What factors should I consider so as to check how "lean" a company is?

[pinder]

hello everyone i am doing post graduation in industrial engg in India
and my thesis work revolves around assesment of how far lean tools and techniques have been implemented in a particular industry. for this i am conducting a questionnarie based survey. so please can u help me regarding this as what factors should i consider so as to check how "lean" is the company responding to my questionnarrie and carry some statistical analysis of the factors that are in questionnaries and and other things that i should be considering so as to complete my work.

aslo if any one of u r having any questionnarie which can assess how far lean has been implemented in a particular company please share with me i will be very thankfull to u. please respond as soon as possible

Check this out: ***Dead link removed****

[Marc]

Anyone else have any thoughts on this or a link?

[cncmarine]

There are many attributes on Lean. So a checklist that covers all of lean and every company can not happen.

Basic things that I look for:

1.Does the 5S activity cover the last two S’S?

2.Follow a process from start to finish. That will give you an indication if they have implemented any value stream mapping activities.

3.Is there a back up at inspection? If so that could be linked to VSM and Quality At the source activities not being completed implemented.

[Bill Pflanz]

You probably should start with an operational definition of "lean". Does lean mean providing the most product or service with the least cost? Or does it mean doing the same work with less people without regard to quality? Lean could mean how many jobs were eliminated in the short term. Some companies measure how lean it is by how many teams are working to reduce waste and the savings from those teams.

Either you will need to determine the operational definition of lean and research how companies meet the criteria or learn how a lean company is measuring themselves for their operational definition of lean.

Bill Pflanz

[Jim Howe]

IMO I would concentrate on WIP inventory (work in process). One of the major concepts of lean is to reduce, if not eliminate, WIP. For example, DELL computers has no inventory of finished computers. The computer is built only when they have a customer order in hand (or so I am told).
My companies current efforts with VSM (value stream mapping) is to minimize WIP as well as general inventory. By minimizing these you gain the floor space for further expansion.

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by Jim Howe

IMO I would concentrate on WIP inventory (work in process). One of the major concepts of lean is to reduce, if not eliminate, WIP. For example, DELL computers has no inventory of finished computers. The computer is built only when they have a customer order in hand (or so I am told).
My companies current efforts with VSM (value stream mapping) is to minimize WIP as well as general inventory. By minimizing these you gain the floor space for further expansion.

I think I need a clear definition of what you consider each of the following in order to understand your premise. My thoughts:

• Raw material [or component] inventory
• Work In Process [whether building on spec or to order] - I consider this to comprise all components or raw materials actually being processed up until the point they are packaged and ready to ship.
• Finished goods inventory [finished goods not sold - does not include (in my mind) goods ordered, but held for release by customer]

Typically, Lean thinking aims at all three areas:

1. Reducing raw material inventory to the minimum based on lead time to replenish stock balanced against projected usage
2. Reducing work in process by making throughput time more efficient
3. Reducing unsold goods inventory by tailoring production to actual sales

The emphasis is on reducing the cash investment in non-income producing goods. Ordered finished goods held on a shelf awaiting release by buyer only represent a interest rate risk for the period they sit on the shelf until delivered and billed. The raw material MAY be sold back for a restocking charge, so its value is the net after interest and restocking penalty in the event no orders materialize. Unsold finished goods represent a risk that intended customer may not purchase. Lean intends to reduce that risk by reducing inventory. Work in process represents a risk it may not conform in addition to the cost of components and labor which cannot be recovered unless finished goods are sold.

It may be true you can't sell from an empty wagon, but that doesn't mean you have to fill more than one wagon at a time, if you are only selling from one wagon at a time. Lean says fill only as many wagon loads as you can sell within a projected period. Less interest cost for money tied up in inventory means higher net profit for the organization.

[Manoj Mathur]

As I have mentioned earlier also, in our group companies It is WCM (World Class Manufacturing) which is followed and it is as same as Lean Manufacturing. There are clearcut well defined metrics. Even these measurements are drilled down to Industry specific and department specific. However some of the generic measurements are given as below;

1. Process Defect Rate.
2. Rework/Reprocessing Rate.
3. Improvements in Cp and Cpk of Critical Processes
4. Enhancement in Market Share due to Quality Improvement
5. Savings due to Process Technology up gradation
6. Reduction in Maintenance Expenses
7. Savings in energy and utilities
8. Inventory Turn Over (RM, WIP, FG)
9. Savings due to reduction in inspection
10. Savings due to material substitution
11. OTIF Delivery to Customers
12. OTIF Delivery from suppliers
13. Time to Market
14. Manufacturing Cycle Time
15. Changeover Time
16. No of Kaizens implemented
17. No of systems simplified

etc. etc. I can send you complete listing