Recipe for success

How does Lean take large businesses to the next level?

The main character in any plant is, undoubtedly, a simple worker

He knows better than anyone else how to transform the workplace to make the production process more efficient. You just need to give him that opportunity. It is not for nothing that the outstanding native of Suzdal, Aleksey Kapitonovich Gastev, recognized throughout the world as the "poet of production processes", wrote: "The worker who operates the machine is the director of the enterprise." And these are by no means only beautiful words. The proof of this is the experience of Expo Glass LLC - one of the leading enterprises in the glass industry in our country.

Invaluable experience

Now the plant has in its arsenal two production sites, one of which is located in the village of Anopino. In 2019, the company became a participant in the national project "Labor productivity". With the active support of experts from the Federal Competence Center (FCC), Expo Glass employees began to actively implement the principles of lean production in their work. Thanks to this, it was possible to achieve a 10% increase in revenue and a 26% reduction in work-in-progress. In other indicators, there is also a positive trend.

“At our plant, we are taking the production culture to a new level,” says Roman Pankratov, Deputy Director of Expo Glass LLC for Production Development. - First of all, this can be achieved by introducing a culture of continuous improvement among employees. Last year alone, about 150 improvement proposals (IAPs) were sent to management. This has a positive effect on the performance of local tasks and on production in general. In addition, the speed of eliminating accidents increases, and relations in the team improve. The workers know that the bosses can hear them, and this is very important.

Personal initiative is stimulated financially. For each approved improvement proposal, an employee of the enterprise receives a bonus in the amount of one thousand rubles. As statistics show, more than 90% of offers receive the “green light”. PPUs come in a variety of ways. It may seem to the average person that many of them touch on mere trifles that do not deserve attention. However, the efficiency of the labor process often depends on the little things.

For example, in one of the shops, when performing an important technical operation, the workers experienced a lot of inconvenience. They had to tighten the bolts with hex wrenches.

- At some point, the guys said - give us a screwdriver and we will do it many times faster. A trifle, but we did not notice it - in the hustle and bustle of everyday work, the eyes are often "blurred". We literally the next day gave the guys a screwdriver, and they began to perform a specific operation much faster, and this, in turn, influenced the production process as a whole, - says Roman Pankratov.

Simple rules

In addition, the plant has perfectly accustomed the system of organization and optimization of the workplace "5C" (improvement, standardization, sorting, keeping order, keeping it clean), which can be safely called one of the main tools of lean production. Creation of a workplace according to the "5C" standard allows creating favorable conditions for productive work. Every thing in the workshop is in its place, the tools are as accessible as possible - you just have to lend a hand. This saves time and has obvious economic benefits.

“An illustrative example of a rack for calibers that we have organized at our workplace,” says Tatyana Fedoseeva, head of the quality control department of Expo Glass LLC. - At first, in the corner of the room there was a simple cabinet in which the calibers were arranged very chaotically. We had to constantly open it, search for the necessary equipment for verification for a long time, and this complicated the work. Now this process has become much easier and faster. We spend a few seconds to find the caliber we need. In the new rack, every thing is in its place, everything is neat and organized. It was created by joint efforts. Naturally, at first there was resistance from some colleagues who were used to working "the old fashioned way." But over time, everyone appreciated the benefits of a new approach to organizing the workplace. Now we are creating the same rack in a different area. Glass production requires efficiency, and order is its main guarantee.

Now the 5C system works at the factory like a Swiss watch. The employees of the company diligently maintain cleanliness and order. Surprisingly, even in the locksmith's workshop, you can find light-colored walls. During a tour of the plant, representatives of enterprises that are just going to take part in the national project "Labor Productivity" did not believe at first that they were in the "locksmith", because, in their opinion, the walls in it should be black. However, as the workers of Expo Glass prove, even a locksmith's shop can be bright if you adhere to the 5C system.

Don't stop there

Also, the plant has successfully implemented a lean manufacturing tool known as SMED (Quick Changeover of Equipment).

“This tool allows you to very quickly switch from one product to another,” explains Roman Pankratov. - We can quickly switch to a new type of assortment and give the consumer in the shortest possible time what he wants. Moreover, the quality will remain at the highest level. The client does not need to stand in line. In addition, thanks to this, our warehouses are filled with small batches of various products.

The benefits for the enterprise are also evident here. It's no secret that the price of products that are bought in small lots is always slightly overstated, relative to large bulk purchases. This is a market law that cannot be ignored. A small batch is more in demand and will definitely not get dusty in the warehouse.

- Many of us, at first, doubted the effectiveness of the lean manufacturing program. However, quite quickly it began to bear fruit, the efficiency of our work began to grow strongly, and the enterprise was transformed. This program has no end. Now and in the future, the main thing is not to stop, to maintain the impetus that the FCC employees gave us. We must constantly develop so that stagnation does not begin. Sorted out with one site - took on another. This is an eternal process. It is worth solving one problem - many smaller goals will open. It's like in any production - you start nailing a nail and immediately notice that 5 more nails need to be nailed in other places, says Roman Pankratov.

Source: https://vlad.aif.ru/