REVIEW: On-site observation is the basis for continuous improvement of the factory. Toyota factory to observe the scene to do the ultimate, even in the factory rest day, the director will bring managers to the scene, people stood in the workshop quietly observed for half an hour and then pointed out the need for improvement. Only in this way can we truly improve the endless, PDCA cycle. CNC acrylic service
The staff in their own factories often turn a blind eye to many problems, either as harmless or as irreversible. There are also many managers who often turn a blind eye to visual information and only love numbers. The result is likely to hang around, ignore some of the key clues, cannot really understand the true state of the business.
As a customer, we should go to the supplier’s site to understand its cost structure, production efficiency, quality control. As a supplier, we should go to the customer’s site to understand its production process, in order to better serve our customers. As a peer, if you have the opportunity to visit other factories, but also very good learning, comparison, reference opportunities. CNC acrylic service
Business operations is a large system, all aspects are closely related and influence each other. For the production-oriented enterprises, through the scene of any details, we can see micro-see. Any major problem can be found on the scene. Even with a limited amount of time and effort, as long as the focus is on, you can fully grasp the key information about the operation of the plant. The following combination of macro-system and management details to talk about how to conduct on-site observation.
Live atmosphere
At the scene, first of all, you can visually see the most realistic employee mentality, high morale of staff and coy, indifferent staff will be in stark contrast. A few first-hand conversations with field workers can also give an important first impression from the worker’s facial expressions and body language as these directly reflect the worker’s emotions and factory satisfaction. At a factory I visited, most of the workshops played lively music. At one glance, the workers were enthusiastic about their work. Working in a relaxed and pleasant environment with relatively high efficiency, the quality of the products would make people More confident. CNC acrylic service
Take a look around the workshop to observe whether there is a mixture of leisure and leisure time. For example, when the machine is being processed automatically, the workers idle for a long time, or workers in some stations wait for a long time for material. The existence of this phenomenon shows that the factory lacks lean management, staff utilization is low, and idle employees also affect the working atmosphere of others. The overall work efficiency is low and the cost is bound to be higher.
Should pay attention to the workshop is light enough, the air flow is smooth, the scene is odor, the noise is too large, the workshop is tidy because these will directly affect the workers’ feelings, thus affecting the production efficiency and product quality. Hard to imagine a lively atmosphere lazy, depressed, indifferent, employees or resentful or idle factories can do a good job of products and create benefits. CNC acrylic service
2 space utilization and layout
Many factories in China are very happy. The bigger the production workshop is, the better the results are. As a result, the utilization rate is very low and the layout of equipment and processes is very scattered. In addition to wasting space, the materials are also transported in factories with a lot of unnecessary and harsh transportation. Most factories in developed countries do not look spectacular, even slightly cramped, but they have high space utilization and high circulation efficiency.
Not only does transport space take up, operating costs are high, it also encourages unnecessary material movement. I saw a lot of electric forklift truck in a customer’s factory, manual forklift in the shuttle, but there is a lot of unnecessary handling. For example, the same batch of parts can be moved from area A to area B and then moved back to area A for post-processing, then moved to area C for processing, and finally to area B. The waste of handling is as simple as possible. CNC acrylic service
In principle, the production materials used on that day should be stored along with the production line, instead of separating them in several stock areas, and the tools and tools should be placed as close to the machine as possible. Factory layout should ensure the smooth flow of products, try to avoid any partition. If you see a factory in the material handling long distances, repeated handling routes, or handling more frequently, the layout is not reasonable, space utilization is not ideal, but also shows that the production line did not do as much as possible to build. CNC acrylic service
3. Site standardization
Standard is the best state and uniform implementation of the reference. No standard will not be implemented, there is no point of improvement. The production site should have many standards, including operations and quality standards, 5S and safety standards, operation and maintenance standards, processes and rework standards, safety stock standards and so on.
Many factory sites have SOPs (standardized operating processes) that allow us to observe if these standards have missing items, are they easy to implement, and have a breakpoint in the middle. Check if it is written, spoken or agreed, and whether the quality control point is highlighted by eye-catching signs or colors.
By observing the same process different employees specific operation process, you can find out whether there are differences, including the order of the operation, the intensity of the operation, whether there are omissions and so on. There are differences that employees lack standardized training, product variation greatly increased the possibility of. When I visited a supplier factory, I found that different workers locked the four screws in different orders and did not have standard torque reference. According to the feeling, some workers would lock twice and some workers only locked it. No wonder screws Fall off, or quality locks up on the other side as the lock is too tight. CNC acrylic service
4. Quality control
On-site observation should pay attention to the workshop for the treatment of defective products. A good factory exposes the problem rather than covering it up. For example, focusing light on a piece of waste or highlighting it with a red label will immediately tell if the waste is increasing or whether a section of the production process is producing a defective product.
I saw a lot of bad things in the corner of a factory, and it was quite visible for a long time from the dust above, but there were no signs to explain the causes and the problems. Ask the workers on the scene and say that those things are for months. No one knows what the problem is and nobody handles it. Asked how to deal with defective products, the answer is someone rework, no one to look into the reasons for the emergence of bad. Who dares to cooperate with such a chaotic factory for quality management?
In-process, semi-finished product traceability can also be easily spotted on the spot. In a good factory, each part has a card or a file to follow the flow, indicate the source, the processing staff, the equipment used and other information, in any process found problems can be easily traced back to the source, but also easy improve.
The scene can be workers through the degree of protection of parts to judge the quality of goods on the management of the fine. I saw a motor plant randomly placed on the concrete floor, without any protective measures, so the quality of the finished product can be imagined. On the other hand, the stator is placed vertically on a wooden workbench, the workers are shaping the upper part, and the enameled copper wire in the lower part is easily damaged by the friction with the insulating paint, thus causing the same quality problems. CNC acrylic service
By observing the number and proportion of defective products, the quality control process of a factory can also be initially judged to be qualified. When I visited a supplier, I found more than 20 non-conforming products accumulated at the end of the finished product line around noon. After inquiring about the workers, this production line averages an average of 1,000 pieces a day, according to which an estimated 50 pieces of defective products a day and a finished product non-performing rate of up to 5% indicate that a large number of quality problems have not been found in the previous steps, Has been flowing to the end, quality control is very weak, poor manufacturing costs must be high.
Visualization
Visual management is the foundation of many advanced management tools and is an intuitive communication of the management level of a manufacturing enterprise. Visual tools are everywhere in a well-managed factory. Including organization and standardization of workplaces, visualization of outcome indicators, visualization of standard operations, visualization of control indicators, visualization of error-proofing and error correction, warning mechanisms and more. When visiting, look for a variety of visual tools. CNC acrylic service
Visual management kanban can be divided into static and dynamic management kanban. Static kanban is mainly to convey the organization’s long-term management philosophy, the dynamic kanban is managers always grasp the management information, but also better reflect the level of management and ability of a factory.
5S is the embodiment of on-site organization and standardization, is the visual application of the underlying. However, due to various reasons, most Chinese enterprises, in reality, have gone wrong in 5S management. At a large motor factory, the workshop was almost spotless at first glance. All the floors were painted with beautiful paint. Visual lines and logos were all well-behaved, but lacking safety warning signs. Too slippery on the road friction, walking in the above careless will slip, trolleys, forklifts may also slip. This surface effort has done enough, but there are still many security risks. CNC acrylic service
6. Tools and equipment status
In a good factory, the equipment is tidy and well-maintained, equipment-related information is clear and up-to-date. In a foundry machining shop, all kinds of lathes are not very advanced and even have a long history, but all operate in good condition. I saw the side of each machine eye-catching stuck a card, which recorded the device model, purchase date, price, suppliers, maintenance records, maintenance records and so on. In addition, the daily checklist is also recorded very complete, and some checklist clearly records the hidden dangers found by the operator, as well as the equipment department’s signature and processing options. This shows that equipment management and maintenance formed a virtuous system.
In another factory, I saw a large vacuum impregnation machine in the state of being repaired, it is said that the sealing rubber ring aging needs to be replaced, but the parts to be in place a month later. This equipment does not have any maintenance records, although the daily check table, for such wearing parts cannot be used until the serious aging was discovered, indicating that the check is not in place or perfunctory. The failure of this equipment could have been the early warning and make the appropriate preparations, will not cause a serious impact on production downtime a month delivery. CNC acrylic service
At the site, employees can also be informed about whether operators and product developers are involved in purchasing decisions for equipment. Front-line workers and those involved in product development and production are most clearly aware of the pros and cons of new equipment and the best understanding of the actual needs of the production line. Purchases of equipment in many factories are determined by the top management or equipment department, seldom consulted front-line staff, resulting in a large number of follow-up problems.
7. On-site observation precautions
On-site observation is the most direct means of finding problems. Most of the problems will be demonstrated on the site. Preliminary assessment of the factory can be made quickly so as to trace the source and reduce the blindness of many jobs. This article explores just a few of the many aspects of on-site observations. There are many ways and different points of view on site, but the basic principles are the same as those that need attention. CNC acrylic service
1) can not see the scene with colored glasses, cannot carry the conclusion to the scene to find evidence, so often will be biased.
2) The scene can not look at the surface, need to check that, write, do the same, need to ask why a few.
3) At the same time, with macroscopic and microcosmic perspectives, the method of reduction is used to focus on the details and the method of release is used to look at the whole. CNC acrylic service
4) try not to take notes, this will affect the continuity of observation and ideas, but also make the site staff feel nervous. CNC acrylic service