Learning not to do things

Citation

Loughlin, C. (2006), "Learning not to do things", Assembly Automation, Vol. 26 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2006.03326daa.001

Learning not to do things

For the majority of projects that I have been involved with, by the time I have got to the end what I really want to do is scrap the recently finished system and start again. This is not because the system is not working very well or that I am a perfectionist or destructive by nature, but simply because it is always possible to make improvements.

On one hand, a system must earn its keep. The manufacturer will want to see a payback on their investment and they have the basic need to make x thousand widgets by the month's end. Not signing off on the project is, therefore, not an option. On the other hand, standing still and resting on your laurels is not an option either.

How many manufacturing systems do you know that are the same now as they were ten or even just five years ago?

It is always possible to make improvements and if you have not made any changes to your own production systems for a while then perhaps you should be asking questions. Our article by Andrew Lee-Mortimer “A lean route to manufacturing survival” (pp. 265–272) clearly demonstrates the benefits that the philosophies of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement can bring, even to well run and efficient manufacturing operations.

For example, Siemens introduced an online “Suggestions Box” and in a few years this generated over 6,000 implemented suggestions from employees and these in turn resulted in quantifiable savings in excess of £1.6 million. That is £266 per suggestion which is a valuable saving in itself, but if you factor in the competitive advantage that such incremental changes can bring and indeed the cost of NOT making improvements, then the impact on the bottom line can be vital.

The problem with the above is that if you go back to the CEO a few days after he has just made the final payments on his shiny new manufacturing system and say “actually we would like to improve it” then you are likely to get a rude reception and be asked quite legitimately why these changes had not been done before.

The really big problem comes if making changes is difficult or costly in terms of hard cash or down-time on the system. Both are likely to be unattractive to our battered CEO. However, if the system has been designed with the expectation that changes will need to be made then making these changes can be relatively painless.

It is very encouraging that once companies and their employees embrace the concept that continuous improvements must be made, that they usually find that there is plenty of scope for improvement and that making the changes is easy. The real trick is making changes that not only make the production more efficient but which also make everyone's tasks easier.

It is often the realization that you do not need to do something that makes the biggest impact.

Clive Loughlin