Lean in the Tool and Die Industry (Job Shop) - Applying Lean in "one-off" production

[imanewbie]

As a Quality Manager moving from an automotive mass-production company to the tool and die industry (making injection molds and die cast dies), I was wondering if anyone has any experience in implementing Lean techniques in similar industries (e.g. construction, custom machinery/ equipment, etc.). I'm very familiar with Lean principles, but I'm in uncharted waters in a new industry.

We typically design and produce one copy of a mold (mould for us Canadians ), consisting of 50-100 components - excruciating design work, custom manufacturing process for each component. Each mould is designed and built in about 8-12 weeks.

I've only been here a short time (about a year), but I definitely see that there is huge $$$$ potential, industry-wide, to apply Lean.

Just wondering if anyone has experience applying Lean in the "one-off" type of industries - what techniques work/ don't work, pitfalls, obstacles, or any other glimmering nuggets of advice.

[jmp4429]

This is a great question that I don't know the answer to. However, the first thing that popped into my head was that Goldratt's "Critical Chain" might help!

[Rob Nix]

First of all, great moniker and good first post! Welcome "ima"

Originally Posted by imanewbie

Just wondering if anyone has experience applying Lean in the "one-off" type of industries

Yes I have.

Take all that you have learned about "lean" from the past, and look - not at the individual techniques (e.g., VSM, takt times, 5S, etc), but - at the "principles" of lean; they apply to any industry. Think about the basic ideas of being lean, use standard problem solving techniques, and you will find (as you already noted) a goldmine of opportunities.

The point is, don't rigidly stick to the tools as they have taught you to use them, but modify them so they work for you. Here's a couple of examples:

- In our T&D shop (making ones and twos of things) a group looked at perishable tooling usage and centralized ALL tooling, using a library type check out system.
- In our special machine design and build facility we used a spaghetti diagram to illustrate how manufactured details traveled inefficiently through the shop, and we streamlined it.

The key areas to focus on are the steps taken to process a job from start to finish, and especially, the communication effectiveness from one area/department to the next. Often we have found what we call "legacy" {or better yet, Sisyphian} activities (things that we've always done; copies to so-and-so, creation of some specialized report, etc.) that are no longer relevant. Anyway, you get the drift. I'll stop blabbering now.

[gszekely]

I use to read the publicatons at:
http://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/...=MR02&zone=MMR
You will find plenty of opportunities.
György

[Helmut Jilling]

Originally Posted by Rob Nix

The key areas to focus on are the steps taken to process a job from start to finish, and especially, the communication effectiveness from one area/department to the next. Often we have found what we call "legacy" {or better yet, Sisyphian} activities (things that we've always done; ...that are no longer relevant.

I had a perfect example of how to apply Lean in an audit at a mold shop. Each mold is different, but the processes are common to all, machining, finishing, final inspection, etc.

I observed at final inspection, molds would have dozens of "red marks" where additional finishing was needed. As an auditor, I often ask "naive" questions on purpose. So, I asked, "why do you have so much 'rework' on your molds?"

They replied, "Well, you have to understand the mold business...that's not rework, that's part of the process." I said I do understand the mold business, then we had the following audit discussion (shortened version)"

AUD: "Who does the 'rework'?"
CLIENT: "The same guys who did it the first time."
AUD: "The same guys who did it 'wrong" the first time, are able to do it right the second time?"
CLIENT: "Well, yeah..."
AUD: "Why don't they just do it right the first time?"
CLIENT: "Well, this is how it's always been done in the mold business."
AUD: "They're s'pose to do it wrong the first time, so you can mark it red, so they can fix it the second time?"
CLIENT: "Well, not exactly like that."..."But you have to understand the mold business..."
AUD: "No, I understand the mold business...But I think you need to understand the ISO business. If they can do it right the second time, then they have demonstrated competence and ability for the task. If they can do it right the second time, then theoretically, they could do it right the first time. What would happen if you asked them to just do the second pass, the first time, and skip the first one...?"
CLIENT: "Ummm..." at this point the CEO stepped in and said, "the auditor is right. You allow the finishers to not hit the mark the first time, knowing if it is a problem, the inspector will flag it and send it back. That's inefficient QC and wastes a lot of cycle time and money. We're going to meet with them and redefine the standards, and hold them to it."

The shop guys were not convinced about this, but six months later the red mark average per mold had dropped from 30+ to less than 12, and another six months most molds go through with no red markings at all.

I think this is a perfect example of applied Lean in a Mold Shop.

(PS: it is also an example of how an auditor can do a value added audit without consulting by asking pointed questions as I proposed in another thread).

[Wes Bucey]

Kudos to the CEO who had an Epiphany and saw the light. Kudos, also, to everyone who stayed with the program for an entire year. I hope they all patted themselves on the back and the boss sprung for a pizza party to celebrate.

The critical parts of hjilling's story for me are:

1. he got the CEO to sit in on and participate in the discussion
2. hjilling got past the "not made here" attitude
3. apparently the CEO made sure folks followed through for an entire year (the most remarkable part of the anecdote)

For change agents everywhere:
The most difficult part of change is getting the folks to admit there are some things which can be done more efficiently and then convincing them to be so dissatisfied with the status quo THEY are motivated to change to something easier and more profitable for themselves. So, it often boils down to the age old question most folks ask when they are requested to change:
"What's in it for me?"
If the change agent can make the answer more attractive than doing nothing, he has a great probability of implementing the change. All the mechanics of actually implementing, documenting, and evaluating the results of the change are secondary to getting the team on board in the first place.

[Helmut Jilling]

Originally Posted by Wes Bucey

Kudos to the CEO who had an Epiphany and saw the light. Kudos, also, to everyone who stayed with the program for an entire year. I hope they all patted themselves on the back and the boss sprung for a pizza party to celebrate.

The critical parts of hjilling's story for me are:

1. he got the CEO to sit in on and participate in the discussion
2. hjilling got past the "not made here" attitude
3. apparently the CEO made sure folks followed through for an entire year (the most remarkable part of the anecdote)

For change agents everywhere:
The most difficult part of change is getting the folks to admit there are some things which can be done more efficiently and then convincing them to be so dissatisfied with the status quo THEY are motivated to change to something easier and more profitable for themselves. So, it often boils down to the age old question most folks ask when they are requested to change:
"What's in it for me?"
If the change agent can make the answer more attractive than doing nothing, he has a great probability of implementing the change. All the mechanics of actually implementing, documenting, and evaluating the results of the change are secondary to getting the team on board in the first place.

You hit the nail on the head. The best part, is 3 years later, they are still doing a great job with it.