newsletter - Elmo Rietschle

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Interview What are customers willing to spend their money on? Rainer Schiessle, Director of Operations and Managing Director in Schopfheim since the beginning of the year, is pursuing a clear aim to eliminate waste. Things are moving in production – delivery times are getting shorter again. Why? There are several reasons. On the one hand we have concluded the Factory Improvement Program, which as we know aimed at speeding up and streamlining the complex system of production logistics, and on the other hand some areas have already undergone a procedure to optimize processes under the „lean“ motto. What does „lean“ actually mean in this context? The most important aim is to eliminate waste. Here we must join together with production employees to work out how we can completely do away with unnecessary procedures or at least change them fundamentally. Typical examples here are insufficient streamlining, uncoordinated production stages and idle times. How do we achieve this aim? To do so, everyone must join forces and take a critical look at procedures. It is absolutely amazing how quickly employees involved come up with solutions as soon as they have grasped the basic idea. During the past few weeks we have actually already made great progress – among other things, we got together in a workshop at weekends and analyzed, reviewed and re-defined processes in a team. And then immediately put our ideas into practice. This was also an issue during Barry Pennypacker‘s visit? A slight understatement. In actual fact our new boss is an absolute specialist here and during his tour around the production areas in Schopfheim, he showed us exactly how to go about doing some rethinking. According to statistics from the Internet, only about 20% of all the companies in Germany apply the lean principle. Are we in fact outsiders or simply faster than all the others? The answer is quite clear: The others will need to follow suit if they want to keep their costs under control. What is really important here is that Gardner Denver will not only optimize production; all the other areas, including administration, will learn how we eliminate waste. Many managers will say that there is definitely no waste in their field; instead there is sooner a lack of resources. The term waste needs to be defined more closely here. The decisive question we all need to ask is: „Are customers willing to pay for this?“ The first six months have been accomplished. Conclusion? I received a warm welcome everywhere I went and met committed, active teams with which we will be laying the foundations for success in future. The task on hand is big - and very interesting. Thank you for your time. Rainer Schiessle
Production Although the term „lean“ was coined by American authors such as James Womack and Daniel Jones during the 1980s, „LEAN“ is no American invention. When the Japanese were defeated in the Second World War, they had little to re-establish their automobile production industry, since, unlike Germany, they got no support from external sources. A virtue was made out of necessity and the Toyota Production System (TPS), or lean manufacturing, was developed. It was invented by the Japanese The biggest problem was waste The focus is mainly on eliminating waste. A Japanese version specifies the following forms of waste in a production environment: 1. Overproduction Overproduction is when more is produced than has been scheduled. Reasons for this may be that there are too many workers in a shift due to poor planning for extra shifts, the establishment of stocks as security in the event of machine break-downs or poor production quality. 2. Excessive motion Unfavorable, unergonomical tool or workpiece arrangements result in workers making unnecessary motions. Long tool movements for small workpieces processed on machines that are too big result in unnecessary machine motions and may hence also mean that operators have to wait. 3. Waiting times Operator or machine waiting times caused by a lack of material, machine downtimes as a result of interruptions and unfavorable processing times: machine works – worker waits until he can put in the next workpiece. 4. Transportation Any kind of transportation – with a stacker, bicycle, hand elevating truck, etc. – constitutes waste, since the workpiece is not brought closer to its final state; instead only its position in the factory is moved. 5. Overprocessing (operations that are excessively time-consuming and/or unnecessary) If a drilled hole is deeper than needed, the component will have been overprocessed. Frequently improvements can notably be made in the area of inspection. Components are very often simply „overinspected“. The problem lies in ascertaining that workers are really overworking! 6. Large inventory of materials (in production and/or in raw material or finished part stocks) Inventory causes capital expenditure. Inventory is a direct result of over-production and “unphased production”. 7. Reworking and rejects Deficient parts cannot be processed in the next production step or delivered to customers. They need to be reworked, resulting in high production costs. Strategy > Eliminating waste in the production process Methods > > > > > Basis: > Continuous improvement To sum up: focus | August 2008 | 7 Synchronizing processes Standardizing processes Avoiding mistakes Improving production facilities Qualifying and training employees Workers know their work best. If product quality is to be enhanced, process quality will first of all need to be improved. Only when employees perceive that the management is interested in their everyday problems with processes and actively support them in solving these problems will they realize that the aim is actually to consistently improve processes. Focusing on results is demotivating. If a trainer permanently sets the highjump bar at 2.30 m without letting the high jumper know how to get over this height, the high jumper will become discouraged with his sport and give up. Process-oriented management is supportive management. In Toyota factories, workers are the most important factor in the process. It has been understood that investing in employee qualifications is the most decisive factor in gaining an edge over competitors in the battle around quality and cost. Ongoing process enhancement means ongoing employee qualification.
Page 1 and 2: The Gardner Denver Blower Division
Page 3 and 4: LEAN Project Naturally there will s
Page 5: Innovation Innovation We are openin
Page 9 and 10: International Outsiders taking a lo
Page 11 and 12: g department report Various examina
Page 13 and 14: Trade Show 2008 Trade Show Update C
Page 15 and 16: Communications Vacuum and Pressure

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