Category Archives: Lean Manufacturing

Lean Bloodletting

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You can find books to support almost any belief

It is easy to caught in the trap of hanging onto outdated beliefs. For this post I happen to choose bloodletting as the example because most people recognize that it has no or very little value. However it was the accepted good practice for over 2000 years. Adding a “lean” label to the practice of bloodletting does not change its usefulness. I also hope that the conspiracy theory people do not pick up on this post and attempt a revival of bloodletting.

Conspiracy theory proponents are not the only ones who can be confused by labels. The lean movement started as a strategy for adding more customers and sales volume in the most cost efficient manner. Within the original MVP (minimum viable product) concept is the word viable. To qualify as being lean, viability is required. Labeling other systems as lean that do not enforce viability can cause pitfalls. They fall into a few categories

a) Company liquidation systems (cost cutting)

b) Quality engineering abdication systems

c) Shortcut scientific method systems using only 4 of 6 steps

From Wikipedia

Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluids were regarded as “humours” that had to remain in proper balance to maintain health. It is claimed to have been the most common medical practice performed by surgeons from antiquity until the late 19th century, a span of over 2,000 years.[1] In Europe the practice continued to be relatively common until the end of the 18th century.[2] The practice has now been abandoned by modern-style medicine for all except a few very specific medical conditions.[3] It is conceivable that historically, in the absence of other treatments for hypertension, bloodletting sometimes had a beneficial effect in temporarily reducing blood pressure by reducing blood volume.[4] However, since hypertension is very often asymptomatic and thus not diagnosable without modern methods, this effect was unintentional. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the historical use of bloodletting was harmful to patients.[5]

Versatility

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swiss army knife

Versatility
adverb
Capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.

Ah yes, memories of my Boy Scout days. The Swiss army knife. The pinnacle of versalite pocket tools. Status symbol of senior scouts. Yes, the standard issue Boy Scout knife had some versatile implements. but not like the Swiss army knife. Heck, some of them included a fork and spoon. I did not know at the time that I was being shown how to value assets. Tools become assets when you have what you need at the right time. Combining options into a versatile package increases the likelihood of that package becoming an asset

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abandoned phone booths

Phone booths used to be a valued asset of the phone company. Heck, they were a machine for collecting lots of quarters. However the season changes. Now that we have all gotten used to the versatility of our cell phones, a single purpose piece of equipment like a phone booth is left out in the weather to rot. OK, one got repurposed as a time machine and some others as superhero change rooms. Since it wasn’t our money that was invested, we just brush them off in the buggy whip category. Yes, there used to be buggy whip manufacturers

Pack Mule


Closer to home, a customer of my current major client chose our product because it is versatile. They did not have to choose between buying a personnel carrier or a tow vehicle. As a matter of fact they bought the bolt on tow hitches at the beginning. In this time of chaos it is comforting to know that the money invested in a vehicle can serve either need. Even if we do not know our needs three years out.

Self Imposed Limitations

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We all enthusiastically adopted hair dryers when they were introduced. The early version were 1200 and 1500 watt. The manufacturers of the time self imposed this maximum power. They collectively believed that a 110VAC outlet in a typical North American home could only deliver this amount of power. The market has progressed past this self imposed limitation. I was looking at the 1875 watt dryer that my wife stores on the bathroom counter. I reflected that it seems ages ago that we dried our hair at the slow rate of a 1200 watt hair dryer. On the other hand, it could be argued that the relentless conversion of fuses to circuit breakers has reduced the inconvenience associated with overloading a plug and blowing a fuse.

Other good examples of self imposed limitation is the 4 minute mile. When Roger Bannister determined how to run a four minute mile, he accomplished the feat against a background of all the other suitably conditioned athletes believing it was impossible. A good example of a self imposed limitation. Today most top runners break the 4 minute barrier in competitions. They are unaware of the historic self imposed limitation. It is easy to identify self imposed limitations after they are exposed.
Discussing self imposed limitations is more useful when the participating parties realize that it is possible to obtain greater benefits by abandoning them. Inventors and start-up companies run into this artificial barrier all the time. Amid my current projects is a new technology battery that is designed to be rapidly charged. The stodgy users have to be taught that they can charge this battery when ever it is near a 110VAC outlet. It is no longer necessary to wait unit the battery is completely discharged to restore some charge (a self imposed limitation) Harder to understand is a reluctance on the part of the engineers who design the charging system to switch gears. They insist on retaining a self imposed limitation. The charger design engineers need to be taught that a short (opportunity) battery charging higher output burst will not overheat the charger. This improvement only occurs by abandoning the self imposed limitation, Yes the charger can deliver a short duration burst of amperage which is greater than the amount it can continuously deliver over a long period. Just like the the hair dryer manufactures, battery charger manufacturers eventually will adopt enhanced opportunity charging performance. It will take a “Roger Bannister” to see beyond the self imposed barrier blocking higher power outputs

The Horizontal Movement

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E-commerce Goods Order Packer (2 to 3 Positions Available-Immediate Need!)

Job Summary
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically outlined in this job description.
Selected Candidates will be called to arrange an initial interview. First interview will be informal & give you an opportunity to tour the Shipping Department & manufacturing facility, ask questions to the Shipping Supervisor & allow us to ask questions pertaining to you & the position available. Our desire is to find sufficiently tall associates. If an offer is made after the first interview, a second interview to discuss Pay, Benefits, Bonuses, Training, etc. will be arranged. A Criminal Background Check & Drug Screening will be required to be considered for this position. A Basic Mathematics & Arithmetic Skill Test and/or Driving Record Check may also be required. Two positions are available for immediate fill & we ask for Candidates to consider this before applying. We would want you to start within one week & not to exceed two weeks following an offer being made & all Background, Drug Screening & other testing completed satisfactory.
JOB TITLE
E-commerce Goods Order Packer
DEPARTMENT & HOURS/WEEK
Shipping / 40hrs+
Primary Function (Overall Purpose of your Position)
Count, consolidate & package incoming finished goods from the various productions centers into outgoing customer orders and/or into inventory going to the warehouse for future customer orders.
Educational Qualifications
High School Diploma or equivalent GED
Job Qualifications
Must be able to physically lift up to 55lbs. unassisted.
Must be able to stand & walk for extended periods of time.
Must be able to perform basic mathematic calculations.
Must have basic knowledge of computer navigation.
Must be able to gather and place items on top shel of racking
PPE Qualifications
Steel Toed Shoes (required on day one of employment)
Safety Glasses
List of Specific Functions (Must be performed in order to fulfill the purpose of your position described above)
Must be able to follow safety guidelines & policies, knowing physical limitations & the hazards of the environment.
Must be able to walk on floors designed for normal 100 lb per square foot loading
Must be able to read & follow instructions given by Order Pick Lists.
Must be able to take direction from Shipping Team Leader & Traffic Control Clerk.
Must be able to work as a team member with co-workers & assist as needed.
Must be able to accurately count parts for outgoing shipments & internal inventory.
Must be able to pack material safely & securely to assure safe shipment to our customers.
Must be able to work occasional, unscheduled overtime in order to complete daily shipping requirements.
Must be able to show up for work daily, on time, with a good attitude.
Must be able to understand, accept & follow quality & other company policies.
Must be able to maintain department housekeeping standards & keep work area clean.
Must be able to safely load customer orders onto outgoing carriers or company trucks & unload incoming material from vendors.
Accept & complete all other duties as assigned.

You have seen the ads. We are looking for motivated tall e commerce pick and pack workers willing to work for minimum wage. It is a good thing that the NBA retires basketball players with many working years left. Or out of science fiction fantasy, this is a genetic engineering conspiracy theory, We are trying to breed 20 ft tall skinny workers that are dumb enough to work for minimum wage. What is really occurring is that a shift in the marketplace toward e-commerce is obsoleting a warehouse designed to store and ship full skids of material. It is less efficient to bring down a skid to collect one part for shipment. This is true even if you already own a fancy lift that can lift. pivot, and stuff
The real estate in a warehouse that is at worker height is like ocean front property. It is in high demand. This is why companies like Amazon build warehouses with lower ceiling height. They find that it is more productive to put their facility dollars into larger footprints and less of their dollars into rebar reinforced concrete floors that high lift fork trucks require. The legacy owners of tall warehouses find that the top shelves of their warehouses are a less efficient match to e-commerce. IKEA is going through that pain now. They keep hoping that tall workers or “My Favorite Martians” will solve the issue of picking eaches from the top shelves.
Competitors to IKEA like HON have adopted the goods to man (Kiva/ Amazon) approach. Portable shelving racks move goods around the facility in Japanese KANBAN fashion. This approach is spreading and is guiding the new product production systems for horizontal material handling equipment builders like Wesley International {Pack Mule)

Disconnect

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There is a disconnect between the virtual and real world[/caption]
As an technology leader I am attracted to the bright colors in the emerging virtual world. The hum drum real world seems so stodgy dull and grey. Especially in the winter. It is easy to get sucked into the easy to understand simplifications needed to make virtual reality possible. However bright and colorful the food looks in the virtual world it has no smell or taste and my stomach still growls with hunger pangs.
Computerized finite element stress analysis is a really powerful engineering tool. It is very helpful to know the effects of changes in part shape without going to the time and expense of building and testing actual components. In today’s rapid paced business environment the time saving that is possible is necessary to bring products to market before they are obsolete. I am currently using the technique to evolve a vehicle rear suspension into a version that will carry twice as much load
There is a difference between opinioneering and engineering. I think it is going to work is more risky than I performed a representative test and it passed. However much that I like virtual testing like finite element, the purchasers of my vehicles want them to work in more than the virtual world. Fortunately my latest test vehicle did not require the camouflage paint used for automotive test vehicles. In the automotive world, creative paint jobs hide the new model styling from the press. In most cases even a rigorous test program is not enough. I remember an automotive rear suspension frame like I am currently designing that did not show its weakness until some actual vehicles were out on the road. A panic stop while traveling in reverse buckled the rear axle under the vehicle. Not funny when this occurs after the frame was production tooled.
Agile product development addresses some of this issue. In agile fashion, we accelerated placing our new generation of rear suspension arm in actual customer use much earlier in the launch process. This adds a reality check to the computer assisted design and testing.

1000 to Flight

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putting 1000 to flight


We live in a world where the investors want instant gratification. This translates into pressure upon company managers to achieve results quickly. The longer term managers quickly discover that this speed of results is only accomplished by players who can put 1000 to flight. As the investors want ever faster results, exhorting the team results in 1250 put to flight but it is the player who could put 1000 to flight that achieved the increase. This approach to increased results only works in the short term. Sooner or later the team no longer has a player who can put 1000 to flight. Even if they don’t jump ship to earn more per hour in fast food, the stress causes the most loyal to die of a heart attack. The current exodus at Tesla is a classic example.
Managers trying to run companies that became void of players who could put 1000 to flight looked off shore. Heck, places like India even speak English! At the turn of the century the economic climate in India was right to add this caliber of player to a remote team. At the same time, the completion of a undersea web of communication fiber optics made world wide teleworking possible

Nano set the standard for cost efficiency


In my vehicle design field. The team of Indian engineers that successfully created the TATA Nano at a profitable $7000 selling price, would put to flight any of the 1000 or so vehicle design engineers that I know. The first managers who used this off shore teleworking strategy must have been ecstatic. Their success set off a gold rush. By the time one of my client companies jumped on the band wagon the bonanza was over. We did not understand how an engineering company with over 100 engineers could be so inept. It was revealed later that diploma mills were granting worthless credentials by turning a blind eye to the wide spread practice of hiring surrogates to take the engineering exams
The challenge of finding exceptional team players still remains. Companies with deep pockets like Google can acquire promising talent before the player has demonstrated an ability to put 1000 to flight. This is like finding a diamond in the rough.

a diamond in the rough


Only a percentage of the promising “diamonds in the rough” that are obtained will turn into the shining gems that succeed in putting 1000 to flight. Most companies do not have the deep pockets needed to accomplish a sorting task like that. As the baby boomers retire, it is possible to add a proven seasoned player back onto the company team. Yes, they may only agree to work part time, but, if you have two such players on the task, the bible points out that 10,000 will be put to flight.

Economy of Scale

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The same bottle holds many variations

In this era of mass customization, it is still possible to take picture of an army of similar product marching to market. In the selected picture you cannot see the label. You do not realize that many variations have proliferated, until you try to find your favorite formulation by searching among the ranks of less popular flavors remaining on the store shelves. Mass customization still has its economic limitations. You can have a wider variety of bottle contents but an economical packaging line needs a common bottle shape.
Old ways of looking at manufacturing still cling on. I know of many vehicle part suppliers who are still looking for a 300,000 part per year job with a 5 year lifespan to bid on. On the other side of the table is the OEM manufacturers who cannot find suppliers to build the multi- flavored parts for their 30,000 per year models at the high volume price they expect. The challenge is still capital investment. The historic production equipment concepts that were optimized to produce identical parts at rapid rate. just don’t match the current market demand. This viewpoint puts all of the foot dragging on the part supplier side. The OEM manufactures who wish to purchase competitively price parts, must also tune their designs to minimize the cost of tooling the new generation. This is especially true in an era where the marketplace is demanding a radially different product. Massive amounts of capital investment are needed to create radically different product.
Tesla is the #1 value US car company using market capitalization as the measure. This investor assessment has occurred even though the model S sells at an estimated $4000 per vehicle loss even at its high price. I am not surprised. In my small world, they asked if I knew of a supplier who could sell them a sand cast gear case at a cost that would apply to a high volume case. Could not help them. A high volume low cost gear case has a different design that requires retesting. The real test is whether they can pull off a high volume model at mass market pricing.
No, the correct solution to this problem does not involve moving production to Asia. A subsidized selling price, as a ruse to steal your manufacturing technology, is a very short sighted solution. The savvy planners take advantage of the programmed flexibility within the new generation of manufacturing equipment. Segeo Shingo asserted when he explained his SMED (Single Miniute Exchange of Die) concept. “You will not be tempted to build inventory if you can change from manufacturing one flavor to the next in less than a minute” As I began this post talking about our historical bias, we all picture swapping massive stamping dies in and out of a press. The reality as it exist in the new vehicle parts that I am launching, involves program swaps in the computer controlled 3D printers and welding robots. Yes, SMED applies. The production equipment switches from one part flavor to the next in less than a minute. It is now a software swap instead of a 30 ton die swap. The vehicle design and business plan must evolve to match. It is only possible to invest in the new generation of production equipment if multiple part volume is bundled into packages that represent enough sales volume to fund the purchase of equipment that flexibly makes them all.

Hall Effect

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Aurora lights show the magnetism that surrounds us

Magnetism remained mostly a mystery until the modern centuries. Unlike lightning that can’t be missed, especially if the strike is close by, Magnetism in nature only shows in the aurora and magnetic compasses. Edwin Hall experimented at the end of the 18th century and discovered that a magnetic field could change the path of charged particles. The aurora is a vivid example of the earth’s magnetic field changing the path of charged particles streaming from the sun. This discovery remained a scientific curiosity until the advent of semiconductor electronics made it possible to put the discovery into use.
The gasoline powered automobile was an out-growth of the steam engines of the time. It was not surprising that the earliest automobiles had very primitive electrical devices. The model T used a spark coil with a buzzer to sent ignition pulses to the spark plugs. The driver was tasked with also operating a lever on the steering wheel to select the required spark advance. Certainly not the user invisible electronic spark advance built into just about every car in use today. Replacing the electric “points” in this design of ignition was part of the regular tune up that all cars prior to 1978 required. A magnetically coupled hall effect sensor was the answer. The magnetic field within the sensor can penetrate through a water and air-tight barrier around the electronics. This tight barrier separated the electronics from the corrosive outside environment. Cars no longer required regular replacement of “points” and the corner gas station garage became a convenience store.
A reliable sensor was only one part of the total solution. Smarter computer programs were also invented to work with the sensor and used to insure that the spark plugs only fired under the correct conditions. The computer programs that run the ignition from the hall effect sensors input have become very smart. The programs accomplish everything from backfire prevention, emission reduction, fuel economy improvement, and smooth gear shifting.
Electric vehicles have been around for a long time. In the early days of the automobile
Electric cars like the Detroit brand shown vied with gasoline powered vehicles. Their problem with battery life and weight is only being solved currently. Other reliability spoilers such as rheostat and potentiometer controls were also a part of the design. They were not noticed because of the major unreliability of gasoline powered cars at the time. Now that electric vehicles have caught the public fancy, one of my current engineering tasks is replacing wear-prone potentiometers with hall effect sensors. The buying public has come to expect components that last the life of the vehicle. Again a reliable sensor by itself is not enough. Computer intelligence is married with the hall effect sensors to insure safe and predictable vehicle operation

A Dual Hall Effect Pedal replaces wear prone switches and potentiometers with
magnetically coupled precise control

Liquidation

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Ice melts all by itself

Ice melts all by itself


“The members will kindly refrain from picking up “lost” golf balls until they stop rolling.” This sign was spotted at a golf club. In the industrial arena, a similar sign could be erected – “The cost saving teams will kindly refrain from throwing out “unused” tools and equipment until the production workers quit using them.” We all realize that the cost saving pendulum has swung too far. What started out as a targeted focus on JIT snowballed into hoards of hastily trained teams introducing havoc throughout the enterprise. This got combined with a stock market appetite for instant cash returns.
PLC (programmable logic controller)

PLC (programmable logic controller)


One of my close business associates was relating an illustrative story. He had just completed replacing the brand new PLC (Programmable Logic Control) in the piece of equipment he was commissioning with another brand. It turns out that this historic leader in the European PLC manufacturing industry had succumbed to the chain of cost cutting measures that they had implemented. After they had outsourced manufacturing, outsourcing product design and programming followed. A few rounds of supplier price claw backs convinced their contract manufacturer to release a competitive product of their own. Switching to a cheaper contract manufacturer nailed the coffin. A PLC control product designed in the last century is no longer capable of controlling the latest generation of equipment.
liqcandle“The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles.” Oren Harari
The survivors will emerge following the methodology of the start-up community. Start-up founders realize that you cannot foment a disruption by implementing a tiny improvement on the status quo. They discovered that cost is still every bit as important to business success. More importantly, a lack of accumulated resources taught them that it is more lean to begin by determining the minimum amount of resources needed to satisfy the customer. If you start at the lowest cost process, there is no need to risk liquidating the company by implementing the latest cost saving fad.

Test Drive

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Car on test track

Car on test track

As a mechanical engineer my focus is usually on mechanical devices. It is necessary
to remind myself that a test drive is usually needed to discover how the rest of the population reacts to those same devices. Surprise! Surprise! most people are not naturally mechanically inclined. This becomes obvious when the general public participates in test drives. The software industry discovered the same truth. Beta testing with real users is the way they arrange test drives. High powered artificial intelligence built into programs is of little use if you cannot get the friggin! computer to turn on.

The simple Human Machine Interface action of pressing a button becomes a nightmare if there are too many of them

The simple Human Machine Interface action of pressing a button becomes a nightmare if there are too many of them

As Moore’s law increases the number of transistors within the computers that we use, the engineers, business owners and, investors who invent the devices and programs that use this horsepower are very tempted to overwhelm the buying users with a multitude of blinking and flashing lights to herald the latest and greatest. I admit that when I was inventing the Chrysler Mini Van, it was very frustrating that the general public did not recognize how great it was while I was designing it. That public recognition became even more important when we first tried to sell some. I understand why the designer of my electric kettle wants to highlight his addition of a digital temperature display into the device. Rubbing it in my face by incorporating a seemingly random sequence of four button pushes to turn the device on, spoiled my perception of the benefit.

The Mustang became a sports car for the masses

The Mustang became a sports car for the masses

The throttle pedal is one of the key interfaces between the driver and the vehicle. The Mustang succeeded because of an invisible triumph in this area by the Mustang design engineers. Their throttle linkage made the Ford Comet compact car chassis feel like a sports car. As I launch a new generation electric vehicles, similar attention is being applied to the throttle. The latest generation dual hall effect encoders are being used to create a tight linkage between the vehicle and the operator commands. Embedded computer intelligence is being programmed to achieve the “feel” of expensive mechanical links. User invisibility is still the key. We still need to wait until the vehicle users test drive our improvements before we can expect recognition. I have seen this before with the Minivan