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It seems that everyone is talking Six Sigma and Lean around the supply chain industry and that they are the silver bullet that will resolve your operational issues. I do agree that they have great value within the evolutionary improvement process an organization takes, but many companies fail to go that final step with process engineering.
The evolutionary process normally starts when an organization realizes they need to make improvements within their operations to reduce costs or improve throughput. This process starts with adopting “industry best practices” that are learned from experiences within the industry. As the evolution takes place Six Sigma is traditionally the next step in the process, but 6? focuses mainly on quality issues and not operational improvements. The next step that normally progresses is implementing a Lean practice which really starts to focus on efficiency improvements within operations.
Once Lean has been implemented most organizations feel they have gained all of the operational improvements they can, but that is just not true. The final step in the process is Process Engineering or Work Measurement, and one that can be gone to initially and not through evolution. This will also assist with providing sustainability that is validated by engineered processes.
Implementing Process Engineering will scientifically identify the most efficient means to perform a given task or job. By using Process Engineering you will be able to identify actual productivity rates, facility throughputs, and it will assist with all operational planning.
Process Engineering eliminates the individual variances that can be created by doing time studies to identify a productivity rate and uses a predetermined motion time system that has been developed over many years. Maynard Operating Sequence Technique (MOST) is one of the more common forms of this practice around the world, and is growing in acceptance in the United States. MOST has been recognized as a valid form or work measurement within the Canadian auto unions which have agreed to a specific time allowance to perform a given task.
The key to success in a business is being proactive instead of reactive. By using Process Engineering you will be able to plan better and be better prepared for variances that arise within every operation. Process Engineering can, and should be, the cornerstone of information that becomes like building blocks for analysis. It can help in cost-benefit analysis for MHE (material handling equipment), facility planning/expansion, operational budgeting, facility capacity/throughput, and standardization.
By Douglas Cantriel
Waller & Associates, LLC
Douglas Cantreil
November 23, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Great post Douglas! I think the key takeaway is that Lean and Six-Sigma alone are by no means “silver bullets.” They can help you improve, but are just that – help. They should not be the foundation.
Lean is a great methodology. Six-Sigma has a great tool set. Process Engineering is a more fundamental approach and can incorporate the others as a program.
Another complexity faced when trying to improve processes is having a great metric that truly represents the system’s reliability.
You mentioned both performance and quality; OEE and Process Reliability measure all three of the major contributing factors – performance, quality and availability.
Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that OEE measures machines or equipment. Applied to the process, it is very effective and eye-opening. In fact, both OEE and Process Reliability can be applied in a very manual environment such as a distribution center that has very little to no automation.
Just like “silver bullets,” there is no “golden metric.” However, a strong process measure is a key to successfully engineering a process for optimal throughput and reliability.
Again, great post and thank you for the opportunity to chime in.