In a previous entry, Can Your Team Pinpoint Value-Added?,
we identified some places that waste or non-value added steps can hide in your company’s
processes. Today, we’d like to follow up on that. I mean, now that you know
where to look, how do you actually identify the correct steps to eliminate? How,
when you are so close to the process, do you decide which ones you need and
which ones you don’t?

- Do your products provide the value sought by the customer?
- Are the current process steps required to design, order and produce your products, mostly creating value?
- Does the design, order and/or product flow continuously through the necessary activities to reach your customer?
- Can your customer get just what they want, when they want it without your company holding a mountain of finished goods, "just in case?"
- Are your value stream's performance steadily improving?
- Does your lead time meet your customers' expectations?
When you emphasize the
value added, your company prospers quickly. If you cannot determine what is
value added, all your other efforts simply don’t matter. The challenge is not
only understanding what your customer’s value, but evaluating each person and
process in the organization and associating those activities with what brings
value to the customer.
Lean
manufacturing as a form of continuous improvement isn't a destination, but
rather a journey; an ongoing process. The first step to getting lean is to
learn how much of what you do is value added. Learn as much as you can about
lean manufacturing through MMTC’s training, other companies and existing
literature. There are some great books out there on lean implementation and
establishing a lean culture, both on the shop floor and in the office. The MMTC’s
staff of experts are available with the technical knowledge and experience to help
you get started.
Suggested Title: Lean Reading List
Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth
in Your Corporation 2nd
Edition by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones
Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to a
Continuous Improvement Strategy 2nd Edition by Masaaki Imai
Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add
Value and Eliminate MUDA by Mike Rother and John Shook
The Goal: The Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt
Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain
Lean Conversions 2nd
Edition by David Mann
The Lean Office: Collected Practices and Cases
(Insights on Implementation) put out by Productivity Press
Since 1991, MMTC has assisted Michigan’s small and
medium-sized businesses compete and grow. Through personalized services fitted
to meet the needs of clients, we develop more effective business leaders, drive
product and process innovation, promote company-wide operational excellence and
foster creative strategies for business growth and greater profitability. Find
us at www.mmtc.org.
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