Manufacturing System Workshop (MSW)

This workshop is designed to take a lean look at manufacturing processes: machine loading, customer demand, plant layout, and labor utilization.  The approach enables team members to tailor the most efficient process in terms of true life-cycle cost.

Workshop activities include:

• Documenting Reality:  Calculating product lead times, taking time observations, calculating Takt Time, creating operator cycle time vs. Takt Time bar charts, and using time observation to identify abnormalities/waste and determining staffing needs
• Creating the Improvement Plan:  Designing new layouts and calculating standard work in process, mocking-up the layout and equipment, determining placement of tools and material at point of use, time-observing new operations, writing standard work for new jobs, applying 5S principles, and continuing to refine areas to meet workshop goals.

While the course material is similar to Productivity Workshop, the Manufacturing Systems workshop is generally performed on new products rather than existing products.