From the 1950s through the 1980s, Toyota developed the Toyota Production System, a set of manufacturing principles that underlies todays lean manufacturing movement. But that in turn was built on earlier foundations, King said. They included Eli Whitneys pioneer concept of interchangeable parts, Frederick Taylors development of scientific manufacturing management, and Henry Fords recognition of the value of flow and velocity.

Toyota built on these concepts, and focused on process mapping, waste reduction, and kaizen or continuous improvement. In 1989, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a global study of the auto industry, The Machine that Changed the World, shining a spotlight on Toyotas success and coining the term lean.

Lean, said King, puts an intense focus on elimination of waste, on the customer and what he values, and on manufacturing at a rate equal to customer demand. The essence of lean can be summed up in five key principles, which he simplified as:

Define value in customer terms. Value is what is important to the customer.

Map the value stream. The value stream is all activities required for a product or service to flow from concept to delivery, and a map helps you understand how you are creating value for your customer.

Make work flow. Eliminating non-value-adding activities leads to flow, and the ideal is continuous flow at the pace of the customer.

Flow at the pull of the customer. Material flows only to satisfy customer needs; produce only when there is a demand signal.

Relentlessly pursue perfection. The ideal is to eliminate all waste and to flow continuously, in pursuit of perfection.

At Toyota, the production system called for meeting customer needs with the best quality, the lowest cost, in the shortest time. This requires standardization and stability in processes.

The Enemy is Waste

Lean is not about cost reduction, King cautioned. Its about building standardized, disciplined processes, and cost reduction is a result of waste reduction.

Waste, King continued, is anything that consumes resources without creating value, as defined by your customer. Taiichi Ohno, the mastermind behind the Toyota system, believed that identifying and eliminating waste was the key to becoming competitive. Ohno identified seven categories of waste.

1. Waste of overproduction

2. Waste of time (waiting)

3. Waste in transportation

4. Waste of processing 5. Inventory waste

6. Waste of movement

7. Waste of making defects

Most authorities now add an eighth waste, the waste of human potential and creativity, said King. Its one of the most noxious wastes of all. Lean wants to tap into that creativity.

Mapping the Flow

Value-stream mapping is the essential lean manufacturing tool that allows you to see the waste. A value-stream map is a flow diagram that includes material flow and information flow. Each major process step is represented by a process box – this can identify a machine, a process vessel or tank or a process system, and it includes the quantity of similar machines and number of operators assigned.

Each process box in the diagram is accompanied by a data box listing all data relevant to flow and capacity. This can include utilization, lead times, yield, reliability, up-time, batch size, changeover time, shift schedules, etc. The data box is a key tool to help indicate waste by identifying bottlenecks and highlighting quality issues.

Finally, the value-stream map includes a timeline that highlights the amount of time that material just sits, building waste in the process.

Find Your Limits

Although lean was developed for discrete parts manufacture, and process operations are different, lean techniques do apply to process industries, with some adaptations. Parts manufacturing and assembly, for example, produce autos, aircraft, cell phones, medical instruments, computers and consumer electronics, power tools, appliances, lawn mowers and more.

Process operations, by contrast, are chemical reactions or physical transformations such as mixing and blending, extrusion and sheet forming. Process products include paints and coatings, personal care products, foods and beverages, glass and ceramics and much more, including of course lubricants and greases. Process operations can be continuous, such as oil refining, or batch, such as most foods or lubricants. Some process products start as batches – such as tanks of broth or lubricants – and become discrete somewhere in the process – cans of soup and quarts of motor oil.

With process operations, King went on, equipment is the rate-limiting factor, not labor. Overtime wont resolve bottlenecks. Equipment can be large and immovable, so its not easy to rearrange to improve flow. Product changeovers are more complex, often requiring clean-out and decontamination. And the material flow patterns in process operations are the opposite of those in parts assembly.

DuPonts Tyvek is a good example, said King. You start with six raw materials that are turned into 2,000 types of packaged rolls. Managing this complexity in process operations is difficult, but managing the differentiation decision is the key.

Lean Tools

There are somewhere between 14 and 20 lean-manufacturing tools, and of these King highlighted six key tools that are relevant to improving quality and reducing waste in blending and packaging operations.

First, he said, is to standardize every task. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment. Standard work is essential because variation causes defects, confusion and inhibits continuous improvement.

A second key tool is point-of-use storage. Everything should be stored as close to the location where it is used as possible, including tools, parts, filters, materials for future steps, King said. This eliminates searching for needed items, reduces downtime and speeds product changeovers.

The 5Ss – sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain – are the next essential lean tool. This is more than housekeeping, King said. It lays the foundation for lean implementation. Five-S involves sorting through everything in the area, and getting rid of anything not needed. All tools, equipment and materials should be arranged in a way to facilitate smooth work flow, as close as possible to the point of use. Clean the entire area, so that defects or problems will be apparent. Develop systems and processes to maintain the first three of the 5S, including shadow boards indicating tool location and signs describing standard work. Make it easy to put things in their proper place and difficult not to. Finally, develop a management process with regular audits to ensure that the workplace stays organized.

The benefits of 5S are huge, King said. It is easier to work in an uncluttered area, with tools at hand. It creates more operator ownership of work areas. Problems are more visible, and a clean area is a safer area. And the discipline of 5S builds the discipline needed for standard work.

Finish-to-order or package-to-order is the fourth lean tool. Many process products, such as biocides, are produced in a smaller number of formulations, but there can be tremendous variety in packaging. The material can be held in bulk and packaged to order. Finish-to-order can reduce dependence on forecasts, and allows differentiation based on customer demand. It can reduce finished product inventory, King noted, but it requires the ability to store materials prior to the finish-to-order or package-to-order point.

Wanted: Quick Change Artists

Kings fifth tool is single minute exchange of dies, to improve changeovers. You first identify the tasks that can be external to the actual changeover process (such as bringing new materials into the area, or removing old materials), and do those tasks outside the changeover window. Next, simplify all internal tasks. And finally, perform internal tasks in parallel whenever possible. Parallel tasks in a packaging line might include flushing supply lines, adjusting mechanical fixtures, replacing labels and replacing cardboard stock in a carton erector.

King cites the NASCAR pit crew as an image of lean principles at work. Every task that can be, is done before or after the pit stop. All tasks are analyzed, simplified and done as fast as possible. All internal tasks are done in parallel, using technology where appropriate. Everyone knows his role, and all pit stops are timed. There is an intense ongoing effort to continuously reduce time and improve.

Finally, said King, value-stream mapping is the tool that can identify problems like poor scheduling, bottlenecks, unnecessary inventory and waste.

Getting started isnt hard, King concluded. You put a team together and start mapping your operations. But organizational culture can be a stumbling block. Managers and workers alike must see the value in standard work. You need trust in managers and delegation of responsibility to workers. Kings recent book, Lean for the Process Industries: Dealing with Complexity (Productivity Press, 2009), might be a good place to start.