Operations and Supply Chain Management The Core

LEAN SUPPLY CHAINS chapter 12 415
A hospital discovered that significant time was spent during an operation waiting
for an instrument that was not available when the operation began. It developed
a checklist of instruments required for each category of operation. Speedi Lube
eliminated steps, but also added steps that did not improve the lubrication process
but did make customers feel more assured about the work being performed.
8. Reorganize Physical Configuration Work area configurations frequently require
reorganization during a lean implementation. Often, manufacturers accomplish this
by setting up manufacturing cells to produce items in small lots, synchronous to
demand. These cells amount to microfactories inside the plant.
Most service firms are far behind manufacturers in this area. However, a few interesting
examples do come out of the service sector. Some hospitals—instead of routing
patients all over the building for tests, exams, X-rays, and injections—are reorganizing
their services into work groups based on the type of problem. Teams that treat only
trauma are common, but other work groups have been formed to treat less immediate
conditions like hernias. These amount to microclinics within the hospital facility.
9. Introduce Demand-Pull Scheduling Due to the nature of service production and
consumption, demand-pull (customer-driven) scheduling is necessary for operating
a service business. Moreover, many service firms are separating their operations into
“back room” and “customer contact” facilities. This approach creates new problems
in coordinating schedules between the facilities. The original Wendy’s restaurants
were set up so cooks could see cars enter the parking lot. They put a preestablished
number of hamburger patties on the grill for each car. This pull system was designed
to have a fresh patty on the grill before the customer even placed an order.
10. Develop Supplier Networks The term supplier networks in the lean context refers to
the cooperative association of suppliers and customers working over the long term for
mutual benefit. Service firms have not emphasized supplier networks for materials
because the service costs are often predominantly labor. Notable exceptions include
service organizations like McDonald’s, one of the biggest food products purchasers
in the world, which has been developing lean practices. Manpower and other employment
agencies have established lean-type relationships with a temporary employment
service and a trade school to develop a reliable source of trained assemblers.
CONCEPT CONNECTIONS
LO12–1 Explain lean production.
∙ Lean production involves improving processes by eliminating waste and excess inventory.
∙ The just-in-time philosophy, pioneered by Toyota, is the basis for the concept.
Lean production Integrated activities designed to achieve high-volume, high-quality production
using minimal inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.
Customer value In the context of lean production, something for which the customer is willing
to pay.
Waste Anything that does not add value from the customer’s perspective.
LO12–2 Illustrate how lean concepts can be applied to supply chain processes.
∙ Lean concepts can be applied to virtually all the processes in the supply chain.
Value stream These are the value-adding and non-value-adding activities required to design, order,
and provide a product from concept to launch, order to delivery, and raw materials to customers.