Sunday, September 21, 2008

Lean MSI Team Talks Process and IT

The Lean MSI team is clearly articulating that Lean grew up in a certain type of manufacturing (think Toyota and TPS) and that some of the particular practices may not suit every manufacturing style. The team leader points out that many major companies have developed their own production systems using techniques that fit - this aspect of the guidebook is an important starting point. If everyone understood that they need their own version for higher mix or other production styles, companies could be much further along in their success with lean.

Taking it head on - they are also talking about the role of technology. When the constraint is the supporting business processes like PLM, CAPA, maintenance staging, etc. (high mix) information flow needs more than visual cues. 21st century lean IT - creates a common library for BOM & work instructions across PLM and Manufacturing - workflow in the plant. Meta data model gets leaned out as the standard work for IT.

How to justify a lean project is not simple. Great work in explaining how to get CapEx for initiatives.

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