If you are looking for ways to take your lean manufacturing to an all new level, then implementing real-time data capabilities can help. There are several things that you can do to make this happen, but utilizing the real time data for its full potential in all Lean strategies and practices will prove to be the most beneficial.

Use Second Order Information as Leverage

Using the up-to-the-second standard deviation data or the up-to-the-minute data, as well as the variability and micro-trends, you can trigger both better actions and control processes (real-time TOC, dynamic Kanban flow, dynamic buffers), plus can support all Six-sigma efforts and reduction in the DMIAC cycle times in projects. Standard lead time and standard cost can all be improved as well for improvement in the master data accuracy.

Extend Both the In Process Visibility & Enterprise Ops Decision Support Intelligence

This is not the same as the after the fact analysis or the regular batch business intelligence, but rather the real time visibility that is in proves that allows for human decision making to be made promptly. In other words, give the executives the ‘steering wheel.’

While the executives don’t need to know all the nitty gritty details about the job at hand, they do need to understand the basic overall demand of the position from their own perspective in order to be able to make better judgment calls and decisions regarding many things, but not limited to an unplanned failure in a bottleneck machine, a natural disaster, or other critical event.

Customers and Supply Chain Partners – Enable Pull Process

The synchronization of sales and suppliers is a key element to Lean initiative, even though most of the Lean improvement efforts are made in the main area of the production facility. In order to see the full potential of the Lean practices, the coordination of the outside downstream and upstream partners must be in sync.

Sustain Kaizen

The Lean journey sees changes prompted by Kaizen many times. Whether it be the work sequence, methods, equipment, shop floor layout, people, or material, it can all be captured and made available, making it possible for real time reports and operational KPI’s that are so critical to performance and rapid Kaizen measurement results.

Increase Process/ Flexibility with Supply Network

When you can supply the real time data to the people that can immediately act upon it, then you create the platform for innovations and new levels in the supply network flexibility and the process behind it. With the data, reconfiguring supply networks, ramping up suppliers, and switching processes becomes easier to do and decisions are reached with much more confidence.

Using these real time data suggestions can get your company to set goals sooner than envisioned. Visit the Davis Staffing blog for industry news each week!