For each of the following posts search for an article or website and summarize why it might provide further insight:
Post 1: “ The company I have chosen is Parker Hannifin. The facility I am a part of makes quick couple fittings. These are made on either CNC machines or screw machines. They feed in raw stock and make a part from it. Different materials are used depending on the application. Brass, steel, and stainless are all used. The different materials require a much different run time. These parts are sold as is off the line if they are one piece items, or they will be assembled in-house. The machines are ran almost around the clock and lack much needed maintenance to improve OEE and quality. The maintenance program is almost nonexistent. PM’s are rarely completed, the minimum needed to keep the machine in a running order is all that is done.
The lean tool of choice in this instance is total productive maintenance, also known as TPM. When used properly this tool is “used to prevent machine downtime within the production process. The goal is to limit downtime as much as possible to increase production efficiency.” Hartford Technologies 2017. para 18). The concept of TPM is well known, but not always carried out properly. It is a holistic approach to maintenance. TPM is a proactive maintenance method that is intended to prevent breakdowns from occurring during production. “TPM is considered the most difficult lean manufacturing tool to implement.” (Byrd, 2015. Para 8). TPM is difficult to implement but if done correctly, the rewards will far outweigh the costs. It is not a quick tool; it can take years to be fully functional and requires a change in culture to work
At Parker, the machines run all the time, maintenance barely fixes the problem and skips PM’s because of the schedule. The extent of their TPM, or what they call TPM, is the daily TPM checklist the operators signoff. This is the first are to improve. The checklists are in place to verify necessary checks are being completed, but also to inspect the machines for the long term. The lists are currently just checked off because nothing is ever done with them. The maintenance crew does the minimum work needed to get the machines running. They do not keep records of maintenance and the PM’s are rarely completed. A complete turnaround must be done to change the culture of the way maintenance is viewed and completed. There is currently very little be done to push this forward. I am not in charge of maintenance so I am limited in driving the issue, but I do as much as I can. My production team is currently improving on their side to help and change the maintenance tactics.”
Post 2: “WIP limits is a tool that my organization could benefit from for tracking open projects and improving the process flow (Radigan, n.d). Especially with markets that are highly seasonal, at certain times of the year we can have an excessive number of open projects. It is difficult for the product development team to keep track of the progress of different projects. Some projects can be pushed through within a matter of weeks while other more complex projects may take up to a year to develop. We also have a range of different customers, from our direct to consumer site to wholesale and corporate customers, who may order custom projects up to six months in advance. With a smaller staff and several projects in the pipeline it can be easy to miss items that need to be addressed and ensure that projects are progressing according to their delivery timelines.
WIP limits help set a maximum number of open projects and helps narrow the focus on what needs to be accomplished. These limits also help to show where bottlenecks occur and where problems may arise before they cause further problems later in development. If the team becomes overloaded by the amount or complexity of projects, it is more visible to see where the process is inefficient or where time/waste can be reduced. It is also important to point out idleness in the flow of projects to determine which projects may need more attention (Radigan, n.d).
With a range of online WIP tracking tools, I think this tool would be helpful for both product development and supply chain in order to ensure materials are arriving in accordance with development and production timelines. WIP limits will help keep the team organized and set constraints per team member so that no one is overwhelmed by the amount of assigned projects. A central visual tool will improve organization and keep track of overall flow (6 Lean Metrics, n.d.).”