Use your work from PartA of the Project to identify improvement opportunities in the value stream that are suitable for Kaizen events or Work-Outs. 1)List the potential Kaizen events, select the one t

Use your work from PartA of the Project to identify improvement opportunities in the value stream that are suitable for Kaizen events or Work-Outs. 1)List the potential Kaizen events, select the one t
Lean event, Kaizen, or workout Have you ever wished if you could only gather the right people together, put them all in a room, and pick their brains to address a problem or to improve on one area or process.  Well now you can. It’s called a kaizen. Kaizen comes from a Japanese term. Loosely translated, it’s change for the better or simply put, improvement. Sometimes it is called a lean event, a rapid improvement event, or a WorkOut. A few different names all describing the same thing. The term WorkOut was coined at GE. Essentially if you take unnecessary work out of the process to streamline and make it more efficient. Kaizen is a well organized, structured, and facilitated event to improve a work area, a department, a process, or an entire value stream. These rapid improvement events can vary from one to five days, depending on the objective and scope of the kaizen, such as to understand how the value stream flows or does not flow due to mistakes, delays, and bottlenecks in order to improve it, prioritize what’s important to customers of a value stream in order to identify key process metrics, brainstorm and identify likely causes of a problem, generate ideas and prioritize solution alternatives, reduce equipment setup and changeover time, develop or redesign procedures or standard work, or organize a work area to improve workflow.  The tools used do not require any intensive or rigorous data analysis, but they do capitalize on the collective knowledge and hands on experience of participants at the event. Examples of tools and techniques used include value stream mapping and process maps to provide a common understanding of what’s currently going on and not going on, Gemba Walk to observe at locations where work is performed, process and value add analysis to identify non value add steps, rework delays and bottlenecks, spaghetti diagrams to map the physical flow of parts or transactions in a facility, the acronyms DOWNTIME, or TIM WOODS, to identify the different types of waste.  Pareto analysis using available data to focus the analysis, brainstorming, cause-effect diagrams, and five Whys to quickly identify potential causes, creativity techniques to develop solution alternatives, and multi voting and prioritization matrices to select alternatives, set up reduction and workload analysis to enable smaller batches and reduce cycle times, 5S to sort and organize items so that there’s a place for everything and everything’s in its place.  So when is a kaizen or WorkOut applicable? When quick analysis and improvements can be achieved using simple tools that do not require any rigorous data analysis, but can benefit greatly from the collective firsthand knowledge and experience of the right people. The right people are usually operators, stakeholders, and customers of the process or value stream. During a kaizen event, participants work under the guidance of a facilitator who is trained in operational excellence. More specifically in lean tools.  This is important so that the work is done right. The knowledge and skillset of the facilitator has a big impact on the success of the kaizen.  At the end of the kaizen or lead event, the resulting output is a list. The deliverables include approved recommendations and sometimes even implemented solutions. Done. The key to a successful event is planning. Planning should be more than half of the total effort. It should start at least three to four weeks before the event.  Sufficient time and effort should be allocated to gather existing data, obtain primary information from process stakeholders, identify the objective and scope of the event, and develop the agenda. Then you have to identify and invite the right participants for this event. The lean tools used capitalize on participants’ knowledge and hands on experience, so it is critical that the right stakeholders are invited. Also, this will improve buy in and acceptance during implementation. To summarize, if a issue does not require intensive data analysis and you want rapid improvements, kaizen or WorkOuts are definitely recommended.
Use your work from PartA of the Project to identify improvement opportunities in the value stream that are suitable for Kaizen events or Work-Outs. 1)List the potential Kaizen events, select the one t
Part B: Detailed Agenda(s) for Kaizen or Work-Outs Overview Kaizen events or Work-Outs are one to five-day rapid improvement events widely used in the deployment of Lean and Operational Excellence. I am a huge fan of Work-Outs, which were so named because the focus was on getting the (unnecessary) work out of the system. These events were NOT just brainstorming sessions, but were well-planned and highly structured events that had: A well-defined process and set of expectations going in Sufficient time and freedom from distraction so participants could focus on the issues being discussed Participation by key stakeholders all the way from line workers to senior management Clearly defined requirements for decision and action The second component of your Course Project is to construct a detailed agenda for such an event. The agenda must demonstrate how you will: get input from key stakeholders involved with the selected process; use the correct Lean tools and conclude the event with actionable improvement outcomes. Instructions Use your work from Part A of the Project to identify improvement opportunities in the value stream that are suitable for Kaizen events or Work-Outs. 1) List the potential Kaizen events, select the one to be deployed and justify your selection. Then, define the Kaizen objective and scope for the selected event. 2) Develop a detailed agenda for each Kaizen event. Use a tabular format, showing: Day and times Session topics Lean tools to be used Deliverables or outputs Rationale Day Time Session Topic/Objective Lean Tools Output/Deliverables Rationale 3) Explain your choice for number of days, sequence for session topics, and justify the Lean tools to be used and outputs from each session. Show how your Kaizen agenda supports the Kaizen objective and scope for the event. This discussion should be specific to your value stream and organization Submission Requirements Your work is to be submitted in Word. Total length should be 3 to 4 pages, including the actual agenda. You are free to organize your submission in whatever way you feel best presents the material and makes it easy to understand. Typically, this will mean presenting each day’s tabular agenda and then providing supporting pages with additional explanations. As guidance, design this as a document you would share with your team and/or with your supervisor. It should be detailed enough to clearly explain how the event will be structured and why, but concise enough that it will actually get read. Note: A generic agenda for a Kaizen event or a generic Lean discussion is not acceptable
Use your work from PartA of the Project to identify improvement opportunities in the value stream that are suitable for Kaizen events or Work-Outs. 1)List the potential Kaizen events, select the one t
Kaizen Event – 10 Assignment 2 – Kaizen EventPart B Potential Kaizen Events Contact Customer (#2) – Lead Time is far more than the Process Time. This gap may be reduced through better contact lists, but adjustments would be better suited to occur in the prior phase of Prospecting/Lead Generation. Within the Sales Conversion phase, this step is heavily dependent on external factors (i.e. customer’s action of responding) and is therefore, likely not a good Kaizen event. Conduct Sales Mtg/Demo (#3) & Conduct POC (#4) – Lead Time is far more than Process Time. This gap is largely a result of customer schedules / availability. Internal tweaks could be made that may have slight improvements but do not warrant a Kaizen event. Review Special Bid (#6a) – Not only is the Lead Time greater than the Process Time, but this is the lowest %C&A of the whole process. This step is also completely internal and therefore can be controlled to make the process more efficient and improve accuracy. The Kaizen Event would have the most impact here. Kaizen Event Target / Rationale Kaizen Event Target: Review Special Bid (#6a) Rationale: This step is the primary bottleneck in the process. It is very manual and is completely internally owned; therefore, has the best opportunity for improvement. The Process Time is only 13% of the Lead Time. The gap is caused by a lot of wasted time as bids sit in queues, the reviewer waits on email for support of discount rates, etc. This step can benefit from an analysis to determine value add vs. wasteful steps. Kaizen Objective The objective is to transform the Special Bid Review process to reduce the lead time and improve accuracy. This will be supported through the identification of the value add and wasteful steps within the Special Bid Review process and plan for the implementation of changes. Kaizen Scope The scope is limited to the Special Bid process within the quote approval phase and will involve the steps under the Pricer’s responsibility. The Standard Review process, while likely could benefit from tweaks, is running within acceptable ranges of time and accuracy and will not be reviewed as a part of this effort. Kaizen Agenda Kaizen Event (2.5 days) The event will be 2.5 days in duration. Materials to educate the participants will be provided ahead of time. This helps the team become familiar with the concept and process while limiting the amount of time they are taken away from their jobs. Using the DMAIC methodology, Day 1 will consist of Measure & Analyze as the team works through validation of the current state process, brainstorming and value analysis. Day 2 will continue to Analyze and move into the Improve/Control phase to which will help brainstorm solution improvements and ultimately define the future state. Standard Operating Procedures will also be addressed. For Day 3, the Control phase will be completed with final reports developed. This will culminate in a presentation to executive management for approval to move forward with implementation. With the prep work, it is believed that 2.5 days will be sufficient. Sequence for Session Topics The initial sessions are meant to acquaint the team with the process and answer any questions related to the process itself. From there, they will be educated on the overall process and why the Kaizen event for the Special Bid process is important. The remainder of the sessions are based on the DMAIC methodology flow. The team will understand the current state so that they can then identify where there is value vs non-value and determine what can be done to improve the process. Solution ideas will be assessed based on cost, impact, etc. and then a future state will be developed based on the various inputs. The sequence of the sessions lays the groundwork in the beginning and then builds on that foundation to determine a more efficient process. Lean Tools Used during the Event* VSM – Captures the key steps in the Sales Conversion process; viewed from higher level Process Mapping – Identifies basic steps in the process and will help map both the current state and future states Swim Lane Flowcharts – Identifies who/what; easier to determine hand-offs in the process to identify time traps Value Analysis – identifies value-add vs non-value-add and helps determine waste areas Brainstorming – generates variety of ideas, stimulates creative thinking, engages all participants Affinity Diagrams – helps organize facts, opinions, issues into natural groups – organizes brainstorming ideas into categories TIM WOODS – model for the 8 wastes commonly found in business: Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over Processing, Over Production, Defects, Staff Multivoting – prioritizes ideas / solutions & narrows down options Basic Checksheets – lists what is being tracked and identifies what is missing; Ultimately will become part of the solution Poka-yoke – helps avoid mistakes by eliminating product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur FMEA – Failure Modes and Effects Analysis – analyzes a process, product or service design to understand how it can fail Control Plan – formalizes and documents the system of control that will be utilized to ensure that quality standards are met 5 Whys – Method to encourage team to think about root causes; eliminates superficial solutions Process Cycle Efficiency (PCE) – Metric of time efficiency; measures overall process health Time Traps – Metric of time efficiency; identifies steps that insert delays Cost Evaluation – Evaluates solutions based on the cost of implementation Impact/Effort Matrix – Evaluates solutions based on the impact to the overall flow of the work, job role changes, etc. *(George, Rowlands, Price, & Maxey, 2005) Session Outputs Session outputs represent what has occurred in the corresponding session. For instance, when mapping the current state, the process map will be the output that will allow the team to see the process and agree to the steps as outlined, ensuring that everyone is agreeing to the same thing. The process map for the future state is created for the same reason. Other outputs, like the list of solution ideas that will be the result of the brainstorming session, allows the team to capture all ideas, regardless of what is selected. There is value in capturing the work at each session so that it can be referenced later. New information or new ideas may come up so prior deliverables are a record of what has occurred. These deliverables will also be compiled into one document that will become the official record of what has occurred during the Kaizen event and will ultimately become the content for the Executive presentation. These deliverables will provide the executives with information that is easily consumed and actionable. The various outputs will help them better understand the current process, where the time traps are and what can be done to resolve it. By creating written outputs, the team and the executives can then take the final deliverable to others who may need to be involved. It will also serve as a reference while implementing any changes as well as for continuous improvement monitoring after implementation. Agenda in Support of Kaizen Objective / Scope The Kaizen Event is directly targeting the Special Bid Review process which has been identified as the primary bottleneck in the Sales Conversion process. The objective of the event is to transform this step so that it can be more efficient and accurate. The event sessions are geared to understanding the process within this step, as well as the inefficiencies and then develop a future state that will reduce lead times and improve accuracy. While the agenda includes a short session of the high-level process, this is intended only as background to support the transformation this step will have on the overall process. Thus, all sessions focus on the narrow scope of this Special Bid Review step. Appendix References Adams, S. (2018, August). Dilbert. Retrieved from Dilbert.com: www.dilbert.com George, M. L., Rowlands, D., Price, M., & Maxey, J. (2005). The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook. New York: McGraw-Hill. JWMI Students. (2018, August). Course Announcements Assignment 2 Examples. Retrieved from JWMI 550 Operations Management: https://blackboard.strayer.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/announcement?method=search&context=mybb&course_id=_229576_1&viewChoice=3 Operational Excellence Consulting. (2018, August). Kaizen Event Agenda. Retrieved from Pinterest: http://free-stock-illustration.com/kaizen+event+examples?image=1290261494 Student. (2018). Assignment 1 Value Stream Mapping Part A. Cincinnati: JWMI 550 Operations Management.