Business Management Systems Methodologies
Gibbons Roscoe will be happy to discuss with you how best to utilise one or several of the concepts/tools below in your drive for continual improvement.
1) Lean Manufacturing
Lean Manufacturing is a methodology employing flowing and pulling parts as required, as opposed to pushing and creating inventory. Lean thinking employs supporting tools such as fast equipment changeover, standardised work and error-proofing. Success is reliant upon investment in people and a culture of Continuous Improvement.
The following methodologies fit into Lean Manufacturing:
a) Six Sigma
The Six Sigma model is a highly disciplined approach that helps companies focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. It is based on the statistical work of Joseph Juran, a Rumanian-born US pioneer in quality management. Bill Smith (Motorola) is credited with developing the mathematics of Six Sigma, enabling this method to be applied consistently throughout all operations within a company. The word "Sigma" is a Greek letter used for a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection (standards deviation). The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systemically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to "zero defects" as possible.
b) Kaizen (= to change for the good)
The Kaizen method of continuous incremental improvements was originally a Japanese management concept for gradual, continuous change. Kaizen is actually a way of life philosophy assuming that every aspect of our life deserves to be constantly improved. It lies behind many Japanese management concepts such as Total Quality Control, and Quality Circles. There are four basic elements to the Kaizen method: teamwork, working smarter, creativity before investment and problem-solving using common sense.
c) Just in Time
Just-in-time (JIT) was pioneered by Taiichi Ohno in Japan at the car assembly plants in the early 1970s, it is a manufacturing organisation philosophy. JIT cuts waste by supplying parts only when the assembly process requires them. At the heart of JIT lies the kanban, the Japanese word for card. The kanban card is sent to the warehouse to reorder a standard quantity of parts as and when they have been used up in the assembly/manufacturing process. JIT requires precision, as the right parts must arrive "just-in-time" at the right position. It is used primarily for high-volume repetitive flow manufacturing processes. Its implementation can help to reduce inventory, allow for smaller production lots and batch sizes, improve quality control, reduce complexity and increase transparency, and minimize waste.
2) Strategic Analysis
Strategy is not planning. Strategy is a "unifying theme that gives coherence and direction to the actions and decisions of an individual or organisation" Robert M Grant (1991) Contemporary Strategy. Using strategic analysis we can utilise our skill base to build and sustain our core competences.
3) Quality Training
When conducting Quality Training we always ask if our students have undergone any previous quality training. Our experience is that, in the majority of cases, well over 80% of staff have never received any training at all. Of those that have, it is invariable a basic internal auditors course.
Ask yourself, how can I expect to implement an effective quality programme or continuous improvement culture, when my staff do not understand what I am talking about?
Gibbons Roscoe are pleased to offer courses from Basic Quality Concepts through to ISO 9001 2000 auditor training.
