Watching your waste: Print 21 magazine article

Waste in the production process is an insidious, often invisible disease eating away at your profits, but how do you cure it? The growing popularity of lean manufacturing techniques has seen a renewed focus on combating all forms of waste wherever they may occur. Peter Barnet shows you how to diagnose them.

Would you like to save one third of your business costs? I think I can guess your answer.

Print processes either add value or waste to the production of a printed item, and waste elimination is one of the most effective ways to increase profitability in your business. Waste could be accounting for up to 30 per cent of your costs so, to eliminate it, it is important to fully understand exactly what it is and where it can be found. Toyota, the Japanese automobile manufacturer, after years of work to remove waste, identified the following seven wastes as the most prominent ones.

I have adapted Toyota’s model to the graphic arts industry to help you narrow your focus.

1. Overproduction is to produce more than needed or to produce it before it is required. It is the result of producing to the ‘Just in Case’ scenario instead of ‘Just in Time’. Examples, many of which I have witnessed first-hand are:

*  Over-purchasing; producing over-runs and then not giving or selling to customer; working unnecessary overtime; over-servicing clients; over-staffing; excess paperwork.

2. Waiting occurs whenever time is not being used efficiently. Much of a product/service’s lead time is tied up in waiting for the next operation. This is usually because the material flow may be poor, the production run too long or the distances between work areas too great. It is not unusual for a printed item to spend 99 per cent of its time waiting. Waiting may sometimes seem to contradict over-production, but time can be used to add value by improving the processes. Types of waste from waiting I have seen can be illustrated by:

* Waiting between processes  WIP; stock supply lead time; waiting for sub-contractors; waiting for a management decision; customers waiting for goods; customers waiting for an answer to a query; machine repair, production hold-ups and admin requirements.

3. Transporting. Customers do not want to have to pay for transportation between processes, so this is a clear source of non-valued cost. More than this, every transport event is an opportunity for damage/loss to occur and quality to deteriorate. We see waste from transporting where there is evidence of:

* Excessive material handling; too many suppliers; office layout (location of photocopiers, fax, printers); internal versus external freighters; poor factory layout; number of forklifts required (and forklift operators); too many requisitions from purchasing; use of couriers and damage to product during transport; amount of walking required; multiple deliveries

4. Inappropriate processing can be easily explained by the analogy “using a sledge hammer to crack a nut”. Are you using the right tool/process for the job? Are you using big, expensive, high-precision equipment when simpler tools would suffice? Are you using the right person for the job? Other examples are:

* Use of out-dated equipment (resulting in machine breakdown and excess maintenance); management wanting to make all decisions; lack of documented systems and procedures; use of sub-contractors; double handling; sales staff doing admin.

5. Unnecessary inventory is Work in Progress (WIP) and is a direct result of over-production and waiting. Reducing WIP allows the other problems to surface. The analogy often used is that of a ship sailing along on a sea of WIP which hides rocks below the water level. By lowering the water level of the sea of WIP slowly it allows the problems to be addressed as they surface. If this is not done there is a high probability that the ship will run aground. Areas for waste investigation around inventory are:

* Raw material; finished goods; pallets; working capital; overdraft (interest); and knowledge/skills.

6. Unnecessary motion is related to ergonomics and is seen in all instances of bending, stretching and reaching. They are also potential OH&S issues which in today’s litigious society are becoming more of an issue. Have a look in your business for unnecessary motions in:

* The production line; office layout – fax, filing, copier; desk layout – in tray, filing cabinet, PC, phone; factory layout; picking up a piece of paper and not actioning it; stop/start mentality; inappropriate location of tools; stock picking; travel; access to management.

7. Defects cost money either now or later and their costs come direct from the bottom line. They can be internal defects found before sale and incur the costs of scrap, rework or delays added to them. They can be external defects which have been delivered to customers and incur costs from claims, reprints and potential loss of customer. As a rule of thumb the cost of a defect increases tenfold for each production or supply chain step. Waste is found from defects in these areas in business:

* Poor instructions, communication of requirements; computer input errors; misread orders; manual errors; machine failure; computer program errors; poor design and specifications; poor workmanship; poor quality of purchased product; missed deadlines.

So there is an insight into the key areas of the Seven Wastes model as pioneered and mastered by Toyota. The implementation of this concept has helped them become the number one automobile manufacturer around the world.

What ideas can you take to improve the manufacturing side of your business?