Ask Tom
Top 10 Characteristics of a WorldClass Manufacturing Facility BY TOM WEBER
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everal AICC members have asked me to identify what auditable aspects of manufacturing facilities truly differentiate one from another. Here’s my “Top 10 Characteristics of a World-Class Manufacturing Facility.” 1. Safety and Health • High awareness is maintained day to day among employees to keep each other safe, healthy, and secure. • Equipment is properly guarded, and exceptional housekeeping is a daily given in all work areas. • All employees are trained in safe practices and consistently wear personal protective equipment without having to be asked to or threatened. • Zero lost-time accidents with very low OSHA incident rates are a daily reality, not a lofty annual business objective to be discussed only at year-end. 2. Involved and Committed Workforce • Employees at all levels understand and are committed to continuously improving their operational responsibilities, recognizing the greater good. • Idea generation, accountability practices, and participation on corrective-action teams create suggestions that are implemented at a rate of 10–12 per employee annually. 3. Just-in-Time Manufacturing and Deliveries • A quality product is manufactured and delivered when needed as defined by the customer.
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• On-time deliveries in full exceed 98%, as defined by customers. • Advanced planning systems are in place to ensure tracking measures for reporting data daily. 4. Focus on Product Flow • Residence time of all materials both into and throughout the various processes is low. • Materials move smoothly between operations with very low spoilage. • Various tools are utilized to track material flow throughout the day. 5. Preventive and Predictive Maintenance • Machine breakdowns during scheduled run hours are virtually nonexistent. • Machines are maintained to run quality product at historically low waste levels. • Delay time is approaching zero on all major machine centers. 6. Bottlenecks Are Managed • Frequency and severity of bottlenecks are identified via realtime monitoring. • Quickly and appropriately resolve any bottlenecked areas or machine centers. 7. Total Quality Management • Actions are focused on continually improving the quality of the products, processes, and systems. • Quality products and services are consistently produced with results approaching zero defects/ Six Sigma.
8. Fast Setups • Setup times are all approaching measurements in minutes. • The setups take such little time that maximum flexibility is available. • Visual reference points and organization within the facility and at machine centers are evident. 9. Extremely Low Inventories • Raw materials are gated with justin-time methodology to facilitate quick response. • Work in process is reduced below historical levels to keep production moving. • Finished goods are driven to the lowest possible levels using MIS/ predictive modeling, etc. 10. Supportive Policies and Procedures • Corporate and facility policies, procedures, and practices must be supportive and not hinder continuous improvement efforts. • Say what you do clearly and concisely, and then do what you say. The ultimate objective of a properly executed continuous improvement process is to create a world-class organization with a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace. Tom Weber is president of WeberSource LLC and is AICC’s folding carton and rigid box technical advisor. Contact Tom directly at asktom@aiccbox.org.
