Data to Support Lean Initiatives

Lean is a generic term used to identify and produce sustainable improvements. Many companies have lean programmes or lean initiatives, these are usually organised into teams to investigate and implement lean in particular areas of activity. Lean Manufacturing is when the generic methodologies are applied in industry. In general lean manufacturing is easy to start but harder to make sustainable.
 
The problem in making lean manufacturing sustainable is that as improvements are acquired they become harder to retain and it is also harder to make further improvements, it’s about detail, data volume and data analysis.
 
What can happen is that programmes that show initial gains are harder to make further improvements, compounded with lean teams then proceeding to other lean projects without protecting existing project gains in the search for easier wins.
 
EmsPT has recognised that such early-day initiatives are vital in obtaining early gains and in identifying wastes. EmsPT has also implemented programmes that effectively become a second stage booster to such early-day programmes. This is done by acquiring detailed data and producing information which reveals more opportunities to improve – and provides KPI measures to meter improvements, also done automatically.

Such systems are effective in many aspects of determining waste, an example is  in the identification of ‘mini-stoppages’, which are not observable; when removed measured increases and performance and throughput are seen. The degree to which mini-stoppages erode performance is often underestimated.
 
Would it help to make your lean manufacturing programmes more effective and automatically sustainable through the implementation of automatic data acquisition, information processing and reporting; making your programmes more effective and easier to manage?