Bill Kerber, CFPIM is the President of High Mix Lean, a company
dedicated to bringing the concepts of the Toyota Production
System to complex manufacturers.
dedicated to bringing the concepts of the Toyota Production
System to complex manufacturers.
The seven principles of a Lean Value Stream
Even though the manufacturing environment may be complex,
these same principles apply to all value streams. However, they
may take on different forms and approaches depending on the
situation. For instance, in most high mix environments, FIFO flow
will be much more effective than pull.
- Takt Time
- Finished Goods Strategy
- Flow
- Pull
- Schedule one point
- Interval
- Pitch
Even though the manufacturing environment may be complex,
these same principles apply to all value streams. However, they
may take on different forms and approaches depending on the
situation. For instance, in most high mix environments, FIFO flow
will be much more effective than pull.
High Mix Lean
Implementing the seven principles of Learning To See sounds
easy, until the real world gets in the way. If you face any of the
following situations, I can help:
easy, until the real world gets in the way. If you face any of the
following situations, I can help:
 | A large number of products in each value stream | |
| Make to order or engineer to order products | |
| Highly variable demand | |
| Seasonal products | |
| Shared resources among value streams | |
| Variable flow paths within a product family | |
| Uncooperative ERP system | |
| Long lead times | |
| Difficulty converting from push to flow | |
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Lean Solutions for the Complex Manufacturer
| Complex companies can achieve significant results by applying the basic steps of lean in their value streams. Because of his extensive materials management background, Bill is adept at addressing the difficult aspects of demand management and level scheduling in a Lean environment. |
