of your business. In our industry, the most successful sales reps are the ones that have the technical expertise to "talk the talk." Your customers demand it—and if they don't get it from your sales rep, they will find someone else who does.

Establishing successful training programs at the management and sales levels will make it easier to get additional training programs off the ground and running. Remember, every employee at every level needs some training.

Manufacturing Improvement : Controll Your Customer Specification via Controll Chart

2008-09-22T09:42:00.007+08:00

Control Chart

Also called: statistical process control. Graphs used to study how a process changes over time.

Variations:

Different types of control charts can be used, depending upon the type of data. The two broadest groupings are for variable data and attribute data.

Variable data are measured on a continuous scale. For example: time, weight, distance or temperature can be measured in fractions or decimals. The possibility of measuring to greater precision defines variable data.

Attribute data are counted and cannot have fractions or decimals. Attribute data arise when you are determining only the presence or absence of something: success or failure, accept or reject, correct or not correct. For example, a report can have four errors or five errors, but it cannot have four and a half errors.

Variables charts

–X and R chart (also called averages and range chart)
–X and s chart
- chart of individuals (also called X chart, X-R chart, IX-MR chart, Xm R chart, moving range chart)
moving average

– moving range chart (also called MA–MR chart)
- target charts (also called difference charts, deviation charts and nominal charts)
- CUSUM (also called cumulative sum chart)
- EWMA (also called exponentially weighted moving average chart)
- multivariate chart (also called Hotelling T2)

Attributes charts

- p chart (also called proportion chart)
- np chart
- c chart (also called count chart)
- u chart
- Charts for either kind of data
- short run charts (also called stabilized charts or Z charts)
- group charts (also called multiple characteristic charts)

Description

The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time. Data are plotted in time order. A control chart always has a central line for the average, an upper line for the upper control limit and a lower line for the lower control limit. These lines are determined from historical data. By comparing current data to these lines, you can draw conclusions about whether the process variation is consistent (in control) or is unpredictable (out of control, affected by special causes of variation).

Control charts for variable data are used in pairs. The top chart monitors the average, or the centering of the distribution of data from the process. The bottom chart monitors the range, or the width of the distribution. If your data were shots in target practice, the average is where the shots are clustering, and the range is how tightly they are clustered. Control charts for attribute data are used singly.

When to Use

- When controlling ongoing processes by finding and correcting problems as they occur.
- When predicting the expected range of outcomes from a process.
- When determining whether a process is stable (in statistical control).
- When analyzing patterns of process variation from special causes (non-routine events) or common causes (built into the process).
- When determining whether your quality improvement project should aim to prevent specific problems or to make fundamental changes to the process.

Basic Procedure

1. Choose the appropriate control chart for your data.
2. Determine the appropriate time period for collecting and plotting data.
3. Collect data, construct your chart and analyze the data.
4. Look for “out-of-control signals” on the control chart. When one is identified, mark it on the chart and investigate the cause. Document how you investigated, what you learned, the cause and how it was corrected.

Out-of-control signals

- A single point outside the control limits. In Figure 1, point sixteen is above the UCL (upper control limit).
- Two out of three successive points are on the same side of the centerline and farther than 2 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 4 sends that signal.
- Four out of five successive points are on the same side of the centerline and farther than 1 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 11 sends that signal.
- A run of eight in a row are on the same side of the centerline. Or 10 out of 11, 12 out of 14 or 16 out of 20. In Figure 1, point 21 is eighth in a row above the centerline.
- Obvious consistent or persistent patterns that suggest something unusual about your data and your process.

Figure 1 Out-of-control signals

- Continue to plot data as they are generated. As each new data point is plotted, check for new out-of-control signals.
- When you start a new control chart, the process may be out of control. If so, the control limits calculated from the first 20 points are conditional limits. When you have at least 20 sequential points from a period when the process is operating in control, recalculate control limits.

Manufacturing Improvement : The Improtant Of Quality Manufacturing Thinking

2008-09-11T12:11:00.004+08:00

There is so many quality tools created since 'Quality' word was introduced by various field of quality founder. Day by day, the number of that tools will sure increase. By the way, as a manufacturing practicioner, we will not use all the tools. We may use some of the tools and will use it whenever we think that the tools can be implement.

Let we analyze one of the quality simple tools. Isikawa Diagram / Cause & Effect Diagram / Fish Bone Diagram. Basiclly, this quality tools is created to identify what is the potensional cause that may contribute to the effect of the product or services.

Its look simple but its really very usefull to manufacturing if we implemented it very well to all staff in all level.

Start on Sept 15, 2008, this blog will analyze basic 7 QC tools plus other tools that very usefull to manufacturing. We call it as "One day One Tools Programme".

Manufacturing Improvement : Improve Your Company Via SixSigma

2008-09-04T17:42:00.006+08:00

DEFINE

Define is the first phase in the DMAIC model. During the Define phase, the project’s definition is developed. The project’s definition includes the overall scope, objectives, and goals of the project. It also determines the project leader, team members, sponsor, stakeholders, and schedule.

During the Define phase, the process is also defined. This is accomplished utilizing various tools such as flow charts, process mapping, and SIPOC (Suppliers-Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers).
Teams are formed during the Define phase. Selecting team members is a critical part of the phase. It is important to determine stakeholders and select at least a portion of the team from this group.

The team leader is a critical roll in any six sigma project. It is the leader’s job to keep the team focused on the stated objective, scope, and goal. The team leader also sets the ground rules and ensures conflicts are minimized and resolved.

Many team members may need “Change Agent” training. Because most people fear change, it is critical for team members to have the ability to “influence change” in a positive manner.

The most commonly used tools in the Define phase include:

> Project Charter
> Flow Charts
> Process Mapping
> Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
> PERT Charts> Affinity Diagram
> Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
> Prioritization Matrix
> Gannt Charts
> Voice of the Customer (VOC)
> CT Trees (Critical to Quality, Critical to Schedule, etc)
> Pareto Charts
> Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY)
> Kano Model

MEASURE

Once the project has been Defined, the second phase of the DMAIC model is Measure .The Measure phase digs below the surface to develop a detailed understanding of the process. Process baselines and sources of opportunities and problems are identified.

To gain a deep understanding of the process, more detailed process level maps are developed. The process level map provides intricate detail of the activities and tasks. Input is gathered from operating employees regarding factors which are critical to quality (CTQ), critical to schedule (CTS), critical to cost (CTC) etc.

During the Measure phase, the factors causing problems are identified. We also determine the conditions and circumstances surrounding the occurrence of the problems, roadblocks, or bottlenecks.

There Measure phase is one of the most time consuming phases of the DMAIC model. It is important to do a thorough job in the Measure phase, as the subsequent phases depend on it.
Data collection is a critical part of the measurement phase. In order to determine the data to collect, the team must decide on the questions they are trying to answer. For example, “how long is the existing wait time?”, “what is the existing process speed at various temperatures?”

There are many tools used in the Measure phase. Some of the most common are:

> Probability and Statistics
> Data Collection
> Measurement Systems
> Process Level Flowcharts
> Process Level Mapping
> Histogram
> Stem and Leaf Plots
> Pareto Charts
> Cause and Effects Diagram and Matrix
> FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis)
> Control Charts
> Process Capability
> Gage R & R Studies
> Frequency Plots
> Confidence Intervals
> Process Sigma

ANALYZE

Once the process is measured and baselines developed, the Analyze phase begins. It is during the Analyze phase where the real problems and opportunities are identified. The previously believed theories and ideas are either confirmed or disproved.

During the measure phase, the conditions and circumstances surrounding problems are determined. The Analyze phase attempts to determine why they are occurring and what can be done to improve it.

The Analyze phase uses more detailed tools for process analysis, such as “root cause problem solving” (RCPS) tools. One example is the cause and effect diagram, often called the Ishikawa diagram.Once the root causes to problems and opportunities are identified, new solution ideas are developed that will be utilized in the Improve phase.

Six sigma has many tools for fully analyze the process to know what is happening, how and why it happens, and what might be done to improve the process.

Some of the most commonly used six sigma tools in the Analyze phase are:

> Brainstorming
> 5 Why’s
> Value Stream Mapping
> Control Charts (XBar & R, np, C, U, p)
> Scatter Plots> Regression Analysis
> Design of Experiments (DOE)
> Hypothesis Testing

IMPROVE

Improve is the fourth phase of the DMAIC model. After the process has been fully analyzed, it is time to improve it.The root causes and factors determined during the Analyze phas are now utilized to improve the process.During the Improve Phase, the solutions to problems and opportunities are developed, implemented, and evaluated.

There are many six sigma tools used in the Improve phase. Some of the most common are:

> Design of Experiments (DOE)
> Hypothesis Testing> Brainstorming
> Cause and Effect Diagram
> Box Whisker Charts
> Process Mapping
> Lean Manufacturing Tools:- Standardized Operations
- SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die)
- Value Stream Analysis
- Work Simplification
- Methods Improvement
- Error Proofing
- 5S

CONTROL

Solutions are implemented during the Improve phase. The Control phase is utilized to sustain the improvements obtained. Throughout the Control phase, it is common to obtain additional improvements as the new methods are embedded into the operating system.

Control charts are widely used in the Control phase of the DMAIC model. They are used to monitor the improved process and determine when “special causes” are presented.

Common tools utilized in the DMAIC model for Control:

> Control Charts : X Bar & R - I-MR- p- np- c- U- EWMA> Standard Work
> Visual Management
> Performance Management
> Process Mapping

Introduction To This Blog

2008-09-04T17:23:00.000+08:00

Hi All, i have intention to make this blog usefull to manufacturing sector. I would like to share my previous working experience in this sector to all of you, so at least all of you can get something usefull to apply in either in your study, working or in your daily life.

thanks, shafie