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Vol 30 - No 05 - July 2004 Editorial Having served as Editor of Control for 18 months, Gail Bradbear, MIOM, has decided to stand down from the position. Gail has enjoyed the challenge of this role and has been particularly pleased to have contributed to the modernisation of the IOM journal. Unfortunately, she feels unable to continue with the work of editor due to other heavy commitments. Thank you, Gail, for your valuable input to Control and our best wishes for the future. We are pleased to welcome Malcolm Granger, FIOM, as the new Editor. Malcolm is currently Director of his own consulting company, RALF Consulting Ltd. Prior to this, he worked with Oracle for 8 years, firstly as an implementation consultant, then in sales consulting, specialising in Supply Chain Management. In all, Malcolm has over 20 years experience in all aspects of manufacturing and supply chain management. AFellow of the Institute, Malcolm has been a member for over 20 years, serving as National Chairman (1993-95) and on most of the national committees, including Chairman of the Editorial Committee. Malcolm says, “I would like to thank Gail for all the hard work she has done in getting Control to the level it now is. My approach will be to continue with this work, ensuring that we maintain the high quality that she has set. Lean to the Future Chris Slemmings, FIOM, Brafe Engineering When the Times publishes a leading article on Lean Manufacturing in its Business section this is probably a sign that the idea is well established in industry. The Lean approach has many illustrious antecedents including Japanese practices of waste identification and elimination, Goldratt’s Goal, OPT and Buffer-Drum-Rope, Kanban and many others. Over several decades we have seen practitioners take examples of best practice from all of these techniques and for Lean thinking to evolve into an operational management culture applicable around the world. The Institute is very pleased to publish the papers by Nigel Wood on Lean Thinking. They have been published elsewhere but, as a contemporary dialogue on the position industry has reached we believe as wide an audience as possible is necessary. Events continue to drive change but it is also good to reflect on how far we have come before facing the next challenge. Where next? Adecade ago we saw MRP develop through MRPII into ERP. Today we see that the core activities associated directly with production have been extended into personnel, maintenance, purchasing, quality and compliance management. It is reasonable to expect that Lean thinking will similarly grow to encompass more activities to satisfy the needs of industry. The difference is that the ERP approach has come to be dependent on high-powered software whereas, Lean thinking is a people based system relying on coaching and development of staff. This is not to say that appropriate software is not useful but, it does not assume the dominance seen in previous industrial contexts. What messages may we take from Lean Thinking? It is possible to start small and grow implementation right through the supply chain. If people are your most valuable asset, even a little training will increase their value. The Lean approach helps you fit into the supply chain. Demand is pulled through the chain and leads to greater customer satisfaction than push systems. Satisfied customers are good news to everyone. What of agility? Some say that Lean is alright for standardised products and processes but that creative, design led companies need to be able to react quickly to new technologies and customer demands. Is this really a difference or do Lean and Agile processes converge? Is this convergence part of an evolutionary process leading to a system synthesis greater than the sum of its parts? How should we join the party? If you are not already up to speed, a good place to start is to read the Lean thinking papers published in Control. Some earlier published works by Eli Goldratt, Taiichi Ohno and Chris Slemmings Shigeo Shingo may also be helpful.Talk to other people; we have already said this is a people based approach. Test your understanding; can you define Takt time, the Seven Muda or a Spaghetti chart? Talk to us. Your Institute wants to hear from you. Are you sold on Lean Thinking? Are there situations where this approach does not work? Where does agility fit into the picture? Does Lean replace or complement ERP? Where do you think operations management should go next? We shall be happy to publish your thoughts, however controversial.If you have experience of Lean implementation we should also be pleased to hear from you. Tell our members what worked and what didn’t. Sharing your experiences will help the development of operations management. Why not help to shape the future? Related Topics:
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