WHITE PAPER

Recalibrating lean: Enterprise mobility and continuous improvement in manufacturing

Enterprise mobility offers the power to create an error-proof lean manufacturing environment as well as a platform for continuous improvement

Executive summary
Is your lean environment as lean as it can be? Has this operational philosophy permeated all aspects of your operations? Whether youre charged with quality or continuous improvement, these two questions comprise the bulk of your dayto-day challenges. Kaizen teams work tirelessly to make components better, set baselines for product excellence and ensure that the line is performing at peak efficiency all the time. On top of those priorities, battling the true enemies of lean such as defects, waiting and overproduction is an all-encompassing task. Successfully maintaining a lean environment depends on many factors. But one of the single, most important issues to address comes down to the integrity and accuracy of the data. Think about the effect on your assembly line if it were error proof. Or if you were able to deliver a higher quality product while reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies. Enterprise mobility is the ideal way to continuously improve your line and overall operations. The goal of this white paper is to detail the benefits of integrating enterprise mobility into your lean environment, especially when it comes to the fundamental components of calibrating, operating and improving. Enterprise mobility technology enables you to enhance your lean efforts without it becoming burdensome to continuous improvement processes. This document also demonstrates why the ability to capture, move and manage information to and from the point of activity is so critical to ensure that your plant is truly as lean as it can be.

Enterprise mobility is the ability to capture, move and manage information to and from the point of business activity.

Introduction: The seven barriers to lean

Operating in a lean environment means that you must fight an ongoing battle with the waste that is inherent in the manufacturing process. These seven barriers are a costly and tedious part of your day-today operations: Overproduction Waiting Processing Transportation Machine downtime Defects Inventory

breakdown means that time is critical. Immediate alerts sent to the technician resolve the issues faster and gets the line back up and running. Defects Catching a mistake before it happens is vital to a successful lean operation. Everything from proper labeling to making sure a product goes through every step in the production line is the goal of lean manufacturing. Inventory Having little or no excess inventory on the production lines is a necessity. In lean manufacturing, the objective is to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks or jams in the line. This is an ongoing process that forms one of the essential foundations of lean.

Overproduction Producing for just-in-case goes against the basic premise of lean manufacturing. Holding $150 million in inventory when it could be spent on research and development is a compelling incentive for continuous improvement. Waiting What happens if theres a traffic jam going from the warehouse to the plant, and a forklift driver is unable to get the parts to the line in time? The more waiting time between processes, the more likely it is to either starve a machine or build work in process (WIP). Processing The greater the number of touches you have on a product, the longer the processing time, and the more likely it is to produce a defect in the product. So, lean manufacturers strive to eliminate as many touches as possible in production. Transportation In a lean environment, transportation by itself is a waste. But in the real world, transportation is a necessity. Lean manufacturers are continuously improving the amount of time and distance needed to transport components and products inside and outside their plants. Machine downtime Faster, more efficient communications is one secret to avoiding occurrences of downtime. It also coincides with waiting, because having the right parts at the right time reduces the likelihood of downtime. Also, changing a run or fixing a

Setting priorities for enterprise mobility

When youve modeled and calibrated your lean operation, the stage is set for continuous improvement. Whether youre strictly adhering to the Six Sigma tools or not, ongoing modifications and enhancements must be made to keep your production lines working at full capacity. There are always inventory, waiting, overproduction, downtime, defects, transportation and processing concerns to address. Enterprise mobility empowers you to securely and accurately capture valuable data at the point of activity. It hones in on three components of lean that you use every day: calibrate, operate and improve. The following chart summarizes the activities involved in these core components:

Calibrate Operate Improve

Visibility >> Data >> Loop Collect >> Execute >> Pull Identify >> Adjust >> Observe

Calibrate How can you be sure that the data collected is errorfree? The most minor mistake, such as a mislabeled component, has a costly and resounding effect on the quality of your product right down the line. Calibrate means increasing the level of visibility with

data about any problems to ensure that you know how your lines are running so you can take this information back to the start of the process. With renewed confidence in the accuracy of the data, you can make line improvements that set new baselines for these components. To achieve this level of quality and control, enterprise mobility enables you to accurately and securely collect data in real-time. Operate Collecting information about the product applies to every step of the assembly process even before production begins. Pull concepts are designed to keep the line moving and ensure that there is acceptable amount of work in process (WIP) without any inventory bottlenecks at workstations. Most lean manufacturers use a Kanban system or card, which can present some challenges. What if your kaizen teams, those responsible for the ongoing quality of output, were notified of a potential bottleneck in real time? Collecting data on the speed of production and the components or products in the line enables you to analyze information, fix problems and add more velocity to your operations. Having this information accessible in real time enables your kaizen teams to immediately spot problems in the processes. They can quickly identify if any retooling or resizing of the Kanban system is necessary. Improve Improving the manufacturing processes can be completed in a variety of ways. Kaizen teams use Six Sigma, statistical methods or even just the power of observation. And they identify problems like work in process, make the adjustments and then go back and observe to see if the correction worked. Again, enterprise mobility delivers the agility to quickly identify, correct and eliminate potential problems through accurate data collection and real-time communications. Overall, the two most important priorities are eliminating errors and improving on the Kanban system.

production are accurate and error free; and making the outbound products the best quality possible. Any error in production is costly, so data accuracy is a key function of an effective quality management program. And enterprise mobility offers a powerful way to create an error-proof lean manufacturing environment. Error proofing is already a significant part of a lean manufacturers Six Sigma initiatives for continuous improvement. It touches upon almost all of the components of lean calibrate, operate and improve. This is where the proven error-proofing capabilities of an enterprise mobility system have the most important role. Advanced data capture using integrated bar code data capture and wireless communications is a fairly inexpensive yet effective way to eliminate errors. In lean manufacturing, there are three ways to error proof the assembly line. You can remove the possibility of mistakes at the source and design products with no room for error. You can also catch the error before it happens. This is done by using a data capture system with bar codes. Every part or component is labeled throughout the line. So as each assembly worker takes the next step, an alert or warning is sent to the mobile computer via wired or wireless communications to notify this person that a step was missed. In this way, kaizen teams can ensure that a higher quality product comes off the assembly line. The third way to further guarantee the integrity of the product is to catch the error after its done, but before it goes into the final product. Lets say a product is moving down the line but misses one workstation entirely. Again, an alert notifies the owner of the last step, and a potentially defective product is avoided. Whats important to note about error proofing is that the improvements in data collection have a powerful impact on productivity. It gives you an excellent way to continuously improve your lean operations without lowering worker productivity. When there are problems with the inbound materials or components used for your products, errors are equally costly. This area is also complex, because error proofing ranges over many areas such as labeling, shipping, production and quality. Even if your parts only arrive mislabeled, lean manufacturers will refuse the shipment. This is all because of a

Mobility drives continuous improvement

When it comes to continuous improvement, the problems for lean manufacturers are two-fold: ensuring that the inbound materials you receive for

simple label that was unintelligible or unprintable. This kind of mistake is expensive and can cost your company millions of dollars. Running in a truly lean environment means these simple errors can shut down the assembly line. Some manufacturers, especially in automotive, issue charge-backs, which makes the supplier pay for the downtime. These costs can range anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000. When suppliers make frequent errors in shipments, labels or parts marking, this leads to even more dramatic steps. This can result in being put on a containment or containment step. This means that after you complete your part processing, you must hire a third-party company to inspect or audit everything. Parts are checked for quality, labeling and paperwork. This is a very expensive process, but the good news is that there is a new concept being put into motion. This new practice is one that a lot of large business customers are starting to use to ensure that their suppliers are not costing them any money. With an error-proofing system in place to guarantee that products are labeled properly, defect free and have completed every step in the production process, you may avoid the containment step. Many automotive manufacturers are already deploying this initiative. Other markets, like consumer packaged goods, are also expressing interest. This escalates the importance of error-proofing and creates a sense of urgency. And enterprise mobility systems facilitate the creation of a formalized, accountable audit process.

Enterprise mobility delivers a powerful lean manufacturing application called eKanban. Its designed to replace or supplement the typical Kanban cards used today, and the premise is simple. When an assembly line worker needs replenishment, he or she simply presses the button on the eKanban. This compact, easily moveable device sends a signal via wireless network to the mobile computer used on the forklift by the driver. This communication informs the material handler that this particular assembly worker needs this exact component at the stated time. Its clear that the Kanban system is transformed with enterprise mobility. Now, the materials handler works off of a queue that details which production line operator needs what and when. In this way, work in process is kept streamlined and the forklift operator is able to prioritize deliveries. There is no buildup of inventory at workstations, and this keeps the line simple, uncluttered and moving at the highest level of efficiency. There are also additional cost savings from the increased productivity and labor savings for the fork-truck operators. Better prioritization and information availability enables fewer drivers to serve more areas of the production line.

Enterprise Mobility: The next step in lean manufacturing

These two enterprise mobility solutions errorproofing and the eKanban system are an excellent start to correcting process inefficiencies in a lean manufacturing environment. In addition, the productivity enhancements are measurable and significant. There are other mobility solutions to address a myriad of concerns from fleet management to warehousing to enterprise asset management, and some of these are detailed below. The impact of enterprise mobility has far-reaching implications that also address seven of the biggest barriers to lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. It boosts productivity and does so in a way that eliminates the possibility of a negative impact on your daily operations. Enterprise mobility systems are unique in that the technology works in synergy with your lean environment, enabling you to focus mainly on continuous improvement initiatives.

eKanban: Let the process define the system

The Kanban system is an integral part of the lean manufacturing environment. However, this process still faces some obstacles, especially when it comes to starvation and inventory buildup at workstations. This is compounded by the lost productivity in supplying the line with work materials. Fork truck or forklift drivers accumulate mileage in the millions when moving inventory from the warehouse or storage area to the line. Once an assembly worker puts up the Kanban card, everyone rushes around to get the needed components. But when workstations number in the dozens to hundreds, how can you ensure that the right materials are at the right station at the right time?

Take the next step with Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions

Motorola, The Enterprise Mobility Company, is uniquely positioned to deliver the strategic systems you need to continuously improve your lean manufacturing environment. Motorola advanced data capture devices, mobile computers, wireless infrastructure and mobility management software enable lean manufacturers to capture, move and manage information to and from the point of business activity. Targeted to address the seven enemies of lean, Motorola enterprise mobility solutions are complementary to many existing business practices. With decades of experience working with some

of the automotive industrys top manufacturers, Motorola enterprise mobility systems, along with high-ROI applications from our business partners, empower you with the best tools for continuous improvement. In 2003, Motorola was awarded the 2003 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing to recognize the Companys own commitment to internal operational excellence. Its this same dedication that goes into the enterprise mobility systems that we deliver to manufacturers.

Overcome the Seven Barriers to Lean Manufacturing

Waste Reason Mobility Solution eKanban system Mobile warehouse Mobile data collection eKanban system Transportation mobility solution Mobile data collection Mobile asset management Mobile data collection Error proofing Tack and trace Quality management eKanban system Mobile warehouse Transportation mobility solution

Overproduction Waiting Transportation Processing Machine downtime Defects

Incorrect demand in the supply chain; improperly sized Kanban

Poor plant scheduling leads to starvation Improper plant design Lack of supplier JIT Manually generated reports Poor maintenance; incorrect problem resolution Supplier quality, lack of validation, variability Inefficient warehousing, supplier performance; excess ordering, warehouse visibility

Inventory

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