Lean Management to Eliminate Wasted Time and Materials
The development of a 3D cast production and sales company needs a good management plan. An important factor to keep in mind is waste because waste and inefficiency can ruin the chance for making the 3-D printed casts a successful business project. The following discussion evaluates the use of Lean Management linked with other practical management strategies.
Lean management techniques are often linked to the capability of improving “cost efficiency” and “the effectiveness of supply chain management” (Gligor, Esmark, & Holcomb, 2015, p. 71). One of the basic cornerstones to Lean management is the “the elimination of waste” (Gligor et al., 2015, p. 71). The 3-D cast business model needs to be focuse on trimming the Total Product Cycle Time to the lowest time possible while still meeting high quality and make sure that the customer’s needs are met (Akinlawon, 2015). Keep an optimum amount of supplies in the inventory and do not over buy supplies (Akinlawon, 2015).
A famous use of Lean management that made the strategy popular for manufacturing products was the Toyota car manufacturing process (James, 2013). The Lean strategy can be made more successful by Sprint Planning sessions that include live demonstrations (James, 2010). The Sprint Planning sessions should only be schedule when necessary. Scrum is borrowed for the agile management plan (James, 2010). Scrum is the practice of holding short, face-to-face every day with the members of the project team (James, 2010). The point of the meeting is to give everyone on the team to a chance to communicate any problems or concerns (James, 2010). At the same time the daily meetings help everyone on the project understand if progress is being made to the goals.
An important measuring tool for any project is to establish when the project is really finished. That may sound unusual but the 3-D cast project will not be over if “technical debt is accrued” (James, 2010, p.5). Technical debt is a dangerous for the continued success of any project. The technical debt is created when the project is considered finished, the product design completed, and the project shut down but then it turns out the project was not finished. The product may show that the testing was good; the product works well and no more work needs to be done on the design. Technology changes so a better strategy is to include “continuous integration” known as continuous automated testing (James, 2010, p. 5).
The 3-D paper casting can keep in mind three general guidelines that mirror the Toyota success. Firstly, keep the system for manufacturing the casts. The main consumer attraction to the 3-D casts is the comfort level that is available when a cast is made to fit their body specifically (Akinlawon, 2015). That means that every cast is made with different sizes and unique measurements. Usually in a manufacturing process the design of a product stays the same and the same product is manufactured over and over again in large batches. The business is total the opposite of the traditional production line, because each cast must be tailored to each customer and meets their personal needs. Therefore keeping the manufacturing system simple will eliminate confusion and add efficiency to production. This is the point where Lean and Agile come together and work well together, because both management strategies are interested in keeping the workflow smooth (Akinlawon, 2015). The point is to keep the flow of manufacturing consistent and profitable.
Secondly remember that no system is ever perfect because there is no such thing as perfect in the real world (Akinlawon, 2015). Room for improvement is an opportunity to make a better cast or to improve the process. New ideas can be discussed and evaluated in order to make a better product, improve efficiency or reduce waste.
Thirdly the lean manufacturing system design is not rigid, it is flexible. The lean manufacturing system can constantly be improved to meet the needs of the 3-D cast consumers, their families and doctors, and the company (Akinlawon, 2015). A simplified manufacturing system in Lean means to meet the customer’s demands while “maximizing the value added activities of the operator” (Akinlawon, 2015).
Some of the strategies that need to be introduced into the 3-D paper casting business are listed below (Akinlawon, 2015).
Take advantage of downtimes for maintenance or rest breaks even though the downtimes are not scheduled.
Develop the manufacturing system to handle changeovers quickly.
Downtimes need to be as minimized.
Quality improvement is an ongoing process.
The above process paired with continuous testing are good management practices to use for a successful management plan. All types of cast materials can be considered as better new materials become available. The features that make meet the demands of customers and enhance the healing process can continually be improved as new information is learned from experience. Features to continually evaluate during the manufacturing process and by surveying customer satisfaction include the weight, waterproofing, and ventilation. In order to make Lean Management work decisions need to be made on the amount of time and money investment that can be counted on for the three main branches of the 3D printing casting company that were identified in the Project Management plan: product development, sales and medical services provision.
References
Akinlawon, A. O. (2015). Thinking of Lean Manufacturing Systems. SAE International. http://www.sae.org/manufacturing/lean/column/leandec01.htm
Bralla, James G. (2006). Handbook of Manufacturing Processes: How products, components and Materials are Made. 1rst ed. NY: Industrial Press.
Gligor, David M., Esmark, Carol L., & Holcomb, Mary C. (2015). Performance outcomes of supply chain agility: When should you be agile? Journal of Operations Management, 33–34(January), 71-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2014.10.008
James, Michael (2010). Scrum Reference Card Agile Methodology, http://scrumreferencecard.com/
James, Michael. (2006). How to Survive a Technical Debt. CollabNet, 5 November 2006. http://blogs.collab.net/agile/how-to-survive-technical-debt#.VZvZ8Pmqqko
