A few small cases to see through the essence of foolproofing, standardization, 5S, and just-in-time production!

Lean production is easy to talk about but difficult to implement. The practice of lean requires learning and applying useful tools and methods under the guidance of lean thinking, principles, and guidelines, such as Industrial Engineering (IE), value stream mapping analysis, flexible production line establishment, reducing setup time, pull-based continuous "one-piece flow" production, 5S, QC tools, statistical quality control, poka-yoke techniques, TPM, and so on.

Classic Lean Production Improvement Case Sharing

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01 . 
Automation and Poka-Yoke
A Small Improvement with a Big Effect

The biggest trick to zero defects: by tapping into human wisdom, find methods that even a "fool" can do correctly, reducing quality dependence on people.

1. There was an electronics manufacturing company where, during equipment assembly, the large number of screws to be installed often caused operators to forget some, leading to defects.

Later, the company considered this from a lean production perspective to reduce human factors. They specially designed a robotic arm with a magnet at the end.

If this part requires 5 screws, the robotic arm automatically picks up 5 screws; if 16 screws are needed, it automatically picks up 16 screws.

Operators only need to check if there are any screws left on the robotic arm. This reduces the occurrence of quality defects.

2. Another factory producing copiers had a small fan inside the copier that was very important. If installed incorrectly, it would cause mechanical damage.

However, because it was an assembly line operation, operators could make mistakes due to fatigue, forgetfulness, and other reasons. Supervisors required operators to check after installation by feeling and testing the airflow direction.

But producing thousands of copiers daily, operators might get confused about whether there was airflow or not, and incorrect installation still occurred.

Later, by tapping into employee potential, they installed a small windmill next to the copier. If installed correctly, there would be airflow causing the windmill to spin. If the windmill spins, the installation is correct; otherwise, it is wrong.
This greatly improved the pass rate of the company's copiers.

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02 . 
Standardization and Simplification

Before improvement: The outbound picking and packing team leader had no standardized management norms for daily management, and key control points in daily management were overlooked, which was unfavorable for team growth.

After improvement: Established standardized time-segmented control standards for team leaders, standardized daily management tasks to ensure controlled management, and improved team leaders' management capabilities.

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03 . 
How to Strengthen Management
Visual Improvement

A company had an open-plan large office with 200 people working together. Due to inadequate management, lights and air conditioning were often left on.

Recently, company executives became aware of this and instructed the administration department to strengthen management and resolve the issue quickly.

The administration department tried many methods, such as implementing policies, turning off lights when leaving, security checks, leadership duty inspections, penalties, and announcements.

Initially, these had some effect, but over time, due to lack of supervision, the old problems continued, and policy enforcement was poor.

This is an unconscious error; management is important, but employees' self-management is even more important.

The company came up with a good idea: they designed a cartoon image on the company door that pops up when the door is locked, asking "Did you turn off the lights?".

Through this humanized management and reminder, the phenomenon of forgetting to turn off lights and air conditioning was finally eliminated.

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04 . 
IE & 5S Management Tool Application

A key elevator component manufacturer had poor product quality and frequent late deliveries due to various internal reasons, resulting in poor factory reputation.

1) First, implement "5S"—Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain.

In a dirty, messy, and poor environment, many problems are hard to expose, and people's spirits tend to be depressed.

Therefore, they started with 5S management, emphasizing persistence. They established corresponding rules and regulations, conducted weekly evaluations by workshop and department, posted annual evaluation results on a blackboard at the main entrance, marked green circles for passing, yellow for warnings, red for failing. Three consecutive failures would result in dismissal of the workshop director or functional department head.

2) Emphasize I.E. personnel

① Product process design led by I.E. engineers, considering cost reduction in equipment selection, processing methods, and tool choices.

② I.E. engineers develop equipment maintenance plans, specify daily self-inspection items, conduct irregular checks on execution and equipment operation, and record all results. Operators are also required to handle minor issues themselves.

③ According to product production processes, machine tools are arranged in U-shaped or L-shaped layouts to ensure "one-piece flow" production and reduce logistics.

④ Implement pull-based zero inventory production, changing the previous mindset of valuing both output and profit to focusing only on profit. Production is pull-based according to sales orders, producing only the required quantity daily.

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05 . 
Just-in-Time Production Method

An automotive parts manufacturer introduced advanced management models along with new products, but due to untimely management, production was passive, resulting in poor product quality and unsatisfactory benefits.

1. Adopt a "pull" production organization method, changing from "push" to "pull" production, organizing production based on market demand.

2. Implement "one operator multiple machines" operation. Arrange production equipment in a U-shape, allowing one operator to handle multiple machines, greatly improving labor productivity.

3. Fixed tool placement and collection, enforced tool change for precision tools, and tracking management.

4. "Three-for" On-site Management. Emphasizes the update of concepts, focusing on the production site, with production workers as the main body, and the workshop director as the leader of the "Three-for" management system. All rear departments revolve around just-in-time production services, enabling continuous creation of added value in production;