Lean For Everyone

Lean for the Home: Loading the Dishwasher

                

My wife, K. "Leaned me" the other day.  I mean that she used my love of Lean to demonstrate how I can help her more around the house.

After dinner she asked that when I helped clear the table that I put the dishes directly in the dishwasher as opposed to letting them pile in the sink and then loading the dishwasher at a later time.

She stated that the sink was just a holding area for inventory being batched up to be processed (washed)  and that if I took the dishes directly to the dishwasher I would be removing an unnecessary step in the process.  Okay, so she didn't actually use those words, but she said the layperson's equivalent.

She was correct and now I'm much better at taking items directly from the table to the washer however now we have to solve the issue of decreasing the wait time between when the dishwasher has completed it's cleaning and when we unload it. *smile*

If you're starting Lean Six Sigma this is a must read

"The Goal" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt is probably the best fictional book about process improvement I've ever read.

     
    This weekend  I re-read "The Goal" and thought...this is a timeless classic.  It was originally published in 1982 and the funny part is you would think that the story is about the company your working for right now.

"The Goal" was the 2nd book I had ever read about process improvements and it uses the phrase Theory of Constraints which is very similar to Lean processing. 

The first time I read it I was running a production department and I could see myself as the main character.

Reader's digest version: Our main character is exhausted, always behind on orders, gets complaints from sales constantly and his work flow is consistently derailed by "rush" jobs. (Sound familiar yet!)

He gets introduced to a new way to look at how processing should be done, sees the light and trouble shoots a lot of issues using common sense techniques similar to Lean.  By working with his staff and asking them the right questions, he helps turn his facility around.

Why do I love this book....because I don't see it as fictional I see it as a biography. 

Although I didn't have his martial problems my facility issues were the same.  Then by implementing Lean at my previous company we took a process that was 65 days and changed it to 30 days in just a few months.  Over a period of 2 years it was reduced to a 4 day process.  Sales were up, complaints were down and the sales team loved us.

If you don't want to buy "The Goal" new you can always find one on e-bay for about $6.00 + S & H.  I've actually purchased and given away several copies to others so yes...it makes a great gift. 

Lean For Food: Little Caesars listens to the VOC and gives us the Hot-N-Ready

 Little Caesar’s didn’t just get it right a little they got it right a lot when they listened to their customers.

 

In 1997 they piloted a $5.00 Pizza:   It was a one day sale where you could get a large pizza with pepperoni for only $5.00.  The response was huge.  Instead of just chalking it up to another great promotional product they listened to their customers.  VOC = Voice Of the Customer and it said “Build it for $5.00 and they will come.”

For the next several years Little Caesar’s continued to refine their costs, pare down their offerings, simplify their menu and rolled out the Hot-N-Ready everywhere.

Crains, April 26:

In 2004, Little Caesars reaffirmed its value-oriented place in the market by making the $5 Hot-N-Ready pizza a mainstay on its menu. In 2007 and 2008, Little Caesars was named the "best value in America" of all quick-service restaurant chains for its Hot-N-Ready pizza

Little Caesar’s knows exactly who their clients are and are focused on doing one thing and they do it really well!  This not only allows them to excel at their core business but also to ease the pressure on their operations.

Instead of 15 pizza toppings to choose from …there are only 2.  They do offer bread sticks and soda however after speaking to one of the managers the Hot-N-Ready accounts for nearly 95% of his sales.

For you Lean people out there let’s break this down.

Each operation has succeeded in JIT (Just In Time) processing by having a pull system that replenishes the cycle stock of ready to sell pizzas.  When 2 pizza’s are pulled for an order they shout : “2 IN”  to replenish the stock.  For seasonal demand variation AKA: Football games they will increase their cycle stock and in some instance carry safety stock.