You're struggling with inventory waste in manufacturing. How can you empower your employees to take charge?

Understanding the Problem: Inventory waste can be a significant drain on manufacturing resources. It can lead to increased costs, decreased efficiency, and reduced customer satisfaction. To combat this issue, empowering employees to take ownership of inventory management is crucial. Train and educate employees, adopt lean principles, engage in continuous improvement.

A cria??o de estoques controlados ou n?o tem muito fatores e motivos como: demanda puxada ou empurrada, capacidade de máquina, desbalanceado operacional, acredito que o foco aí é no método a início

Empowering employees to take charge of inventory waste starts with education and involvement. Train them on the importance of inventory management and waste reduction, making it clear how these efforts contribute to overall efficiency and profitability. Implement a feedback system where employees can suggest improvements and recognize those who identify waste-reduction opportunities. Encourage a culture of accountability by setting clear targets and providing the necessary tools and data for monitoring. Regularly review progress in team meetings, celebrate wins, and continuously reinforce the value of their contributions to maintaining optimal inventory levels.

Lo primero que debemos entrenar son nuestros ojos. Cuando las situaciones se repiten, se transforman en normales. Ver desperdicios a lo largo de las líneas de producción es parte del paisaje diario y las personas dejamos de prestar atención. Por lo tanto, lo primero que debemos hacer es identificar el desperdicio, para luego poder tomar acciones sobre el mismo. Las práctica de las 5S es una forma completa de entrenar a las personas para la identificación, minimización y/o eliminación del desperdicio de forma proactiva.

To empower employees to take charge of inventory waste in manufacturing, involve them in decision-making, provide training and tools for analysis, and create a culture of continuous improvement.

Lean thinking plays a crucial role in uniting cross-functional teams by emphasizing value creation with minimal waste. Engaging your employees is key — start by fostering an environment where everyone feels heard and valued. Encourage open communication by regularly asking: What challenges are we facing? What actions can we take to improve? What skills do we need to develop? By involving employees in problem-solving and decision-making, you create a sense of ownership and commitment. Cultivate these practices to implement Lean effectively and lead with confidence!

The people who work daily in a problematic area are the best source of valuable information. Allowing employees to have a voice and feel comfortable to express their thoughts about where they see the bottleneck, any possible root cause and their thoughts towards a solution. Ask and include the people who face the problem on a regular basis as they are most knowledgeable on the history of the situation. Include their ideas as possible solutions. Not only will you tackle the issue, but you'll be building an environment of teamwork, empowerment and the knowledge that they are a valuable asset.

Gemba! El buzón de sugerencias es una muy buena herramienta para la generación de ideas, pero es una forma abstracta. Las reuniones periódicas son mucho más personalizadas, pero suelen tratar temas críticos. Para vencer las barreras jerárquicas e invitar a las personas a que expongan sus ideas, lo mejor es salir a caminar la planta y conversar con la gente. Preguntar si todo va bien y si podemos ayudar en algo. Esto en la filosofía Lean Manufacturing se llama Gemba. Por supuesto, no se trata solo de escuchar, luego hay que tomar acciones sobre las necesidades planteadas o explicar por qué no se llevará adelante la sugerencia.

One way to do this is to link waste to KPIs. You need to make people aware of the importance of waste, and define it even for people that are not in warehousing or sourcing. The moment that waste has a personal impact, they’ll think more critically about their own output. This will immediately affect overall outcomes. Changing the KPIs should always go hand in hand with additional training so that employees understand how to identify and minimise waste and with that, can actively improve their KPI performance.

Yes, real time metrics, such as inventory turnover, dead stock analysis, etc helps to identify which material stock is lying idle for along time, which material stocks are moving fast, etc . Understanding these metrics and taking suitable action plan helps in streamlining the process

Yes, continous improvement is a must . Improvements in ERP system should be made so that requisitions get generated with the right stock qty at the right time , which leads to procurement and production accordingly, thereby reducing waste and making the process faster and streamlined.