This is my last post of a series of three posts on point-of-use providers (also known as mizusumashi, water strider, or water spider). In this post I will go into much more detail on the routing of the point-of-use provider. A less-busy point-of-use provider can handle multiple lines. Similarly, very busy lines may have multiple point-of-use providers. Here I will show you some more details on these possibilities. Continue reading Point-of-Use Provider Routing
In this second post of my series on point-of-use providers (also known as Mizusumashi, water strider, or water spider), I will discuss the calculation of the workload for the point-of-use provider … although calculation is a way-too-big word for what is, in practice, guesswork with limited data of low quality. However, I hope it helps you with planning your point-of-use providers. Continue reading Point-of-Use Provider Calculations
The point-of-use provider, also known as Mizusumashi, water strider, or water spider, is a worker that supplies material to the point of use. Similar to a waiter bringing food and drinks (and beer 🙂 ) to the customer, the point-of-use provider brings material to the workers. The latter, however, merely refills materials rather than custom orders. This point-of-use provider fulfills an important role between the inventory and the final point of use. Let me give you the details: Continue reading Introduction to Point-of-Use Providers (or Mizusumashi)
The methods of lean have been adapted to a wide variety of industries, from military to healthcare, from government to banking. One of these industries is lean construction, where it’s applied to the construction industry. In this post I would like to give you an overview of the similarities and differences, and how to adapt lean methods for construction. Continue reading Lean Construction
Good problem solving can seriously help you with the performance in your plant. John Shook recently pointed out another nice example to me: the Japanese Men’s 4x100m relay team during the 2016 Olympics in Rio. They were the underdogs, with none of their team having ever run 100m in under 10 seconds. Yet they stunningly won the silver medal! They achieved this through good problem solving. Let me show you the details: Continue reading Example of Problem Solving – Japanese Men’s Relay Team Rio 2016
Standards are one of the backbones of lean manufacturing. For a standard to be good and used consistently, it should be self-explanatory. Additionally, you should understand it well enough to easily recognize deviations from the standard. I would like to give you an example of how my thought process works when exploring a standard. Continue reading A Good Standard Needs No Explanation
In my previous posts I talked a lot about internal milk runs. However, you can also have milk runs externally across multiple suppliers and plants. There are a few things to consider that are different from the internal milk runs. Let me elaborate … Continue reading External Milk Runs
After discussing a lot about the milk run, its use, and its calculations, here is a post on a number of remaining frequently asked questions. Many of them are pitfalls, where it is easy to make a quick wrong guess (e.g., two milk runs on the same route will not halve your inventory at the assembly locations). Let’s get into more details. Continue reading Frequently Asked Questions for Milk Runs