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Why Lean Development ?

  • Improving your service and manufacturing systems can only give you limited gains – this is only half the opportunity
  • There is more scope of improvement opportunities if you target the engineering of your service, products and process’
  • It can be more challenging as it is not as easy to see waste and flow
  • Many organisations have implemented lean and explored opportunities in all departments (design, purchasing, engineering, finance, HR etc)
  • They feel that this is what gives them an edge over their competitors
  • Assist in achieving swifter new products development

E.g., Toyota, Ford, Nokia and others,

We understand that we are not Toyota !!!!  However, it is important to understand some of the main differences between the Toyota culture and conventional business cultures when they develop new products as it will help you see where we can make changes to grow stronger as a company.  Also, it will enable you to understand where development systems have originated from.

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Lean Engineering in Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma challenges for Service and Product Development are

  • Short life cycles for service offerings, products and technologies
  • Integrated development and quality approach with suppliers
  • Customer expectations becoming more demanding
  • Technology (hard/software) becoming increasingly complex
  • Extremely high requirements for service and manufacturability
  • High impact of poor OTOQOC performance on confidence
  • High costs of development of complex services and products
  • High cost of post design changes, amendments & failures

Short life cycles for both products and technologies.

[Comment: This requires dynamic changes in product designs be managed at the sub-assembly level and coordinated across product lines to gain the most synergy for our development efforts.]

Customers have rising expectations for quality of total service [Comment: Customers don’t care if the problem is a handset or service provider.]

Increasing number of product development projects.

[Comment: Nokia has chosen to compete in all technology areas.  Since technology has not yet consolidated around one or two standards, we face the need to innovate and refresh all product lines on a regular basis.  Most of our competitors are not attempting this same approach.]

Products must be capable of manufacture in the millions.

[Comment: Mistakes cannot be made in production, right the first time is essential or we will not effectively compete in this business.]

Reliance on component parts quality from suppliers.

[Comment: We do not control our own destiny for quality but must seek exceptional partners who can contribute to our overall effort on behalf of our customers.]

Software is complex and interoperability is essential & interoperability is essential.

[Comment: Again, “right the first time” is the rule for software as well as hardware.  We also rely heavily on standards and industry partnerships to assure that we maintain seamless integration between hardware manufacturers and service providers.]

 

 

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Lean Six Sigma is applicable outside volume manufacturing

Volume manufacturing (automobiles) is where Lean thinking and tools were developed.
We use a volume manufacturing exercise (VSM)  to learn the techniques – we can visualise ‘things’ easier.
But Lean is not a ‘manufacturing’ concept, it is a volume concept.
Wherever you have volume you have processes which are dynamic.
Lean is being applied outside manufacturing; the potential is huge since for an advanced industrial economy:-
–80% non-manufacturing
–and of the 20% that is manufacturing, only 20% of that has prices driven by direct manufacturing labour.
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Lean Six Sigma training is focused around 3 core elements

The Black Belt – Lean Six Sigma  programme contributes toward your companies strategic vision.
  • The Lean Six Sigma deployment structure involves all layers of the organisation, Champions, Sponsors, Black Belts, Green & Yellow Belts.
  • The Black Belt training provides a significant Return On Investment by ensuring that attendees deliver real improvement in the organisation
  • The  improvement methodology, DMAIC, is a holistic approach that encompasses the best practices of  Lean (waste) & Six Sigma (variation) techniques
The training is focused around 3 core elements:
  1. Technical problem solving
  2. Project management
  3. Change management
We define Change Management as the processes to take into account all human and social aspects of the change from the launch of the project to its end…
  • It ensures the adequate involvement of the people concerned in the definition, communication and implementation of the new solution to secure “Buy-in”.
  • It covers a range of activities tightly embedded with Project Management activities.
  • Listen to the people concerned and continually communicate.
Change Management in a Lean Six Sigma improvement project is about gathering the critical mass to make the change irresistible by creating a shared need for change
  • Find and leverage the best allies
  • Removing any barriers blocking or slowing down the change
  • Coping with resistances to change

The Black Belt training will focus strongly on Change Management Skills

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Lean Six Sigma , labour and productivity

What is the difference between labour and multifactor productivity?

Labour productivity is measured as real output per hour worked. Multifactor productivity, a broader measure of efficiency, is measured as real output per unit of combined inputs (capital, labour, etc). In essence, this is the efficiency of all or your factors of production.

Progress in productivity constitutes a significant source of increased standard of living. In the long run, increases in real hourly earnings are tied to productivity gains. The European economy has been able to produce more goods and services over time, not by requiring a proportional increase of resources such as labour, but by making production more efficient. The overall performance of any company, operating in any industry, is comprised of at least seven key criteria:

  • effectiveness
  • efficiency
  • innovation
  • productivity
  • profitability
  • quality
  • quality of work life
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