Introduction to Lean Bootcamp

One-day Process (Lean) Simulation
The Efficiency Works One-day Lean Simulation workshop introduces the basic principles of Lean and is designed to develop and expand understanding of concepts like waste, customer value, workplace organisation, visual management, process improvement and teamwork, as well as the DMAIC problem-solving methodology.

The workshop is conducted over one day and comprises an iterative and enjoyable series of practical demonstrations that will challenge participants, transfer knowledge, and develop basic skills that can be deployed in the workplace.

Under instruction and guidance from the Efficiency Works’ trainer, participants are arranged into groups and required to produce an outcome that is repeated over three stages of learning. Participant knowledge and skills are gradually increased, allowing them to see a direct correlation between the application of Lean and a resulting productivity improvement. This workshop is suitable for between 8 and 16 people.

As a minimum, participants learn the basic principles of the following Lean tools and techniques:

• 8 Wastes – helps identify Value Adding and Non-Value Adding process activities
• Visual Performance Management – shows participants a communication tool that helps to visualise workflow, monitor performance and identify and solve problems
• 5S – demonstrates how to improve the workplace by simplifying, organising and sustaining a productive work environment
• Just in Time – helps participants understand the benefits of providing products and services only as required by customer demand
• Leadership and Teamwork – demonstrates how leadership and working as a team has a direct impact on productivity, team morale and workplace culture
• Theory of Constraints – provides a basic understanding of a methodology for identifying the most important factor that stands in the way of achieving the group’s goals
• Performance Measurement – develops an understanding of how to collect, analyse and report information and the value of measuring performance

Workshop schedule

The workshop is conducted over one day and comprises a combination of training delivery, presentations, case studies, facilitation and productive discussion that will challenge participants, transfer knowledge, and develop skills that can be deployed in the workplace.

One-day Practical Introduction to Lean

Three modules, 2 hours each. Maximum of 15 participants per group.

Module One – Lean and Waste

What is Lean?

We will take the participants through a brief history of Lean, how the thinking has evolved and why it is used.
Most importantly, why it will be a benefit to the participant.
Waste Identification
Firstly, we will explore and describe the 8 wastes.

• Transport – the movement of people, products & information
• Inventory – storing parts, pieces and preliminary documentation
• Movement – the activities of the process
• Waiting – waiting for parts, information, instructions and equipment
• Over production – of finished items or parts
• Over processing – excessive tolerance or unnecessarily high standards
• Defects – the rework, scrap, and defectiveness of documentation
• Skills – underutilized capabilities, delegation of tasks with inadequate training

We will then do a Waste Walk and have each participant identify one unique waste each. We will then discuss some of these in some detail. We will encourage participants to capture and document tangible improvement actions arising from the waste walk.
The benefit of continual waste identification is that it will help you optimize resources and increase profitability. It will also help you realise the exact parts of the work process where you can improve. It will enable you to see if an activity is a necessary or pure waste.

Module Two – 5S

We will explain the basic principles of 5S and why it is important. 5S demonstrates how to improve the workplace by simplifying, better organising, and sustaining a productive work environment. We will, in small groups (~5 each group), carry out a simple 5S audit of specific areas of the factory and warehouse. The outcome of these audits will be discussed briefly upon returning to the classroom. In addition to the 5S audit, we will encourage participants to commence a hands-on “sort” of a chosen work area. This may not be completed in full during the 2-hour session but can be a work-in-progress project for participants to pursue after the session.

The benefits of 5S culture include:

• Improved Safety
• Reduce Waste
• Improved Morale
• Ownership of the Workspace
• Improved Productivity
• Improved Maintenance
• Better Impression for Clients and Others

5S also becomes an enabler and an important foundation for your continuous improvement culture and the implementation of other Lean concepts.

Module Three – Continuous Improvement (CI) and Metrics

There is an old saying that has survived the test of time ‘if we cannot measure, we cannot improve it’. Measurement allows us to make rational/fact-based decisions instead of irrational/emotional/gut-feel decisions. Measurement will allow us to improve and give us the knowledge of a job well done. With measurement we do not need anyone to tell us if we are doing a good job, the numbers tell it to us.

We will give practical examples of how measurement improves our everyday lives. We will then walk through the business and identify processes that need to be measured. We will then discuss some of these metrics and how they can be implemented. We will encourage participants to create visual performance boards of selected processes against which CI initiatives can be measured.