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Principles of Lean Manufacturing

Principles of Lean Manufacturing (with live simulation) is an overview class that provides a foundation for all other classes in the series. Participants begin by manufacturing various assemblies in a traditional manufacturing setting. The results of the first simulation round will provide the setting for continuous improvement by applying the lean manufacturing principles. Participants will have the knowledge of understanding the 8 wastes in manufacturing. A mixture of lecture and hands-on simulations will teach lessons in standardized work, workplace organization, visual controls, set-up reduction, batch size reduction, point of use storage, quality at the source, workforce practices, and pull systems. Each is designed to eliminate waste in the manufacturing processes. Available as a training workshop.

Principles of Lean for Leadership

Lean is often viewed as a set of process improvement tools and techniques with little emphasis on the supporting systems that allows the tools to work effectively to maximize and sustain gains. The Lean Leadership workshop is a one-day, simulation based workshop that orients the management team on the holistic view of lean, how to structure the deployment of a Strategic Lean Initiative, and the changes in roles and responsibilities that effects the management levels in the organization, and other topics such as communication & promotion, performance measure to support systematic improvement, importance of recognition and rewards systems, and specific management activities of assessing, planning, managing, directing, and controlling. Available as training workshop.

Value-Stream Management & Mapping

Value Stream Management is an 8-step method of planning and managing the transformation process. It introduces the use of successful lean tools for selecting product families, mapping the value streams of selected families, and creating a plan and management system to transform the value stream to achieve customer expectations. The final outcome of Value Stream Management is the creation of a complete, visual plan for lean transformations. Available in training workshop or on-site implementation.

5S (Workplace Organization)

The 5S methodology is the cornerstone of creating discipline in the workplace and form the foundation for all workplace improvements. It is particularly valuable for operators in manufacturing environments, pilot teams and implementers of Lean Production, Lean Office, and Asset Management. This is the foundation for creating a Lean environment.

Total Productive Maintenance

TPM is a method to proactively maintain machines and equipment at their peak productivity to increase return on capital assets. The 8 Pillars of TPM increases overall equipment effectiveness and helps avoid interruptions to production to achieve reduced batch sizes and increased equipment performance. It is often the first key strategy of the Lean Enterprise Operating System that is deployed since it enables the others.

Set-up Reduction/Quick Changeover

This course teaches the fundamental principles of set-up reduction. The instructor will clearly define set-up and discuss reasons and barriers to reducing set-up time. Participants learn the standard methodology in applying Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) to any type of set-up or industry.

Standardized Work & Cellular/Flow Manufacturing

This hands-on course teaches how to link and balance manufacturing operations to reduce lead times, minimize work in process, optimize floor space usage, and improve productivity. The instructor will lead the class through the 5-step process for designing and implementing work cells. This process applies to both assembly and fabrication applications.

Pull/Kanban Systems

Students will learn how to control shop floor inventory and production schedules by implementing pull systems. This course teaches how to design and implement a visually driven, employee-controlled material replenishment system. Participants also learn how to implement repetitive and non-repetitive pull systems, to set up point-of-use material storage, to interface with planning systems, and to balance lot sizes with capacity, not economic order quantity. Available as an implementation project or training workshop.

Lean Certification Series

This unique program provides companies the opportunity to provide their employees with a strong foundation in the Lean concepts and tools that are used to drive continuous improvement and achieve world-class business performance. The certification consists of nine "Lean Tools" that can be applied in any business environment.

ISO 9001:2008 Internal Auditor Workshop

This course teaches you how to audit effectively while trouble shooting your organization for ISO 9000 Standard compliance. ISO 10011 (audit practices) is covered in detail, including planning, execution, reporting and follow-up. Those interested in managing, conducting, or participating in internal audits should take this course. It will also assist individuals wishing to become ISO registered by identifying those areas an external auditor will assess.

TWI—Job Instruction for Standardized Work

The objective of Job Instruction is to help supervisors develop a well-trained workforce resulting in less scrap and rework, fewer accidents, and less tool and equipment damage. Supervisors are taught how to effectively break down a job for instruction. The method emphasizes preparing the operator to learn, giving a proper demonstration, identifying the key points in the job, observing the operator perform trial runs, and tapering off coaching while continuing to follow-up.

TWI—Job Methods Improvement

The aim of the Job Methods Training program is to help produce greater quantities of quality products in less time by making the best use of the people, machines, and materials now available. Supervisors are taught how to break down jobs into their constituent operations. They question details and develop new methods by eliminating, combining, and rearranging these details.

Lean Office

Lean Office is a highly interactive overview session that provides a foundation for more advanced or specialized classes in the disciplines of Lean. It is based on the Toyota Production System and is specifically tailored for the administrative office environment. Throughout this session, participants will be challenged to "think lean" and use tools applicable to the office and service side of the business. This mixture of lecture and hands-on work will teach the fundamentals of workplace organization through 5S, waste elimination, value stream mapping, point of use storage, quality at the source, and more.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt & Black Belt Training

Time and quality are the two most important measures in improving any company's production and profit performance. Lean Six Sigma explains how to impact your company's performance in each, by combining the strength of today's two most important initiatives -- Lean Production and Six Sigma -- into one integrated program.

The first course to provide a step-by-step roadmap for profiting from the best elements of Lean and Six Sigma, this breakthrough training will show how to:

1. Achieve major cost and lead time reductions in less than a year

2. Compress order-to-delivery cycle times

3. Reduce process variation and waste throughout your organization

Unlike its predecessors, Lean Six Sigma keeps improvement tied to business strategy. You'll learn how to determine which projects will have the biggest and quickest impact on you strategic and financial priorities. You'll learn the secret to eliminating the time traps that add delays and hinder speed in both service and manufacturing processes. Lean Six Sigma can show you how to permanently eliminate sources of unnecessary cost while reaching Six Sigma levels of quality, and dramatically improving shareholder value. Green Belt training is a two-week course in which attendees learn basic problem-solving tools. Black Belt training is a more rigorous four-week course covering both basic and advanced tools. The courses use materials developed and offered in partnership with George Group. Available as training workshops.

Intro to Basic Six Sigma

This class covers the basic concepts of Six Sigma, including data analysis, types of variation, common and special causes, the roles of Six Sigma team members, and the DMAIC method.

For more information about the Principles of Lean Office course or how you can contract with SwRI, please contact Bill Rafferty at wrafferty@swri.org or (210) 522-5865.

| Manufacturing Systems Department | Automation and Data Systems Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions.

November 04, 2009