What's the best way to cut waste in manufacturing?

The first step is to understand the term 'Waste'. Only then can you think about how to reduce or eliminate them (the wastes).

Best way to cut waste in manufacturing are 1) Daily Gemba walks 2) Training the employees 3) Start with Value Stream approach to identify improvement areas. 4) VA and NVA analysis 5) Using Chalk Circle approach as defined by Taichii Ohno

Design for manufacturing is very useful , rather it must be part of the product development. This will help in making product in a faster manner without compromising on quality. At the same time it will help in assembling the product without any safety issue for the operator. Design for manufacturing should take into account practical limits of tolerance. Ignoring this and designing a product with super tight tolerance is possible in CAD,CAM but not possible practically. This is one aspect where production and Design team need to have 100% consensus.

One way would be to make sure that designers are close to and fully understand the manufacturing process, in fact let them spend time at the sharp end seeing where their products go. If they are remote and dealing with only with software then waste will be inevitable. Another way is to evaluate the design intent in terms of time i.e. how many parts how many fixings and what type of fixings…..give them a target to work too, never give them free range as all too often manufacturing have to bale them out.

Waste management starts from selecting right material and process for right product. For example using higher quality of stainless steel when it is not actually required is also waste. In an assembly part, for every extra single screw, someone needs to drill and someone has to screw with right torque. Softwares may help engineering teams to reach optimal design and waste but crucial part is having skilled people with proper fundamental manufacturing training and experience.

The equalization of production volume must be accompanied by the composition of the production mix and stocks availability. The alignment between business, supply chain and production team is essential to ensure that the volumes produced are adequate and do not generate unnecessary stocks. Current ERPs can use predictive tools to suggest sequences and production volumes, but it is necessary that they are adequately parameterized to provide meaningful information.

Production planning is also crucial for reducing amount of setups in production. Every setup requires certain amount of time and even with Smed studies, it is not possible to remove it completely. Especially in low batch-high variation cases production scheduling has a big influence on productivity and wastes.

The first step is to analyze if you will be using a push or pull delivery system, e.g. will you produce based on forecasts or actual orders?

Firstly, the project has to be born with the dimension of the waste it will generate and, already design it with materials to mitigate it.

Proper production planning ensures that resources are used efficiently, minimizing excess inventory, reducing lead times, and optimizing the use of materials and labor. By forecasting demand accurately and scheduling production runs strategically, you can eliminate bottlenecks and avoid overproduction. This not only cuts waste but also improves overall productivity, leading to a more sustainable and profitable operation.

In summary: 1 - Know what is waste. 2 - Practice waste recognition (at the beginning under an experienced mentor, coach, sensei) 3 - Application of waste elimination approaches (see TPS tools). 4 - be aware that some wastes need to be standardized and then continuously improved. (Inventory, Movement and Transport) The other 4 kind of wastes (Overproduction, Waiting, Defects and over-processing) need to be eliminated as much as possible. 5 - Apply the TPS tools and learn together with the employees to continually improve the application. 2 to 5 is a continuous cycle!

Improve, don’t “optimize”! An optimal process is, by definition, one that cannot be further improved. Optimization leads to a full stop. Once “we’ve already optimized this,” there is nothing further that can be done about it. On the other hand, the next step after an improvement is another improvement. If you approach manufacturing with the improvement mindset, you find that there is no such thing as a factory that cannot be improved, in the sense that some dimensions of its performance can be enhanced without making any other dimension worse. https://michelbaudin.com/2011/03/03/a-factory-can-always-be-improved/

Many companies look for software to optimize various aspects of their manufacturing workflow. By cherry picking software for each aspect, they often miss the BIGGER picture. Our most successful customers say they look for software products designed to work together to accomplish (4) critical goals: 1.) streamline manufacturing workflow, 2.) optimize machining, 3.) capture employee knowledge (safeguard losing it through attrition and retirements), 4.) provide automation to improve throughput and reduce human error. These top manufacturers say that choosing software products that work together builds more than a "digital thread"- it creates a "digital blanket" that improves as many aspects of their manufacturing process as possible.

Delphi's Supplier Lean College was the best training I ever attended. Most importantly, you treated your suppliers as partners, helping them eliminate waste and improve productivity, inevitably reducing waste and cost.

I'm going to think out of box , everybody says the wastes can be removed by application of lean manufacturing and six sigma or combination of them in the company, to me, the main drive to all type of wastes are underperformers within the business in all levels from workers to senior managements who does not have the right mind set or skill set .

Reducing waste in manufacturing involves several strategies: 1. Lean Manufacturing: Implement lean principles to minimize overproduction, reduce inventory, and optimize processes. 2. Continuous Improvement: Encourage a culture of continuous improvement to identify and eliminate sources of waste. 3. Waste Segregation: 4. Supplier Collaboration: Work closely with suppliers to minimize over-ordering and excess materials. 5. Energy Efficiency: Invest in energy-efficient equipment and processes to reduce energy waste. 6. Quality Control 7. Inventory Management: 8. Employee Training: 9. Sustainable Materials: 10. Data Analytics: Remember, waste reduction is an ongoing process that requires commitment from all levels of the organization.

Our main focus to cut down wate should be to reduce over utilisation of resources like processing, transportation,motion, inventory, overproduction , detects etc..in short "TIMWOOD" we have to practice and implement lean concepts and reduce NVA in every activity u do.

with my experience of running efficient operations, start with low hanging fruits , walk through the plant with manuf. team ,identify the waste & assign responsibility with review mechanism. Build team of shop floor engineers to look at breakthrough initiatives in waste reduction Involve associates in improvement activities with recognition system in place. Create slogans & awareness across plant & set targets thru team involvement ! Display the initiatives & their outcome on day today basis & put of pics of employees who deserve recognition

Examine each and every processes in as minute detail as possible and continuously improve them. Make it a system with everyone in the co. Waste will reduce.

All these are great expectations but to simplify it’s all about eliminating waste to reduce costs, increase throughput and adding value to the customer.

This topic brings out so many variables that you’ll encounter when you start analyzing the data. How do you minimize fluctuations in the process. Collecting data directs you to analyze processes which are trending outside of your upper or lower control limits. At least the trends reflect changes which should raise a flag. Whether it is a productivity issue or quality concern this needs to be reviewed before you end up with a Customer complaint.

Having worked as an operations engineer in a pharmaceutical manufacturing setting, I like to start with the batch record. This includes the start and end times of the lot. I check if we kept pace to finish as expected. If not, I identify where we lost the most time and prioritize corrective actions accordingly. Another area I examine is the consumption of materials. I evaluate the yield to see if it met expectations. If it did not, I determine the corrective actions needed, prioritizing based on the highest cost losses. Additionally, I review secondary components. If the downstream packaging line isn't efficient, it will be evident through signs of consumption of labels, cartons and shippers.

This topic is crucial as the topic lead us to important points which, are we sure that we’re collecting our data accurate and correct? ,Does data among all departments matched ? , Do we have all data required and to which global benchmark ,that will give us the required out put to build our decisions precisely? If Yes, then do SPC and analyze the waste frequencies ,root causes , …etc then plan for your corrective and preventative actions. If No, so you need to improve reporting , data collecting , people training , visual management , technology like 4.0 if budget allow and other AI tools to make sure that data collection is accurate , correct and enough

Risk and Mitigation analysis, Gemba Andons, SPC is such tool giving visual alaram to improve the process. Process capability CP and CPK is vital role measure the process Performance,

Daily meetings on the gemba reviewing issues, improvement efforts, validation, and evolution of standard work. Have an escalation process tied to takt time so issues get the attention needed and are permanently resolved. "Constant pursuit of perfection".

A team comprising group of : 1.Highly experience people who are working as process operators and process owners 2. Team of supportive management to engage in continuous improvement and 3. Leadership to drive quality culture, can definitely drive organization to LEARN AND INNOVATE to achieve targets for : 1. MUDA -Waste 2. MURA- Unevenness 3. MURI -Overburden .

When reviewing methods, processes and equipment that reduce waste, don’t be afraid to revisit ideas or technologies you may have looked at previously. Technology develops fast. So systems or equipment that may not have been a good fit a while ago, perhaps because they didn’t have the features, functions or flexibility you required, might now be a feasible option.

Keep this is mind - if you aren't improving, your competitors are and will replace you! Innovation combined with motivation is unstoppable. It's imperative that we are constantly evolving and improving our processes, products and services. To do this you have to have a concerted effort - improvement doesn't happen by chance, it happens by directed effort. Use your existing data to draw assumptions/conclusions - establish realistic but stretch goals for the process/organization and monitor performance. When performance isn't meeting expectation - start looking at why and what you can do to improve it. It might not happen over night - but eventually you will find the right combination to make your business successful - just don't stop!

Don't be afraid to be a leader and innovate. Machine learning and error-proofing systems can provide much to a well run plant

Looking at the legacy systems out there for many different different industries, they do not include a "chatter" function. Constant communication and a knowledge database that builds with the company can help new hires to not repeat historical mistakes.

I might be best to train the employees on what waste is ...then ask for their help and input. They know the issues more than we do. Waste is the fault of Management. Not the employees.

Hit the products or processes that will have the biggest impact on the bottom line first. There is only so much time and money available to tackle waste. At one company I had been asked to reduce waste on a $30 product that had about 30% scrap (these are rough numbers), but they only made a few hundred per year. Instead, I chose to concentrate on a $10 product that had a scrap rate of 5%, but made 50,000 or so units per year. Concentrating on the less glaring scrap percentage saved considerably more than if I had spent all my time and resources on the more glaring product. Look at the whole picture to see where to concentrate effort. It might not be the most obvious place. Also look for quick fixes having small impacts that add up quickly.

Sometimes, when you’re looking at your own processes, your familiarity with what you do means you might overlook something that an outsider, or someone who is less familiar with your process, might notice. So it can help to get a fresh pair of eyes every now and then to take a look at your systems. It doesn’t have to be a consultant or someone from outside your business (although using someone with a decent level of knowledge and experience of your industry or sector is often a good idea). It can simply be a colleague from a different department or even a new starter. While they are trying to learn and get an understanding of your systems or processes, they’ll often ask questions or point out things that will give you food for thought.

Never accept mediocrity or variation from your equipment, people, or raw materials. The best always costs a little more however consistency pays huge dividends. Never stop pressing for tighter conformity from everything.

We should check our Shop floor level people maturity in waste understanding. Wastes can't be reduced if someone doesn't know what is waste & how to identify them. The real implementation of this approach happens when we educate our Shopfloor team on it. Take a simple example: The operator is working in a paint process. Let's say on a b surface smooth finishing is not required. When they don't know the waste meaning, He/she thinks that when they do a smooth painting on both sides then they think they are sending great quality products. But here over processing is happening. In this case when we educate them that with B surface paintings we are spending so & so cost for each part. Then just imagine for thousands of parts for a month/year.