Association Insights: Operational Excellence – Survival for printers
For printers to survive, whether they are offset, digital, flexographic, gravure, screen, bindery/finishing, they must make printed product quicker, cheaper, and better than ever before. One way, is to replace current technology and equipment, which can be an expensive proposition. Another way is to address the current state of policies, system, and processes. However, printers typically don’t want something they have to work at or develop, they want some type of pre-fabricated, turn-key, shake-and-bake system that will improve their companies overnight. The fact is, to clean up the current system one must apply a structured and sustainable practices. There are two issues that they must address. One is to focus on Operational Excellence or the organizations systems effectiveness and efficiency. The other is Performance Excellence which addresses the individual equipment and processes effectiveness and efficiency.
Operational Excellence is the printers system of accumulated production processes (preproduction, preprinting, printing, and post printing), operating and producing at a desired state, or running-on-all-cylinders. Achieving Operational Excellence is contingent on the collective performance of the printer’s individual preproduction, preprinting, printing, and post printing processes. To improve it you have to measure it. The system’s key metrics for Operational Excellence include.
- Throughput: the speed the system takes to produce product and generate money. Throughput lead time starts when money is spent purchasing raw materials to when customers pays for the job. Throughput must increase
- Inventory: the costs of; raw materials, work-in-process, and final product. Inventories must decrease
- Day-to-Day Operations Costs: all the operating costs for; administration, equipment and processes, building, property, tax costs minus materials and supplies. Day-to-day operating costs and time must be reduced
- Customer Satisfaction: the primary issues that determine if a printer is meeting or exceeding expectations and bring value to their customer’s. Customer Satisfaction must constantly improve
From objective analysis of the systems metrics primary problems for sub-par quality, where process constraints exist, and high departmental costs will be revealed. That will lead to addressing departmental and equipment performance.
Performance Excellence is the individual preproduction, pre-printing, printing, and post printing processes and equipment operating at optimal levels for availability, productivity, and quality. People working within processes are efficiently executing there jobs as a team, everyone is blocking-and-tackling. Performance excellence can be achieved by systematically applying Lean Thinking and eliminating all forms of waste and non-value-added activities. There are five key metrics that help printers reach Performance Excellence for all process.
- Downtime: a. scheduled/planned and b. un-scheduled/un-planned. Downtime must decrease
- Setup/Changeover time: time it takes a process to go from one job to the next job, Last Good-to-First Good. Shrink Setup/Changeover time
- Cycle time: time it takes a process to produce one item. Reduce Cycle time
- Waste: planned material setup and running waste. Cut Waste
- Spoilage: un-planned defective product. Slash Spoilage
Operational Excellence realization depends on the relationships and performance of a printer’s individual processes and equipment. Printers can attain both performance and operational excellence by applying a scientific and systematic approach to improvement and control. First, find the systems constraint, process bottlenecks, and the causes for waste of time and materials. Then vigorously launch strikes on the problems. Various methods exist which printers can utilize to attack waste and transform their organization toward operational excellence. However, one system that stands out is the Shingo Model for Operational Excellence.
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