I often reflect back to my childhood and the countless hours I spent learning life’s lessons in front of the television from the infamous Scooby Doo. The cartoon episodes were filled with unknown Monsters that scared “all those in the immediate proximity” which in turn brought the “meddlesome kids”, Mystery Inc., into the scene to unravel the plot and unmask the evil villain.
Mainstream manufacturing has often thought of High Mix Low Volume, Aftermarket, Job Shop, and Maintenance Repair and Overhaul like “those in the immediate proximity”. These high variation manufacturing practices tend to send chills up the spines of those that even consider embarking upon such an endeavor. The popular tendency is to run as far from it as possible. How? Outsourcing is the most common diversion of dealing with high variation rather than facing the Monster in the Mirror. It allows management to point the finger elsewhere when there are shortages in supply instead of pointing it back at themselves for their own lack of solid processes.
Why does this monster in the mirror exist? There has been a real lack of IT related tools that can facilitate manufacturing practices that deal with high variation manufacturing. Where are those “meddlesome kids” when you need them? I’m not sure where to find Mystery Inc. but a better alternative is the Areteium lean toolbox. This modelling toolbox compliments and facilitates those embarking on a lean journey without compromising their abilities to make human based decisions through Gemba.
The Areteium product can tackle issues that haunt value stream management such as Every Product Every Interval (EPEx), Takt time, cycle time, changeover time, level loading, mapping both current and future states, running demand and capacity analysis all within a matter of minutes. This will give your manufacturing excellence teams the knowhow to produce the results in their day-to-day operations while making real time decisions. All while hustling to initiate kaizen events that produce real value added change. Areteium gives its users the courage and support to look directly into the eyes of the high variation monster while producing quantifiable results without breaking a sweat.
For those that are unfamiliar with how the Scooby Doo episodes end, it is usually when the villain is unmasked and in handcuffs saying, “I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for these meddling kids”. In manufacturing, with determination and the right lean toolbox your organization can embrace high variation manufacturing processes with no fear. And in the end, you may hear something like, “We would have crumbled to our knees and lost our competitive edge if it wasn’t for us finally unmasking the Monster in the Mirror.”
About mcaConnect
Established in 2002, mcaConnect has grown into one of the largest US-based Microsoft Gold Certified Partners focused exclusively on delivering Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM solutions and services to mid-market and enterprise-size manufacturing, energy, and distribution companies. Headquartered in Denver, CO, mcaConnect has offices throughout the world to support multi-national implementations.
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