There was obviously a cost, and an interruption to production while the changes were made, but I bet you have recovered more than you lost with the increased efficiency. Really great example; top marks to whoever had the foresight to take the 'before' pictures. Thank you.
I believe the changes are made during weekend when the operation is off...and that's Industrial or Process Engineer to redesign the production layout (ergonomics etc) so when the operators come in the next week, they will be ask to do things the new way
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback. Because we are located in China, infrastructure or new machine costs are relatively low, and it is the same with the time it takes to make the improvements themselves. The real investment is creating and then sustaining the lean culture. Every day, we start with a 15-minute morning meeting for all 200 staff members, plus 15 minutes of 3S (sweep, sort, and standardize) and improvement time. We also have daily gemba walks (factory walks) by cross-functional teams that are helping to spot improvement opportunities. Those three events are the equivalent of 110 labour hours PER DAY! Amazingly, the payback we see in promoting a continuous improvement culture. As for having the old photos, I'm embarrassing to say that when I first took those, I actually thought we were doing a good job! 🤦♂️
Thanks for the comment. Most of the improvements you see in these videos are the aggregation of hundreds and even thousands of small and marginal gains stacked one on top of the other. Because most ideas are just tiny tweaks to a process, they are generally implemented during our daily 3S and improvement time. In saying that, we do have to stop the line when we have significant changes. However, the driving force behind the 2 Second Lean methodology is that the folks on the shopfloor are the experts and improvement specialists and have the final word on any changes in their area.
@@normohara Thanks for the reply. From personal experience, the "I'm from Head Office. I've come to introduce revised methods and procedures... I have brought my biggest sledgehammer with me" approach never gets the best results. Work with the people on the floor.
@@PiefacePete46 100%. Involving the operators not only honours and shows them respect, but more importantly, there is a much higher likelihood that they follow the process when the supervisor is not there.
Thank you, Richard; that is very encouraging feedback. We have Paul Akers to thank for pushing us to scrub as much waste as possible from the videos. As for the amount of waste in our factory, we still have plenty of work to do! 🍁
This is inspirational. I not manufacture anything but after seeing your amazing transformation I want to do them same. What a wonderful story of improvement. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the encouraging feedback Ryan. That means a lot! Just about everything we have done here is thanks to what we learned reading 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers.
Thanks, Jack. You know, we've watched 30 to 40 videos from your site this past year and we credit a lot of the positive improvements we've made to what we've learned from watching you guys!
Fantastic! A great tip is to take before and after photos or videos, even if just to keep you motivated. We get a lot of encouragement measuring our progress against where we've come from.
I echo Norm's suggestion. I wiuld also suggest that you think about 3S as opposed to 5S. Just Shine, Sort and Standardize EVERY DAY. Then you will be World Class, just like Norm's facility.
I just took on the role of production manager for my company and the production floor is a mess. How did you go about getting started with this amazing transformation? Very inspiring!
Thanks for the question. Our lean journey started by having every person in the company read the book 2-Second Lean by Paul Akers (paulakers.net/books/2-second-lean). This introduced an entire methodology and structure we could follow, including morning meetings, daily improvements, and making before and after videos.
Nice! Thanks for the reply. I'll have to check that book out for sure. I've watched a couple episodes of UpFlip where they interview Paul and tour his Fastcap company. That's what got me interested in Lean Manufacturing in the first place!
Looks like the company started to earn money and invested it in equipment. 0:28 if everything is "premium and ergonomic" should not the welder have a welding mask with ventilation and flexible ventilation that sucks out fumes. I also don't see the ergonomics in a fixed table, maybe it's at the right height for that person but guessing the parts he welds will have different sizes. And it does not look that ergonomic to handle the pieces on/off the strollers, but maybe they are lightweight. Anyway, all progress is good progress. Everything can not be done in one day and even if it was possible there will still be room for improvement.
Thanks for the feedback. We have upgraded machines over the years, but we’ve also noticed that machines and tooling have lasted longer since we started lean, mainly because our team takes more pride and ownership in their work areas. It’s a fair question about the masks. We’ve tried different configurations and equipment, and for the type of welding processing that we do, our operators favor the current method. We’ve balanced their preference for welding shields with upgraded extraction to keep the environment comfortable. The tables are each adjustable for different operator heights. Because we do mass production and don’t have a lot of part or process variation in these particular cells, jigs and tooling are aligned so that the weld points are at the most comfortable position. All that being said, there is undoubtedly room for much more improvement. Stay tuned!
There was obviously a cost, and an interruption to production while the changes were made, but I bet you have recovered more than you lost with the increased efficiency. Really great example; top marks to whoever had the foresight to take the 'before' pictures. Thank you.
I believe the changes are made during weekend when the operation is off...and that's Industrial or Process Engineer to redesign the production layout (ergonomics etc) so when the operators come in the next week, they will be ask to do things the new way
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback. Because we are located in China, infrastructure or new machine costs are relatively low, and it is the same with the time it takes to make the improvements themselves. The real investment is creating and then sustaining the lean culture. Every day, we start with a 15-minute morning meeting for all 200 staff members, plus 15 minutes of 3S (sweep, sort, and standardize) and improvement time. We also have daily gemba walks (factory walks) by cross-functional teams that are helping to spot improvement opportunities. Those three events are the equivalent of 110 labour hours PER DAY! Amazingly, the payback we see in promoting a continuous improvement culture. As for having the old photos, I'm embarrassing to say that when I first took those, I actually thought we were doing a good job! 🤦♂️
Thanks for the comment. Most of the improvements you see in these videos are the aggregation of hundreds and even thousands of small and marginal gains stacked one on top of the other. Because most ideas are just tiny tweaks to a process, they are generally implemented during our daily 3S and improvement time. In saying that, we do have to stop the line when we have significant changes. However, the driving force behind the 2 Second Lean methodology is that the folks on the shopfloor are the experts and improvement specialists and have the final word on any changes in their area.
@@normohara Thanks for the reply. From personal experience, the "I'm from Head Office. I've come to introduce revised methods and procedures... I have brought my biggest sledgehammer with me" approach never gets the best results. Work with the people on the floor.
@@PiefacePete46 100%. Involving the operators not only honours and shows them respect, but more importantly, there is a much higher likelihood that they follow the process when the supervisor is not there.
Wow!
Amazing transformation!
Norm, you are such an inspiration. No Waste in your videos, just like your facility. Well done my Friend, from one Canuk to another lol.
Thank you, Richard; that is very encouraging feedback. We have Paul Akers to thank for pushing us to scrub as much waste as possible from the videos. As for the amount of waste in our factory, we still have plenty of work to do! 🍁
Great video Norm, nice to see a quick overview of the transformation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback. So glad you enjoyed it.
This video is worth all the effort you have put in. Pure Gold. It is so encouraging to see the impact. Congrats!
Thank you for the kind words. So glad you found the video helpful.
Excellent!!
Very useful video.
Glad it was helpful!
This is inspirational. I not manufacture anything but after seeing your amazing transformation I want to do them same. What a wonderful story of improvement. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the encouraging feedback Ryan. That means a lot! Just about everything we have done here is thanks to what we learned reading 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers.
Norm... this is an unbelievable transformation!
I really appreciate your note, Adam. It's definitely fun looking back and seeing our progress.
Norm what a transformation!! Really well done! I Iove your floors!
Thanks Ryan. That means a lot.
Wow great video Norm! Love the transformation
Thanks, Jack. You know, we've watched 30 to 40 videos from your site this past year and we credit a lot of the positive improvements we've made to what we've learned from watching you guys!
@@normohara wow I'm so happy that we helped inspire some of your improvements!
About to implement 5s in my home workshop!
Fantastic! A great tip is to take before and after photos or videos, even if just to keep you motivated. We get a lot of encouragement measuring our progress against where we've come from.
I echo Norm's suggestion. I wiuld also suggest that you think about 3S as opposed to 5S. Just Shine, Sort and Standardize EVERY DAY. Then you will be World Class, just like Norm's facility.
I just took on the role of production manager for my company and the production floor is a mess. How did you go about getting started with this amazing transformation? Very inspiring!
Thanks for the question. Our lean journey started by having every person in the company read the book 2-Second Lean by Paul Akers (paulakers.net/books/2-second-lean). This introduced an entire methodology and structure we could follow, including morning meetings, daily improvements, and making before and after videos.
Nice! Thanks for the reply. I'll have to check that book out for sure. I've watched a couple episodes of UpFlip where they interview Paul and tour his Fastcap company. That's what got me interested in Lean Manufacturing in the first place!
Wow
Just wow
@@lucasfuelling Thanks for the encouragement!
Looks like the company started to earn money and invested it in equipment.
0:28 if everything is "premium and ergonomic" should not the welder have a welding mask with ventilation and flexible ventilation that sucks out fumes. I also don't see the ergonomics in a fixed table, maybe it's at the right height for that person but guessing the parts he welds will have different sizes. And it does not look that ergonomic to handle the pieces on/off the strollers, but maybe they are lightweight.
Anyway, all progress is good progress. Everything can not be done in one day and even if it was possible there will still be room for improvement.
Thanks for the feedback. We have upgraded machines over the years, but we’ve also noticed that machines and tooling have lasted longer since we started lean, mainly because our team takes more pride and ownership in their work areas.
It’s a fair question about the masks. We’ve tried different configurations and equipment, and for the type of welding processing that we do, our operators favor the current method. We’ve balanced their preference for welding shields with upgraded extraction to keep the environment comfortable. The tables are each adjustable for different operator heights. Because we do mass production and don’t have a lot of part or process variation in these particular cells, jigs and tooling are aligned so that the weld points are at the most comfortable position. All that being said, there is undoubtedly room for much more improvement. Stay tuned!