Baking & Snack - March 2018 - 103

OPERATIONS
Lean Manufacturing

BUILD IT,
Performance systems like 5S and Six
Sigma develop and empower teams to
improve all facets of an operation.
by Nico Roesler

When companies look at their operators as the most
valuable assets in controlling product quality, the bottom line can improve ... along with everything from
culture to efficiency.
Lean manufacturing practices are nothing new. But
companies are still learning ways to implement best
practices in their own settings. A fully empowered
workforce with clear roles and goals and a method to
pursue continuous improvement provides an exponentially higher return on labor investment. Lean manufacturing, at its core, is all about the men and women who
work every day on a non-stop operation. Customized
performance systems like 5S or Six Sigma can provide a
path to success for any organization.

Laying the groundwork
5S is based on the Toyota Production System (TPS) in
which the five S's are: sort, set, shine, standardize and
sustain. TPS's value stream mapping is a lean-management method for analyzing and designing a series
of events that take a product or service from its beginning through to the customer. Six Sigma is a disciplined,
data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating
waste in any process. There are many frameworks for
implementing Six Sigma methodology.

Modernized by Henry Ford with the Ford company
and TPS, these lean manufacturing practices drive organization and performance. Implementing a lean
program begins with baseline measurements and Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are the quantitative life blood of lean practices and establish the foundation of a process. KPIs include safety, quality, service,
cost and culture.
Rowdy Brixey, president of Brixey Engineering,
Strategies and Training, recommended asking: What is
broken or what is running outside of the process tolerance? "Take out the big hitters and then work your way
down. Root-cause problem solving, clean to inspect and
preventive maintenance follow-ups are all good tools,
but the main thing is to get out and look," Mr. Brixey
said. "The equipment will share its story with you."
Flowers Foods, Thomasville, GA, uses a combination
of local KPIs and specific projects to measure results.
"There are many factors that affect these," said Robert
Benton, supply chain officer, Flowers Foods. "For each
bakery, we design a plan dependent on the bakery's
strengths and weaknesses." Flowers Foods' continuous
improvement team works with its bakeries to provide
them with tools and methodologies developed from 5S,
value stream mapping, and Define, Measure, Analyze,
Improve and Control (DMAIC). DMAIC is the problem-solving methodology behind Six Sigma.
Roskam Baking Co., Grand Rapids, MI, starts with a
process called centerlining. Brandon Heiser, COO, said
the company goes through each process to determine
the theoretical maximum output of each piece, then
determines the ideal speed. Going faster to increase
throughput is a natural inclination for an operator, but
it can be counterproductive. Drawbacks include product

Dwayne Hughes, Hearthside
Food Solution's senior vicepresident, supply chain, and
a team analyze at-a-glance
data displays that allow easy
process monitoring and
continuous improvement.
Hearthside Food Solutions

www.bakingandsnack.com / March 2018 Baking & Snack 103

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - March 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - March 2018