LEAN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
At Gatekey℠, we consider Lean Technology to be composed of three subsections. These subsections, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Office, and Lean Management, focus upon different areas of an organization. In a complete Lean transformation all are addressed, but often, organizations begin the process in one area. Frequently, the transformation begins with Lean Manufacturing in the production environment where results can be typically achieved rapidly and can be observed by all. For those organizations that provide a service to their customers, Lean Office is the approach that yields improvements. Once improvements are delivered that impact the output of an organization, Lean Management is an approach that improves the overall capability of an organization to monitor and sustain improvements.
All the Lean subsections employ specific techniques designed to analyze the current situation and provide the information necessary to improve productivity. These techniques (or tools) allow client personnel to understand the process and achieve results. A brief description of the subsections and techniques is listed as follows:
Lean Manufacturing
Those activities derived from the Toyota Production System (TPS) that address the production process, from supplier delivery through manufacturing, and culminating in warehousing and delivery to the customer.
Techniques:
5S, One-piece flow, Tak Time, Spaghetti Charts, SMED, TPM, Muda — 8 Wastes, Kan ban, Pull, Line Balancing, Poke Yoke, Cellular Layout, and Standard Work.
Lean office
Those activities derived from the Toyota Production System (TPS) that address new product development, product engineering, technical support, and the administrative processes that control and support these activities.
Techniques:
Process maps, Brown papers, Horse blankets, Set-Based Concurrent Engineering, Front End Loading, Value stream mapping, Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VAVE),
Lean Management
Those activities derived from the assessment and evaluation (from a Value added perspective) of administration, command, control, and support actions required in the execution and management of daily business.
Techniques:
Value Added / Non Value Added categorizations, Process maps, Activity based accounting, Balanced scorecards, Hoshin plans, Hoshin room.
Our Lean Technology Experience
Gatekey℠ consultants have decades of experience implementing Lean Technology, from manufacturing operations through complete organizational transformations, using the appropriate techniques. Our consultants bring knowledge and experience gained from various industries, and apply them to the situation at new client companies.
All of our consultants are well-versed in the philosophy of Lean Technology and have conducted implementation projects ranging from Point Kaizens to interim management of complete organizations (during the advanced stage of Lean implementation). This experience provides guidance and direction for “change management” which must inevitably occur during a Lean transformation.