9fbtechreview.comOCT - NOV 2023prior to their workstation say that the detectors regularly reject packages for curled seals and assumed this was caused by the packaging machine itself. Ah ha! This is the gold that you're looking for. The opportunity to allow team members to address challenges together and identify impacts to subsequent process steps. Another temptation is to eagerly fix the issue and move on without fully understanding or determining the scope and effect it has been having on the process. Without knowing the current state you can't measure if your improvements have had a positive effect, or showcase the hard work of the kaizen team. Let's go back to the production line. The team is excited that some opportunities have been identified, and they already have some quick fixes they can try. Now we enter data collection mode. You may have downtime recording in place to quantify the line stop time, defect data from quality control activities to show how often this occurs, or packaging control records to determine how many additional packages are used versus how many you expected to use. If you do not have this information at your disposal, then baseline measures can be started to build this case. This is where some may glaze over and think the process becomes too complicated. Don't underestimate the power of a simple tally sheet, pictures or even videos to help build the baseline. These tools can be given to the process operators to start recording the instances during their shift, a tick mark for each time the packages get stuck for example. An observation and time study of how long it takes to clear the snag, re-packing the product and re-starting the line would be beneficial to quantify the lost time and costs.Now that you have team engagement and an accurate picture of the current state, the fun can begin. Encourage the team to make simple, cost effective improvements first to prove their theories. A temporary repair to the line and monitoring over a specific time period can then be used to quantify the success of the improvement, as well as justify the approval to implement a permanent solution. Comparison graphs and charts are a powerful means to visually represent the efforts. Lastly, don't forget to showcase and celebrate the wins. This is the spark that will ignite the continuous improvement culture. Remember, Kaizen is built for simplicity and team engagement. It's not about getting to the end as quickly as possible, it's a quest to continue chasing perfection; an ongoing journey. Make it fun and inclusive and your continuous improvement culture will flourish. Remember, Kaizen is built for simplicity and team engagement. It's not about getting to the end as quickly as possible, it's a quest to continue chasing perfection; an ongoing journey
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