Keycare Combines Complimentary Methods to Improve Operations and Increase the Bottom Line

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Keycare uses Lean to develop practical action plans to suit the requirements of your organization.

Keycare uses tools like TAKT time, KanBan, Kaizen, Gemba, Poka Yoke, Jidoka, for Lean implementation - these are put in place to facilitate improvements to your business.

Lean concepts have reached many industries - the variety of organizations that are practicing lean concepts demonstrate the universal applicability of Lean concepts and Lean thinking. Although Lean thinking is universal, Lean technologies are unique to each implementation.

It is important to understand that Lean is not about just tweaking the current systems. It is a conceptual change to the system. This requires lots of change management and care for people. People are the most important resource. Lean is not about cutting head count or corners. It is about the elimination of waste from the system…continuously. Many implementations of Lean fail due to the lack of understanding on basic Lean concepts and general knowledge, not because of the problems in Lean itself.

We have assisted Lean companies bring in their customers and suppliers to the Lean process. Keycare helps each other in the process of value creation and ultimately getting rewarded collectively for each of their efforts. Large amounts of waste normally exist within the interfaces where each party is separated in the supply chain. In today's competitive markets, you need to treat your suppliers and customers as partners, and not as separate parties.

Effective implementation of Lean results in lower cost, higher quality, ability to supply on demand, waste-free operations, eco friendliness, and human resource development. Among the key features of Keycare's approach to Lean:

  • Empowerment to and respect for people; idea generation and using of ideas generated by employees for the betterment of the organization
  • Organic management structures
  • Ability to adopt to fast changing situations
  • Simplicity

Overview

Buzzwords like Just in Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), 6-Sigma, and Reengineering are often found in today's operational world. Most organizations tend to 'force-fit' one methodology everywhere throughout their organization, in their attempt to get improvement. However, it seems more often than not, after trying to get one of these methods implemented, the company soon realizes that, by itself the one methodology they used is not delivering the returns they expected.

The saying is that if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The same may be said for improvement methodologies. If you only have one improvement method, it seems that it should be employed everywhere. And when it works less than optimally, due to a misapplication, then the methodology is thrown out and a new one brought in. Any positive results achieved are thrown out too, resulting in a loss of time and money.

Keycare takes a global perspective of operations to make improvements and increase profit. Keycare has the experience to work with your organization, and to be realistic in setting goals…it understands what to expect and knows that every local process cannot be optimized (despite the best intentions). It has learned that trying to optimize every local process often creates conflicting departmental goals, measurements, and processes.

Keycare thoroughly investigates to determine where to focus on improving specific and critical operational pieces. Some of the operational 'pieces' that can be improved using complimentary methodologies and, when improved, contribute directly to profit are:

  • Cycle Time Reduction
  • Lead Time Reduction
  • Due Date Performance Improvement
  • Inventory Size Reduction
  • Revenue or Throughput Improvement
  • Profitability Improvement

Combining Complimentary Methodologies

Keycare assists organization's to take a system wide viewpoint to focus their improvement efforts. Keycare has found that global optimization, as opposed to a narrow focus on local optimization, will give the various functional areas a better understanding of the “big picture”, enabling all improvements and measurements to complement one another, as opposed to pitting one group against another.

Three Areas that Improve Operations

The focus for the overall improvement activities to achieve a global optimization is based on three area:

  1. Throughput…the rate at which the operations generates sales
  2. Investment/inventory… the purchases by operations for all things the system s intends to sell
  3. Operating expense… the money operations spends in turning inventory into throughput

These measurements provide realistic targets for the organization's operations.

Increase Profit

All measurements and activity are linked to increasing throughput (T) first, reducing investment/inventory (I) second, and lowering operating expense (OE) third. The equations below govern all activity and show the direct link to increasing profit:

  1. Net Profit = T – OE
  2. Return on Investment = (T – OE)/I
  3. Cash Flow = T – OE +/- I

Focus On

  • Throughput
  • Inventory
  • Operating Expenses
 

Successful Plant Layout Redesign & Implementation of Lean

"Not only was the process and results for the redesign of the plant's layout successful, but Keycare effectively incorporated principles of lean and developed these into a realistic plan that suited our requirements.

Keycare used tools like documenting and mapping the process work flow (including CAD for equipment, machines, and material handling), incorporated Kaizen (working with department groups for focused specific improvements to streamline workflow), Gemba (working directly with the site/place to create value), removed various types of waste, introduced Poka Yoke (mistake proofing for product defects and human errors and ways to improve material management & flow), and presented Kanban (process to pull from actual customer demand).

Keycare has good knowledge of both operations management and a practical approach to lean - the plant redesign using various lean concepts facilitated improvements to our business."

Feizal Chatur, CEO,
Araam Inc.