Can lean manufacturing work in the job shop?--Job shops adapt the lean methodology to their high-mix, low-volume world

摘要

Dyke Messinger runs Power Curbers Inc., a construction equipment manufacturer north of Charlotte, N.C., long devoted to lean manufacturing. The company carries little raw stock or finished-goods inventory. Actual customer orders trigger production. Raw sheet and plate stock arrive at the loading dock and move immediately into production; products ship shortly upon completion. The plant is separated neatly into clearly defined value streams, through which every component flows. Many employees are cross-trained on all processes, able to fill in whenever and wherever needed. Altogether, I thought it was one of the simplest, most elegant pictures of lean manufacturing I had ever seen. But something Messinger said made me pause. Perhaps more than anything, he explained, reducing the number of product lines significantly boosted the company's lean efforts. Knowing this, how then can a job shop possibly adopt lean manufacturing fully? Sure, they can tackle general organization: shadow boards for tools; labeled press brake and punch tooling; clear signage; worker ergonomics; and so on. But job shops are in the high-mix business. They want more products. The more products they run, the more diverse they are and the more successful they can become.