Guest post by Dan Vermeesch and the team at Micron Manufacturing.

Dan and his team are internationally recognized manufacturing experts, when they have something to say, I listen!

The Micron Manufacturing Team was awarded the Shingo Silver Medallion for excellence in manufacturing.

You can check it out here – its that little red thing at the very bottom left of the page.

I was having a side conversation with Dan via email about another subject that had been posted on PMPA’s members-only Listserve when we started talking about the importance of preventive actions, and how they are REALLY DIFFERENT from Corrective Actions.

I asked Dan “What do you think is the ‘right’ investment in preventive actions?”

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the response from Dan and his savvy team at Micron Manufacturing.

(Prepare to hit ‘Print’ and stick it in the interoffice mail to-  well, you know who…)

What is the right investment in preventive actions?

Years ago:

We made gage stations for each machine rejects and scrap went down

We invested in more and better gagingrejects and scrap went down

We improved and increased the average light level from 45 to 65 lumenrejects and scrap went down

We involved all people on teams to be a part of something bigger than pushing a green buttonrejects and scrap went down

We eliminated supervisors and leadmen resulting in greater personal responsibility for all machinists rejects and scrap went down

We eliminated product inspection and replaced it with process auditingrejects and scrap went down

We invested in new equipment and improved processes so we can run more challenging productsrejects and scrap went down

What’s the “right investment?”

Wayne Gretzky said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

The right investment level for preventive actions is that which gets you to the puck wherever it’s going, not ahead of it or behind it.

Thanks Dan!

 Wayne Gretzky

PMPA’s 2010 National Technical Conference will be held at the Hilton in Pittsburgh, PA from April 24-27.
Transforming Technologies in Twenty Ten
The programming content follows three tracks to help your Technical, Quality, and Management personnel meet the challenges that they face daily.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcTGCD0JNcU&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Here is the link to register your team.

"I definitely bring something home and hope to see you there."

Link to program.

It's more than a slogan on a sign.
It's more than a slogan on a sign.

How do I start a 5-S program?
How do I get my 5-S program back on track?
The best way to do 5-S is to understand that the area where the man and the machine interact is the absolutely most valuable real estate on the planet.
Go to that place and ask: “Why is this here?” about any- and every- thing that is there.

  1. Why is this here?
  2. Will it be used this hour?
  3. Will it be used this shift?
  4. Will it be used today?
  5. Why is this here? 

In an office environment, only the names of the machines are different.
When you have completed this for all of your workstations come back and we’ll give you some more ideas about eliminating other less urgent wastes.
PMPA members  with user name and password can download the  6/01/2005 BI Report: Lean Setup 5-S Case Study (Micron Manufacturing) here.
 
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