Structural practical steps followed to minimize transportation waste || Important points for comparing material handling process.

Identifying and minimizing transportation waste from operational processes is the main purpose of writing this article. In many small-scale and large-scale industries production processes and visibility of transportation waste. The eye-opener things are when we start monitoring systematically lean manufacturing parameters gap will be visible in operational processes. Now a day’s world is drastically changing the technology and way of producing products to sustain in a competitive environment.

The key important benefits to minimizing process waste such as reduced product cycle time, reduce cost, minimize manufacturing lead time as well as improved on-time delivery of different customers.

What do you learn from this article?

• Ways to measure transportation waste.
• What are the structural steps to minimize inventory waste?
• Practical implementation guideline for transportation waste minimization.
• Points to be studied and discussed during the brainstorming session.
• Important points for comparing current Vs upgraded material handling process.

Transportation Waste.

Measure

There are several ways to calculate transportation waste as per listed below.

1. Monitor based on time loss. – measure the transportation time in each stage with the help of time study.
2. Monitor based on disturbing line balancing. – measure the percentage of balance delay of line balancing due to material waiting with larger transportation time.
3. Monitor based on a cost perspective. – measure the cost consumed in transportation with respect to the total cost.

I have listed several methods to monitor transportation waste so in detail when we want to improve something, we require to start measuring and monitoring those parameters. Similar to transportation waste from my perspective the very best way to monitor transportation time is time loss and cost perspective.

Not necessary to measure transportation waste in all four categories but identify convenient parameters to measure transportation waste based on your organizational requirement. I mention each possibility to measure transportation time.

Structural practical steps followed to minimize transportation waste: –

• Identify proper key performance indicators to measure transportation waste.
• Monitor transportation waste on a timely basis & review it.
• Analyze the material movement process and identify the scope for improvement.
• Focused on major movement areas & applied lean tools such as kaizen, SMED, Work Study, and 6 ‘S’ to minimize waste. Also meanwhile verify the material handling process and compare it with the latest technology in material handling types of equipment to reduce time.
• Check the transportation waste difference between the before and after processes.
• Conclude the study and standardize the updated process.
• Measure KPI on a continuous basis.

Practical guidelines to minimize transportation waste.

Review below the attached key parameters needed to measure parallel with transportation waste. To minimize transportation time activity is divided into two categories as per mention below. One part is to conduct the study and another is to generate ideas for improvement.

1. Conduct the time study as per below attached format of an operational process.
2. Based on individual activity or club of activity brainstorming session plan list down activities as per mention below.

                  Now review the above-attached image for part of the time study first list down a sequential bunch of activities of operational processes and then start a detailed study of the processes. Capture the data of the number of material handling within the listed activity. In the majority of activities, a minimum of two material handlings are required to transform material from one place to another place and in some cases more than that. Next capture material movement time and material handling time individually, also need to capture travel distance for detail analysis. Now, all parameters are related to conducting a study on the shop floor or GEMBA.

                  Now, mention current material handling operational processes like the manual, overhead crane, hydra, or handling with any other handling equipment.

Important points to be discussed during the brainstorming session

                  The very important activity to minimize transportation time is to plan a brainstorming session of 7 to 10 people and include those who are working on the operational process to analyze the improvement scope as per the below-mentioned areas.

• Identify the possibility to optimize manpower associated with material transportation.
• Review the material traveling distance in any scope for minimizing traveling distance.
• To check possibilities of multi-point material storage to minimize handling and reduce travel distances.
• Review the material handling equipment available in the market and verify whether it is suitable for the organization’s operational process or not.
• Review the structural points of the current process and upgrade the process from cost saving perspective.

Important points for comparing material handling process.

Conclusion: –

As per the lean manufacturing principle, the main purpose is to minimize all the waste from processes. Select the proper material handling process to consider the overall process as well as helps to minimize each waste. Lean manufacturing suggests producing products in a one-piece flow mode and in many industries, one-piece flow mode uses a conveyor system for material handling. Now if we talk about conveyor systems, each and every organizational product is not feasible for conveyor system so in that case you are required to design a material handling system based on your organizational product but the main goal to keep in mind is to minimize the cost as well as transportation time is very essential otherwise without improve end result improvement is not an improvement.