Ask the Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Expert: Scheduling Assistance
 Asked on Feb 1 2006 5:10:40:000PM | Q | I would like to know the possibilities of applying lean principles to the food industry. Olawunmi Sarumi, Sheffield, UK |
| A | The idea that Lean principals are only applicable to discrete manufacturers is a widely-held misconception about Lean, derived largely from the fact that the Lean gospels are largely written about the auto industry. There are far more similarities between Process and Discrete manufacturers, including food processors, than may meet the eye. Understanding the value stream is important for every manufacturer. If you cast your net widely, you're going to discover that Lean is being applied across many process industries, including notable examples in the food processing sector. In food processing industries, materials enter the value stream where numerous processes occur to transform raw material into finished product. Value-added processes constitute a relatively small percentage of the overall lead time within the plant. Demand variability and volatility (i.e., specific demand fluctuations by day/week/season and changes to basic underlying demand patterns) challenge food processors -- just as they challenge discrete manufacturers. Understanding your value stream and patterns of demand opens the door to numerous Lean improvement opportunities on the factory floor for process industries including food processors, e.g., improved communications, freed-up floor space, reduced set-up times, reduced WIP and increased inventory turns. And the opportunities to apply Lean to administrative processes are no different in process industries than they are in discrete industries. |
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