Once you get a hang of the Lean principles, the steps of a current state value stream map, and identifying non-value-added activities, you need to see them in action! Here’s a case study where we used these principles.
We were working with a newspaper company. – which was responsible for printing and selling newspapers. The problem was that the newspapers wouldn’t be delivered on time. If they didn’t arrive on time, they didn’t sell! Therefore, the real question was: how could the newspapers be delivered on time?
Since the problem hinged on ‘time’, I decide to use Lean ideas. Following this, I took a quick tour of the workplace to grasp how they printed, packed, and shipped newspapers. From this, I observed 4 steps:
Figure 1: Steps in newspaper printing
- Firstly, to prepare the plates – here, the images of the newspaper were printed on a metal sheet, over which notches were made.
- Secondly, to load the plates – here, the metal sheets were loaded into the machine.
- Thirdly, to print – here, the newspaper would be printed.
- Lastly, to pack and dispatch – here, the printed newspapers would be packed and sent out for delivery.
Therefore, which of these 4 steps in newspaper printing could be the bottleneck? Or were they all not performing efficiently? We couldn’t say more until a thorough investigation was carried out. As a preliminary investigation, I made note of the time taken in each step and other observations while I was tracking the process.
Observations during Step 1 and 2: Preparing and Loading the Plates
- 2 machines are available for making plates
- Additionally, there are 2 machine operators in the plate-making section
- It took 4 minutes for the first plate to come out – which was a considerable set-up time
- The number of required plates were dependent on the number of sheets in the newspaper
- Furthermore, the average cycle time for printing the plate is 85 seconds
- It takes nearly 32 minutes to print 21 plates (including the first one)
- There was a mechanical breakdown in one of those machines, whereby the plate got stuck in the machine. Another machine was idle while this took place. Therefore, they could use the other machine if required
- While I did see the NVA time, I was certain that that could not be the bottleneck!
- The next step is notch-making and bending
You will see NVA time and activities all over the place. However, you don’t have to fix them just because you see them! Instead, focus on your goal and strive to locate the nail!
Observations during Step 3: Printing the Newspapers
Here’s what I noted regarding the newspaper printing process: the average print (number of copies of either main or extra sheet) per hour = 31,893
Now you may wonder how a plate changeover could be considered as an NVA. It’s because no transformation takes place there! Therefore, the real, and new, the question boils down to: how can we print without changing plates? While there is no answer for it today, we’re sure that the future would reveal a perfect solution! Nevertheless, identifying it as an NVA is a great start.
Observations during Step 4: Pack and Dispatch
Unless you’re a Lean thinker, you’ll likely label the packing process as being value-added. For instance, imagine you’re in a retail shop to buy a branded formal shirt. An unpacked shirt of the same brand costs 10% less than the packed one. Which one would you go for? Your preference is personal to you. Hence, there is no right answer. However, a ‘discount’ forces you to think! I would prefer the unpacked shirt in this case. For me, everything that I’ve ever used has been neatly packed. That’s what heightens its appeal!
However, while it does have an appeal, I, as a Lean thinker, consider packing to be an NVA activity. In this case, there’s an unnecessary over-process step here – whereby the bundles of newspapers would be strapped, unstrapped, and counted and stored in batches of 50. In the figure below, A and B are extra sheets, and C is the main sheet. The key elements are ‘strap and store’, ‘make parcels’, and ‘ready to truck out’.