Elon Musk…innovator and visionary. The guy is mass producing electric cars that are sexy, digging tunnels under Los Angeles and trying to go to Mars. When he gets focused on a vision he typically makes it happen, against all odds. Recently, Tesla hit a downturn with manufacturing, and a board of directors who were seeking to remove Musk from his company. Let’s talk about adversity!

It may be a great time to post this inspirational video and recharge with the lion of Elon Musk:

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The Theory of Constraints (TOC) adopts the common idiom that “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link and refers to the understanding that processes are crucially vulnerable because the weakest person or part of the process can damage or break even the strongest of organizational processes. TOC principles view organizations as being limited in achieving its goals by a very small number of constraints. There is always at least one constraint, and TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organization around it. The definition of a constraint is anything that prevents the system from achieving its goal. There are many ways that constraints can show up, but a core principle within TOC is that there are not tens or hundreds of constraints, but at most, only a few in any given process. These constraints can be either internal or external.  

The TOC theory seeks to provide precise and sustained focus on improving the current constraint until it no longer limits throughput, at which point the focus moves to the next constraint. The underlying power of Theory of Constraints flows from its ability to generate a tremendously strong focus towards a single goal and to removing the constraint to achieving more of that goal.

There are five steps for focusing the Theory of Constraints:

• Identify the constraint
• Decide how to exploit the constraint
• Subordinate everything else to previous step
• Elevate the constraint
• Go back to the starting step, while avoiding inertia

Even though its origins connect with manufacturing, the Theory of Constraints can be an effective method for problem solving across all industries. It can be seen as a methodology used to focus on problems currently being experienced, the cause and effect of those problems, and the best course of action to remove them.      

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Tesla continues to fight an internal battle to achieve the most efficient Lean manufacturing environment in the world. Elon Musk has brought an unparalleled level of innovation and efficiency to the automaker. His vision and drive has brought Telsa to the forefront of technology. As of late however, he has also failed to deliver on the delivery of his latest model. This has infuriated both customers and investors across the board. Even with that in mind, Musk and Tesla have been able to retain a very strong loyalty across all levels.

During the rise of Tesla, Musk has been loyally devoted to the practice and principles of Lean manufacturing. He has used these philosophies to drive the company forward to heights never imagined from his critics. He understood the strength and value of absolute quality, especially when combined with a high level of innovative drive. This innovation included the maximum amount of robotics across his manufacturing platform. His vision was to drive efficiency and production to the highest levels seen in auto manufacturing. 

In an interview with CBS News, Musk seems to be having a change of heart and perspective. He referred to the environment as production hell, as frustration has risen over the Model 3. Musk now feels that the robotics in the Tesla plant have actually complicated things and has caused the delays in production. During the interview, he states that he will be scaling back on automation and depending more on the human” touch and feel for auto production. For some, this has not been shocking news or an over-statement of the issues. 

Now matter how you feel about Tesla and Elon Musk, this revelations are good for Tesla and investors. He has finally acknowledged the issues and shortcomings, dealing with them in a straight-forward business like manner. It also should reassure his doubters that this will be a great turning point. Every successful person learns from failure. They keep working through problems, failing and bouncing back to do better until they achieve their dreams. Musk is the embodiment of the success/failure philosophy. You can bet on the fact he will bounce back and simply astound us with the next level of achievement.

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Elon Musk has taken Tesla on a path of innovation and success. With that success, they have also experienced setbacks and frustration for both the organization and investors. Musk has been emphatic about applying the concepts of Lean manufacturing to the Fremont plant. At the same time, he has also embraced the highest level of automation and robotics.

Watch this interest new video interview with Musk!

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The Toyota Production System (TPS) organizes manufacturing and logistics for manufacturing, which includes interaction with suppliers and customers. A forgotten pillar of TPS and Lean manufacturing is the concept of Jidoka. This principle is one of the most important tenets, which will help achieve true excellence. It is about quality at the source or built-in quality. There is no organization that can succeed without the highest quality of service or product.

Jidoka began as a concept by Sakichi Toyoda as a simple device which stopped a shuttle on an automatic loom if the thread broke. This prevented the machine from creating a defective product, along with alerting the operator to a problem. This simple but effective concept of autonomation (or automation with a human touch) enabled an operator to operate multiple machines instead of one operator for every machine. The sale of the patent for this innovation was sold to a UK textile mill, which subsequently funded the new family business called Toyota. The principle of Jidoka is not just confined to the automation process. One of the most crucial aspects of Jidoka is building quality into a process rather than inspecting at the end. This concept is applied in TPS and Lean manufacturing, which is still a most effective tool used to ensure defects do not reach the customer.

The key to success is the human touch. Every person in the TPS or a Lean manufacturing organization has the explicit authority to stop a process when and if a defect is detected. This is a firm requirement. However, in some western organizations, fear of stopping the line for minor issues adversely affects productivity. This fear is exactly what undermines the pillar of Jidoka. Painful at first, eventually errors are removed from the system, the number of stops reduced and productivity begins to improve.

Truly effective manufacturing organizations make this a way of life in an organization. When applied properly, this nearly lost pillar of quality is crucial to any Lean manufacturing organization.

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Ben Hartman is the author of The Lean Farm, a book on minimizing waste and increasing efficiency on the vegetable farm. He has farmed full-time for the past ten years with his wife, Rachel, in Goshen, Indiana, where they’re both making a living on less than an acre of production, selling 90 percent of their produce within ten miles of the farm.  Hartman has applied the lean methodology on the modern market farm, including the basics of creating value, establishing pull with customers, and the 5S pillars of the lean cycle: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain the cycle.

Check out this educational podcast with Ben Hartman!

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As the global population continues to grow and the effects of climate change impacts our food sources, it has become crucial for forward-thinkers to better understand more efficient ways to feed people. Of course, when you think of a practice that is the cornerstone of efficiency, you could easily go no further that lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System (TPS). These principles and practices have been well established and proven to be effective across all industries.

So what about agriculture and lean farming? For almost a decade, a farmer in northern Indiana embraced the principles of the TPS and apply them to lean farming. The farmer is Ben Hartman and his techniques have revolutionized farming. Through the practice of lean farming, Hartman has significantly cut his worked hours, shrunk the size of his farm and increased his income. Understanding that the first Toyota workers were previously rice farmers, Hartman knew he was on to something special. They brought the practices of the rice field onto the factory floor of Toyota. Japanese rice farmers were known to be very efficient in their processes. They had to redesign their farms to feed a growing Japanese population while optimally utilizing precious land that was available. You could easily say this was the perfect example of lean farming. Hartman understood kaizen and the principle that there is no perfect system or final solution, just continuous improvement. They did not seek to grow the perfect tomato. Instead, they have sought to cut more and more waste every year from production and align more and more closely with customer’s expectations. Hartman has shrunk the size of his operation, and every time he has gotten smaller, his profits have significantly increased.

To learn more about lean farming and and Ben Hartman, check out his books The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables and The Lean Farm.

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The next time you bite into a crunchy Frito-Lay snack, consider this that crunchy, tasty snack might just have come from one of the most sustainability-minded manufacturing facilities in the US.

Just over 10 years ago, Frito-Lay took on the challenge at their Casa Grande, Arizona facility and transformed into a sustainability learning lab. They challenged themselves to think differently about renewable energy sources, water technologies and the amount of waste they were sending to landfills. If they succeeded with practical solutions at Casa Grande,  they could implement these changes at plants across the country. 

Learn more about Frito-Lay and their Green Manufacturing efforts!

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Lean implementation can be a both a blessing and a curse. One cannot deny the value and results of lean programs across multitudes of industries. Anyone with any doubt about the effectiveness need just look to Toyota and the Toyota Production System (TPS) to understand the powerful impact on production and manufacturing. For many, the implementation of lean practices in their organizations has resulted in significant improvement in both quality and financial performance. These organizations enjoy a pronounced competitive advantage in their industry. Numerous other industries outside of manufacturing have enjoyed some of the same success as Toyota with lean practices.

Avoid the Lean Implementation Traps

For every success story, there are five horror stories when organizations start down the stormy path of lean implementation. Success is elusive for those organizations, and those failures start to add up quick. Amongst the ashes and broken dreams of the organizations that struggled and failed with lean practices, there are a few common traits that led to their demise:

Negative Teams – Success starts with getting buy-in across the manufacturing floor. Instead of implementing lean practices to one team at at time, the processes are rolled at en mass.’ This approach never gives workers a chance to develop confidence in the new systems and become fully invested in the new process.

C-Suite Demands – When lean practices were introduced, C-Suite leaders quickly saw the advantages to the process and quickly put unrealistic financial projections based on an overall picture. So, as lean implementation rolls out in their organization, they want to see significant results that are immediate. They don’t understand that there must be clear and reasonable expectations about the time and money required in changing process. There is no such thing as a one size fits all solution in lean.

Financial Struggles – When it comes to changes in production lines that generate the most revenue, C-Suite leaders are often very hesitant to change from the status quo. Lean implementation requires a commitment to investing both time and money, which could affect the lifeblood of the organization. Leaders must understand that they commit to change and be willing to provide the resources to see things through.

True Grit – The implementation of Lean practices requires time to affect change. During that time, people will lose focus, leaders will lose trust and workers will lose faith. That is precisely why leaders must have grit! They must embrace lean practices and have the vision and tenacity to moving the process forward, even in the face of a storm.

Organizations that enjoy the highest levels of success with lean practices and lean implementation are the ones that have grit! They are committed to the processes and work hard to move forward in the face of adversity. The worst mistake an organization can make is to quit.

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On paper, lean implementation looks pretty simple. In reality, it will be one of the most challenging things your organization will take on. Implementing lean processes and practices require determination and commitment. It requires commitments by leadership of time and financial resources, along with a commitment to see the process through.

Check out this educational video on lean implementation:

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A combined team from Aviation & Missile Command Environmental Division at Red Stone Arsenal and Aviation Center Logistic Command at Fort Rucker have implemented ground-breaking initiatives utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodologies for the handling of hazardous waste involved in the maintenance of the UH-72 Lakota aircraft at Fort Rucker. These initiatives have significantly improved to quality of life for those personnel at Fort Rucker and the surrounding communities. They have also enhanced the mission performance of the aircraft through consistent quality improvement through Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

The UH-72A Lakota is a light utility helicopter specifically designed to meet the requirements of US Army. The helicopters were acquired to replace the UH-1H Iroquois Huey’ and the OH-58 A/C Kiowa helicopters. Based on the EC 145 multirole helicopter, the UH-72A serves the army principally for logistics and support missions within the US. It is also used by the Army National Guard for homeland security and disaster-response missions and medical evacuations.

Lean Six Sigma Success for Army Aviation

By making changes in the institutional chemical review processes, prepositioning of compliant hazardous materials and changes to the procurement procedures, the team is working to improve environmental quality at and around Fort Rucker. These processes have also enhanced the community’s environmental quality by reducing the helicopter’s mission environmental footprint while reducing the risk of additional costs to pilot training due to aircraft maintenance delays.

The team’s success was accomplished by effectively implementing Lean Six Sigma techniques to facilitate mission and promote compliant hazardous material conservation practices on the aircraft. The team focused on the hazardous materials’ lifecycle and promoted just-in-time acquisitions of environmentally sustainable products.

• Enhanced readiness by reducing the wait time for maintenance chemicals to reach Fort Rucker mechanics, which reduced the chemical approval review time from an average 19.5 days to 13.7 days, which equates to an avoidance cost reduction of $332,531 in lost pilot training time per consumable material. With 28 new consumable materials delivered in the past 12 months, the cost avoidance to pilot training is more than $9 million.
• Reduced the use of non-conforming consumable materials by 81 percent. By reducing the amount of non-conforming consumable materials and ensuring only compliant products are available for use, the ACLC UH-72 Team minimized risk to the community while also reducing waste cost of $4.30 per consumable material. Costs were reduced by more than $6 million in fiscal year 2017.
• Guaranteed compliance with Fort Rucker’s air permit. The team reviewed the most used consumable materials and recommended more than 50 chemical alternatives the comply with the installation’s air permit.
• Supported air contaminant and waste minimization requirements. The team promoted sustainable procedures for acquiring hazardous materials that support air contaminant and waste minimization.
• Clarified new contract requirements to ensure mission success.

The U.S. Army has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the practice of Lean Six Sigma methodologies to improve the quality and combat readiness of its forces.

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Lean and Six Sigma together can make businesses and organizations more efficient and productive. In most cases, those focusing on Lean and Six Sigma are looking at the bottom line and trying to find ways to save time and money while still creating the best product or service possible. We now understand that the practice of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) often results in better environmental performance, even when that isn’t the intended outcome of a project.

In this innovative podcast, Lean Six Sigma consultant Brion Hurley is interviewed by Luke Andersen from the radio show, Northwest Business. Brion has established a strong reputation on helping organizations achieve environmental sustainability and achieve success beyond growth or monetary savings.

Download the podcast here.

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The Impact on a Global Scale

Green manufacturing and clean energy are getting attention on a global scale.  The United States, Brazil and China have made new commitments to fight climate change. The United States unveiled a Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon pollution. The United Nations is taking great strides to take on climate change worldwide. All of these efforts to improve clean energy and climate change have a direct impact on manufacturing. Whether it is a reduction in auto emission standards or clean energy efforts, manufacturing will be at the forefront of the initiatives. Unfortunately, some of these initiatives have fallen short or lack support on a global scale. As an example, experts compare the current climate of 2015 China to the climate of 1974 Pittsburgh. Clearly, global creativity and cooperation is what will be required moving forward.

Green Manufacturing Gains Momentum

Green manufacturing is a good idea in terms of the environment, and also for business on a global scale. Even though new environmental regulations are cropping up around the globe, leading companies are very focused on taking the initiative. They are becoming laser focused on reducing waste and improving energy use, not because of regulation but because of the long term impact of their practices. Companies are looking at the use of energy, water and materials and how they can reduce or eliminate them from their manufacturing process. These same companies are finding that the Internet of Things (IoT) with connectivity, software improvements and innovative devices are becoming valuable tools in improving green manufacturing. These new devices and their connectivity are proving to be efficient and effective in their quality improvement initiatives. The connectivity created by the industrial Internet makes it easier to track resource consumption. When companies are reducing waste and energy in their manufacturing processes, they gain a significant awareness of the importance of green manufacturing.

The Future of Green Manufacturing

There is a serious interest and commitment to green initiatives in the global manufacturing industry. It is a key component of operating a sustainable business that helps uncover hidden in manufacturing, while creating value for the environment, the stakeholders, and the greater community both now and in the future. As leaders from around the world look at ways to reduce carbon pollution, manufacturers will make their operations more energy efficient.

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