Continuous Improvement – Success is achieved, not from the program, but from the mindset
Theory of Constraints. The Houlihan Labor Method. Quick Response Manufacturing. Six Sigma. Lean. Total Productive Maintenance. Total Quality Management. The lexicon, tools, and methods around improving manufacturing seems endless these days. A quick search for texts on the subject reveals some impressive numbers – more than 25,000 books are available.
The continuous improvement community makes it more complicated than it really needs to be, sometimes to the point of confusing and frustrating those very people we are trying to help. Don't get me wrong, I have used several of the methods listed above in some application as they have their place in my operations and manufacturing heart. Since the component industry version of The Houlihan Labor method started in Imperial Components back in the late 1960s, I learned the importance of improvement and I am very familiar with its concepts. Don Hershey brought John Houlihan into his and Dave Chambers’ operation to improve productivity and find a method of tracking labor from pricing through the production process. But if you are going to align your component or lumber operation and stick to a method, then you need this concept of continuous improvement to be easy and fun, not complicated and by the book. And one method is not the “be all end all,” so anyone trying to force you into one method is wrong.
Over the years I have found that, in its simplest form of focusing on improving one of the following five things while making sure not to worsen the other four, you can turn continuous improvement into something that anyone at any level of the organization can easily understand and implement.
Simpler
We have all heard the saying KISS, “keep it simple, stupid.” By reviewing the processes we use, from quote to delivery, we make a task simpler for the associate, so the net result is less labor time and therefore less cost for the company.
Simpler can also mean a review of the ergonomics, health, and safety of a task on our associates. There are countless benefits in this area: the less burden on the associate, the better they are at performing the task/process, the higher the quality and the more productive they will be. This can be in our lumber yards, component manufacturing floors, the office – the entire operation.
Outshine
We advocate quality control, use programs such as SBCA QC and TPI third-party inspections, but are we always looking for ways to make our product better? Outshine can come from changing a component, material used, features, assembly, or packaging process. Having grown up in the industry and seeing many of the innovative ideas first hand, I know we have come a long way. But look at other industries and how much more they have embraced innovation, automation, technology. I think we can agree that we still have room to improve and outshine. Companies struggle with this because of the cost of technology and innovation and the difficulty of integrating it into your long-term strategy, etc. But, if spending dimes and adding this to your COGS will save dollars, could you not outshine your competitor or leap-frog the technology hurdle? Keep in mind though, making a Rolls-Royce wall component or truss when all you need is the Chrysler 300 (or Ford F150 for us truck enthusiasts) is not necessarily “outshine,” particularly if you are not meeting customer expectations.
Faster
“Time is Money” and “Work Smarter Not Harder.” How many times have you heard these phrases in your life? Unless you have an operation that is completely automated including robotics, the majority of your expense comes from direct and indirect labor in component and lumber operations. Whether you are putting a lumber package together for your truck or, as is the case in our manufacturing operations, processing raw material to produce a component, every improvement you make really is money to your bottom line. No improvement is too small, and shaving even seconds off a process will add up to substantial savings for the company. You cannot expect your associates to always work faster just by simply increasing their effort; it is not sustainable physically or mentally. Anyone can say, I’ll save you 3-6%, but can they coach/train these best practices with your team and sustain these savings? The processes we use need to become easier, allowing them to work faster. That may not seem achievable in a component plant where you are “swinging a hammer” or moving lumber from one place to another. Coaching/Training best practices for each process will produce the needed productivity gains that will drop to your bottom line.
Savings
Focusing on COGS and the various components that make up our costs is always a good thing. There are a number of ways you can do this in your operation; it can come from labor cost, raw material savings, inventory turns, etc. While reducing costs and increasing savings is always good, don’t make the mistake of reducing the quality of the product you produce or distribute. Your customer, the framer/builder, may want you to focus on reducing the price of your bid, but they did not ask you to reduce the quality of what you deliver. You get what you pay for. Always review savings with a mindset/look at what the implications would be for the company and your customer.
Safety
It should go without saying we never want to jeopardize the safety of our associates. Everyone should have the expectation that, when they come to work and then leave, they return home without injury. If a change in process makes working conditions unsafe for your team, it is not worth the continuous improvement gain. I had a client who used some but not all of our guidelines for marking/lining out/painting the floor. The unintentional result was that employees were moving carts through the area and subconsciously thinking it was a race track because it was painted green. While they had improvements, they also had a few injuries. Fortunately the floor is now painted with the caution colors they should have used and they have not had another injury. This is a good reminder that we need our people assets as much as we need our automated machines, and there are also benefits you can use from the SBCA Safety Program.
So while you may be thinking that the terms here seem simplistic, remember it really is a mindset for your entire team. There are several Continuous Improvement programs out there, but, before you start any of them, make sure your team at least aligns with these five things —simpler, outshine, faster, savings, and safety. You’ll be glad that you did.
Ben Hershey is the CEO of 4Ward Consulting Group, LLC, the leading provider of Lean Management and Manufacturing Consulting to the Structural Component and Lumber Industry. A Past President of SBCA, he has owned and managed several manufacturing and distribution companies and is Six Sigma Black Belt Certified.
4Ward Consulting Group
"Boots on the Ground Consulting" Focused on People, Process, Productivity and Profitability
You can reach Ben at ben@4WardConsult.com or 623-512-6770.