Month: August 2020

Who can do what for your organization?

Doing our each day task, many times appears a desire to improve particular (or general) results of company life. We would like more satisfied customer, bigger market share, higher profitability and so on… The solution seems to be obvious (meeting customer needs, produce more and cheaper), but from idea until achievement is a “long road”! Many times is worth to shorten the way from idea to realization employing a Management Consultant. But the range of areas of expertise is so wide..! Who can do what for us?

Coach:

They are called in general to fix a single issue/problem (underperforming Sales Department). Coach does not entering too deep into a complexity of the problem, rather helps you to see which from your option would bring you the closest to your goal (to achieve 5% higher sales in 2 years; to increase productivity for 2% in a year).

Trainer:

To be trained means to get a new skill. Trainer can be perceived as a “teacher” in a company. I like to specify: teacher in gymnastic (he will explain you about new exercise and teach you to make it)!

Nowadays is a trend to have Internal Trainers (employed by company). They may teach about new product or to share company-wide information gathered from external trainers. Internal trainers have better availability, easy to schedule and considered cost effective (being employee of a company), however there is a risk to fall into “group think” trap and training costs (even being low) never ends.

External trainer brings “fresh air” into organization, regardless they are promoting new solution or just fine-tuning of existing ones. Broking “the traditional is the only way” principle training experts will encourage changes that can set business in far front of competitors.

Mentor:

While Coach is helping you to fix single problem in organization, trainer teaches groups and individuals about a new principle, Mentor develops a character (values) of the mentee. The idea behind is: the value system is our internal supervisor who stays always with us and participating decision making.

He brings the most benefits to employee development and results lasts much longer and the mentoring period is generally longer too!

Implementer:

When having an overload (availability or similar) problem of a machine (production step), is the most cost efficient to call a Productivity Consultant and implemented a proven solution (what were tested and proven in hundreds of time in other companies – OEE for example) instead of searching, trying, and searching… The challenge is to implement “active principle” what will enhance one or more features in an existing specific company situation (for example: decrease down time), without ruining important characteristics of technology and product.

Auditor – he will:

Examine the organization’s objectives are reflected in its management activities and whether employees understand and act upon these objectives.

Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated efforts, non-compliance with management policies.

Report to management about asset utilization and audit results and recommend changes in operations

Which kind of consultancy my company needs?

The famous sentence “Change is only constant in life” (told by Heraclitus 500 years BC) today characterizes our life more than ever! Our long term plans are messed up by sudden changing of prices of resources, fluctuations of demand on market, appearance of coronavirus, and many others. Quick response to changes counts the most! If there are signs of difficulty in operations (delayed delivery, quality issues, high employee turnover, law profit rate) clearly we need a fix! However in absence of remarkable changes as well worth to make a short Audit (over machine, workshop, unit) to determine existence and size of room for improvement and apply type of consultancy which gives the most benefits in a shortest term!

More details ask on CONTACT page, write mail to robertburu@gmail.com or WhatsApp message to +40 753 057 303 !

Secret of experts: How to recognise HIDDEN LOST OPPORTUNITY?

Years ago I participated in Productivity Audit in a factory of tile stove bricks. The raw materials cost almost nothing (clay, sand, Cornish stone,) bricks formed manually (cheap manual work), only cost were gas for furnace where shaped bricks become final product. Low cost production, people and machines working, demand and prices there – still company on edge of squib! How it is possible?

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  1. First remarked: out of finished product at the end of the oven, average 62% satisfied quality criteria to be sold at full price.

In average 38% of daily production is loaded, baked, unloaded, transported, controlled, ground again to be added to the raw material.

2. The ratio actually was even worst: 54% was OK, additional 8% obtained after dimension- and crack reparation.

There was a small workshop with operators who transported, repaired, sort 25% of the daily production to be recovered 8% at the end.

3. At brick shaping worked 24 persons. The individual score of workers in shaping vary 52 – 90 per shift.

Variation = 90 -52 =38; (variation/2)*24 =19*24 = 456 So, at daily shaping exit at least 456 bricks (more than 25%) more or less, dependently who came on job.

This is the moment, to zoom in, what a production machine is doing during the shift time (planned production time):

  1. A machine is producing at nominal speed
  2. A machine is producing (working slower then nominal)
  3. A machine is stopped (any reason: no work, failure, waiting time)

We would like to have the case 1 all the time, isn’t it? Sure, but happens cases 2 & 3 as well!

In case 3 is obvious: this is a LOST OPPORTUNITY

Case 2 is tricky. If you look at the machine, it is producing. But if you do not measure hourly outcome and do not compare it to nominal value, you do not know is there a HIDDEN LOST OPPORTUNITY, or not!

Factory described above contains plenty of examples of hidden opportunities, to be recognized:

  1. Owen utilization. In average 38 % of the used gas thrown away (wasn’t used to make product)
  2. In order to “gain”  more 8% product, 24% of products worked double (time and money thrown away)
  3. In lack of skilled persons at shaping lost daily at least 25% of production time. (The same amount could be achieved by 18 skilled workers. Why they paid 24?)  

Conclusion:

In order to be able to recognize: is there a lost opportunity in your company, you need figures and daily evaluation of them. Implementation of relevant KPI’s, proper system of evaluation and fine tuning based on KPI value can dramatically improve productivity situation in a short time! And all we know, that profitability is following productivity!

At the end one question remained: how it is at your organization?

To ask specific questions click on CONTACT, write email on robertburu@gmail.com or WhatsApp message at: +40 753 057 303!

Make a Productivity Audit!

Whereas the fluctuation of productivity is followed by fluctuation of profitability (source: Arthur Ha, L. S., W.F.), it matters a lot how much is the productivity, right? That’s why you need a Productivity Audit! You need to know:

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As we told in previous articles, KPI’s in general (Productivity as well) are values that represent short period outcome (period for calculation can be a shift, a week, a month, a year), and they are influenced by our intervention.  It is a high importance to know: what is the value of Productivity (H/Hmax)? Is it 65%; 75%; or 85%? Does the way I manage the unit assure me high profitability, or I still have room for improvement (how much it is?), or I still miss to control important details in daily production?

Most of the companies defined their system of Productivity figures and day by day work on their improvement, while others are still in a process of defining necessary ones. In a both case there is a question: does existing figures give a reliable model of production, or some aspects still remained uncovered? (For example: in a Hungarian metal parts company welders were paid after pieces produced and it was a strong believe this assures high productivity. In reality this resulted in a lot of individual easy doable parts, what couldn’t compose a sellable unit, so production volume remained behind.)

Doing an Audit, you enhance the credibility and reliability of figures you have.  Even more important, you assure that you follow all relevant parameters and cumulative effect of small, everyday changes doesn’t lead to corruption of parameters and values! (For example, an international company from S.M. makes External Productivity Audit over challenging areas each 6 month, to discover anomalies before they become overgrown.)

Audits of course, are very different by area they cover (a machine, workshop, product, company) and of depth in entering into details. Still, they have the general characteristics similar:

  1. VSM (Focuses at certain segment of VSM =Value Stream Map)
  2. Operational studies are used: Efficiency, capacity utilization on bottleneck positions, work instructions)
  3. FE (Floor Experience), TUE (Time Utilization Experience), FMBE (Floor Manager Behavior Experience) – studies that quantifies behavior patterns
  4. MS (Management System) – where information arrives, and what happens upon values
  5. Conclusion, Proposal – Auditor gives his opinion in a percentage of Productivity and proposal how to mobilize currently unused opportunity.

Beyond the scope of Audit:

A Productivity Audit is agreed and planned: over what part of VSM, main focus, duration, but solutions with investment in new technology and machines are not examined.

What prevents me to do it:

  1. “My company is doing well.”

Yes, it is. Are you sure, there is no more room for improvement? For sure doesn’t appeared signs of erosion in MS?

2. “We’re functioning mainly fine, except of … but we are not going to solve that because of  … (to big investment, to much Down Time, to big construction).”

So many times heard this sentence, and in 95% proven: mentioned reason not that size and other, more serious weakness let profit to leak away!

3. “Our production is unique and we have very complicated system. I don’t know, how somebody from outside could …”

Each company (even these ones with the same product) is different and unique. Auditor’s experience lays in recognizing principles beyond surface and calculating how fare is the produced result from ideal.

4. “I don’t want somebody to tell me, what I should do!”

Real Consultant will never tell to Client, what he should do! He is auditing the premise, makes benchmarking and measurement and describes the situation, giving you options as a comment. Customer will decide which option will take!

5. “Installed machines and solutions at our plant represent Top Secret. I don’t want to reveal them.”

There is a Confidentiality Agreement to be signed off. Believe me, Consultant wouldn’t hazard to appear as a source of rumors!

Summary:

To do an External Audit gives an impartial vision about Productivity of units done by a skilled experienced person with unbiased eyes, working exclusively on discovery of further improvement possibilities. At the end you receive the ratio H/Hmax in figures, and options to mobilize possibility what is there and it is not used in a moment.

Ask for details or schedule an Audit clicking at CONTACT or write a mail at robertburu@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp message at +40 753 057 303!

7 benefits of 5S implementation

Most of the managers knows about basic Lean tool called 5S. At first blink it seems as a procedure how to make and keep perfect order in our surroundings, but as we go to a shop floor, and look at a CNC machine, will see how handy is 5S!

  1. Higher Equipment Availability

Equipment Availability (EA) = Producing time / (Producing time + Rest of the time)

Into REST OF THE TIME enters machine setting, lifting raw material, puting into the best angle for feeding, avoiding obstacles, searching for tools, removing finished goods, etc. During 5S implementation main point is to remove all items we do no need at the current moment, and arrange surrounding of machine to allow smooth material transport, easy access to stock before and after machine, tools for setting, so it’s obvious that REST OF THE time vill decrease, and EA value will increase!

2. Better Assets Utilization

Basic assets of a company are EA and People Worked Hours (PWH). As EA is higher, the operator will make more machine feeding cycles (utilization of PWH increased).

3. Improved Safety

Planned transport roads, designated passing paths, removed unused objects, properly deposited tools and materials -all are contributing to better safety of employees and goods in an organization.

4. Reduced Cost

Higher EA, PWH Productivity by itself decrease the production cost per unit. Here can be added the fact, that better control over production conditions decrease number of rejects in production process.

5. Functioning 5S is a BASIS for Performance Management

During 5S implementation is considered exact material needs per hour, output per hour, it’s easy to implement performance and quality KPI-s for production volume, quality, transport, efficience.

6. Improved Employee Morale

Proper raw material supply, place for transport, deposit and production, neat and tidy environment, transparent expectation and measured fulfillment increase employee morale and their engagement in daily task. Engaged employees are more efficient up to 24%! (Data source: Gartner)

7. Workplace looks “Pro”

Organized, clean, controllable, good looking shop floor with engaged employees leaves better impression to existing and future customers (and suppliers), what has impact on obtaining further projects and orders.

5S implementation (in production and office area as well) is the fastest and most successful if coordinated by experienced Productivity Specialist.

X.X. (Ikea Supplier in Sibiu), X.X. (Austro Romanian Plastics Producer in Bucharest) are satisfied users of benefits. Click on CONTACT or write WhatsApp message to +40 753 057 303 to let my experience to work for you!