Meat + Poultry - June 2009 - 70

LEAN TIPS

pushed onto the line by Charlie's need
for a break. She did not want to do that
to her friends on the packing line and
easily adapted to the job requirements.
There are many beneﬁts to maintaining ﬂow in this situation, not the least
of which is the change in behaviors
and conditions. These changes in behaviors and conditions reduce the risk
of injury.

Improving efﬁciency, safety
A recently held safety forum hosted
by the Southeastern Pennsylvania
Food Manufacturers' Consortium put
the spotlight on the inefﬁciency of
unsafe workplaces. This grass-roots
organization pulls together individuals who are passionate about continuous improvement in food processing. A panel of experts was invited
to speak about safety issues and answer questions. The speakers were
competent, thoughtful and experienced regarding safety in the food
industry. After the Safety Forum, Eric
Reynolds, manager of safety and ergonomics at Cargill's Taylor Beef, said
most changes made to improve ergonomics also improve productivity.
In short, reducing motion and transport makes that work station more
efﬁcient and safe.
Other experts at the Safety Forum
answered this question: "Are safety
and Lean complimentary or opposing programs?" These food-processing experts answered that Lean and
safety work together. They are complimentary and reducing the cost of
waste often improves safety.
One expert stressed that safety
issues arise from unsafe conditions
and unsafe behaviors. His view was
that unsafe acts often contribute to
accidents. These unsafe acts can be
minimized by applying simple tools
from your lean tool box. Speciﬁcally
initiating and sustaining 5S can not
only minimize wasteful behaviors like
waiting, motion and transport 5S can
reduce slips, falls and strains. Other
tools such as Kan ban alerts can reduce the need to rush up and down
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MEAT&POULTRY

June 2009

Problem-solving sessions, referred to as Kaizens, are
a great place to instill synthesis or integrated thinking.
a production line. Moreover, visual
factory operator aids can increase efﬁciency and ensure newer employees
perform set-ups and change over efﬁciently and safely.

Motivating people
Processors might ask how to motivate people towards thinking and
problem solving that integrates and
combines the two different perspectives of Lean and safety. The problem-solving sessions, referred to as
Kaizens, are a great place to instill
synthesis or integrated thinking. Synthesis is an academic term for combining thoughts and concepts. It is
considered a little more difﬁcult than
analysis, which basically is the foundation of an effective Kaizen. First,
break down the problem. Breaking
a problem into smaller parts is analysis. The ROI from group problem
solving increases signiﬁcantly when
the participants recombine the suggested ﬁ xes towards an approach
that at its' best addresses two gains

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for one problem. In the best of all
worlds, a solution will beneﬁt costs
and safety. As the group leader, ask
how this change in safety conditions
may also reduce costs. If the problem
is seen primarily as wasteful behavior
or conditions, ask how the solution
can enhance safety. Solutions generated from these combined perspectives will often gain two beneﬁts for
one answer.
Lean practices strive to help a
meat processor be more efﬁcient and
eliminate waste. To become efﬁcient
the processor seeks to perform work
correctly and efﬁciently the ﬁrst time.
With creativity, this time-honored notion can also ensure that safety is an
integral component of a Lean deployment.
Dr. Glen Miller is Senior Lean Consultant for Performance Essentials, Inc. More information can be
obtained regarding Lean Manufacturing at www.
performanceessentials.com.
We would like to hear from you - to comment on
this story or to request reprints, contact us by
e-mail at: meatpoultry@sosland.com.

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Meat + Poultry - June 2009

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