Continuous Improvement and Understanding Lean's Role at Your Company

Editor's Note, update May 19, 2010:
Society of Manufacturing Engineers member and author, Mark Hamel, has been awarded The Shingo Prize Research & Professional Publications Award for the Kaizen Event Fieldbook. Given out in May 2010 in Utah at The Shingo Prize Annual Conference, the Shingo Research Award recognizes and promotes research and writing regarding new knowledge and understanding of lean and operational excellence.

SMT recently received a copy of Mark R. Hamel’s Kaizen Event Fieldbook for review. Hamel is a consultant to the manufacturing industry, facilitating the transition to Lean. Lean manufacturing has been a noteworthy electronics assembly strategy for many years, raised to a necessity level by the profit-margin, supply chain, and quality strains of the recession that began in 2008. While manufacturers must work to be lean, they also must make lean principles work for them. “Learn by doing” is the mantra of Hamel, encouraging readers to apply the lean principles that best improve their business. Hamel explains kaizen as “small, cumulative continuous improvements.” While some may be tempted to engage Lean as an abrupt overhaul of their business, these incremental changes will likely result in a more successful and sustainable manufacturing environment. Read a brief description of the book from its publishers here.

The workbook is divided into three sections, an education on the foundations of lean: kaizen, leadership, definitions, and ways to get started; four phases for developing, deploying, and maintaining kaizen events and strategy; and a final section on customizing these principles and actions for the specific business. Perhaps the most valuable resource of the Kaizen Event Fieldbook is appendix of worksheets: forms that can be used for audits, event planning, tracking initiatives, and more. The book is also closely synched with its Website, http://www.kaizenfieldbook.com/, where readers are welcome to ask the author questions, download the blank forms for their employees, and link to related resources suggested by Hamel.

For most electronics manufacturers, aspects of the Lean system are familiar, while others are not. The Fieldbook includes many clear definitions for the terms employed in the lean concept, while Hamel continuously points out that readers should come to the system with an idea of their own goals and interests. There is a difference between memorizing the system and terminology and learning it. Hamel encourages readers to learn the system and adapt it for their individual needs.

To quote Hamel, “the Fieldbook can be applied in several ways: at a corporate level as a framework for developing (improving, if the developing is done) and deploying standard work throughout the organization, and for the personal development of motivated kaizen practitioners. Kaizen’s role within a lean business structure is defined, and the point is frequently made that kaizen is a daily and weekly application of lean, not a single-event makeover. Detailed descriptions of how a kaizen event is planning, how it functions, and how best to maintain its effect are provided.

Contrary to the hype, lean systems can create plenty of waste, when communication lags, implementation is too ambitious, or when follow-up is lacking. Hamel points out that, while the main thrust of the kaizen event is kick-off, training, storyline, leaders’ progress meeting, work strategy, reporting, and recognition, this event is worthless without planning and follow-up. The Fieldbook’s suggestions for communicating include reporting methods as well as input methods to gain fresh ideas from employees. Suggestions even include visual communication, such as different colored shirts for people involved in different parts of a project.

Lean manufacturing demands continuous investment in making the production flow work; eliminating waste; and increasing your business’s performance through higher throughput, fewer errors, faster turn-around, or other metrics. With the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ seal on this workbook, it looks to be a valuable addition to, or starting point for, a Lean initiative at the manufacturing facility.

For more information, read SME Releases the Kaizen Event Fieldbook

Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor

Lean Facilities: Workspace Utilization in Electronics Production

Every inch counts on the manufacturing floor, and waste — be it spoiled solder paste, overstocked components, or wasted space — is not tolerated in a working lean production facility. This year at the IPC APEX Expo in Las Vegas, we saw several approaches to saving space, cutting down inefficient work in progress (WIP) bottlenecks, and increasing productivity in electronics assembly and test. For electronics manufacturers who will be scaling back expansion plans, trying to utilize existing space rather than invest in additional facilities or buildings, smarter conveyors, workstations, and storage solutions are in order.

Workflow
Movement of product through a facility can make or break lean goals. PROMATION Inc. demonstrated a dual-operator hand insertion solution with programmable slide shuttles for auto routing and PCB introduction into a selective soldering system with underside return (see image). The design enables higher utilization of floor space and personnel, said Gary Goldberg, president. It eliminates waiting time for the operator and is flexible. For optical inspection, the PCBs come in to an operator workstation. If it passes the board is sent to reflow. If it fails, a conveyor will take the board to rework. They automatically return for post-solder inspection. An AOI system can replace the operator workstation, activating pass/fail without operator intervention. The wrap-around design can be modified to suit any volume or number of operators, and all of the lifts, conveyors, and workstations involved are PROMATION components. Considering how many facilities have inspection, rework, and soldering in three distinct areas, with parts moved from one to another, this smart design can eliminate wasted time and space.

Ken Bliss, president and Shana Bliss, sales manager at Bliss Industries Inc., discussed the FLEXconveyor, a flexible box build factory on wheels has multiple patents pending on its flexible platform. The conveyor is designed to be able to bend up to 90° and features quick-clamp connectivity, the ability to support a 19" rackmount chassis, and can be configured without the use of tools or bolts. Users can start with as small as a 10 × 8 ft line and add on other sections and elements, such as the flexconveyor pickup station. The metal parts are zinc-plated with ESD-safe drag chain. Locking casters hold the completed conveyor configuration in place. “The goal is to relieve bottlenecks and eliminate waste in production lines,” says Ken Bliss, adding that it meets the modern assembler’s need to change the line on the fly and increase production rates. “We configure exactly what a customer wants, visually, on the computer system,” said Shana Bliss. “They can see the details of how the line will work before the final quote, and four weeks later, units are shipped to the customer. The same driver who delivers the FLEXconveyor or any of our other assembly systems is the person who will set it up in 1–2 hours typically for a 50,000 sq.ft. factory.” When a new job is brought in, or volumes change, the conveyor sections can be unlocked and rolled into new positions, occupying a given amount of floor space in the best possible workflow. At APEX, Bliss announced that OnCore Manufacturing Services, an EMS company in the defense, medical, and industrial markets, tested FLEXconveyor in five facilities and plans to deploy it into all of its locations nationwide. This is the first installation of the new box build conveyor.

Storage
Inventory kills lean, so the saying goes. However, there are some products that must be kept in stock, such as stencils, board fixturing, wave solder pallets, etc. And when inventory does come into the factory, dealing with it efficiently can save from incoming inspection to rework/scrap.

DEK has a product to minimize the footprint of stencil storage. The Vector Guard stencil fixturing system is a model for looking at tooling less as a consumable and more as part of the factory floor. The fixed frame and interchangeable foils stencil holder uses vacuum — via a simple air pump — to tension the stencil onto the frame. It holds position and tension better than mesh-mount designs, said Brian Lau, GM of the Americas and David Byrd, U.S. operations manager at DEK. It also frees up an enormous amount of storage in the stencil holding area, as one frame is reusable and does not have to be stored with the foils. To make adoption easier, the air-tensioned VectorGuard can be cleaned like a mesh-mount stencil, can be used with the same variety of stencil foil materials, and integrates easily into printer platforms.

When dealing with incoming inventory and kitting, flexible and value-added storage products can enhance the final assembly reliability, throughput, and traceability.

Component storage involves one part to one location, said Ron Wrable, director of sales, Inovaxe. The company’s products manage WIP inventory by assigning each product a barcode and combining Web-based software as a service (SaaS) INOVISION and INOKIT with on-floor component storage, kitting, and delivery system INOCART. AN INOCART MSD also is available for moisture-sensitive components (MSDs) that will be compromised by time spent unprotected in the factory environment. Other MSD cabinet makers, such as Totech, explain that desiccant cabinets simplify inventory management logistics, since components can stay in tape-and-reel storage, and the added step and capital equipment investment of drying ovens are circumvented. Totech’s MSD storage cabinets can be configured as simple component stocking areas, MSD dryers (desiccant and low heat), or N₂ environment storage. “When MSD cabinets are not in use they are not wasted space,” agreed Michelle Ogihara, sales and marketing manager, Seika, pointing out that “the McDry cabinet is designed for MSD electronics, so its recovery time is faster and its relative humidity (RH) settings are very precise. However, when MSDs aren’t in stock, it can be plain component storage, with the ergonomic design and adjustable shelves aiding manufacturers even without baking or desiccant features in use.” Understanding the range of customer needs and facility designs, McDry is manufactured in tabletop size, feeder-storage capacity, up through very large units.

“WIP is killing U.S. assemblers’ efficiency,” said Ken Bliss, while discussing the future of the American electronics manufacturing plant. Rather than changing the plant’s address — either to a larger facility or to an offshore location — first consider what can be done to make product flow better from incoming inventory to final assembly/box build.

By Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor

and Gail Flower, editor-at-large, SMT

The APEX Question: How Much Money Can I Save?

Cost is the main theme at APEX this year, which is no surprise. The electronics manufacturing industry doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and everyone is seeing the decline in global spending and production. Suppliers are designing systems for assemblers that are both low investment up front — we’ve seen entry-level machines showcased at the booths more than new high-end ones — and low cost of ownership (COO), meaning the operational costs cut out inefficiencies or long downtimes, high energy use, and other undesirable side effects of electronics manufacturing. Shopfloor management software that enables truly lean production is getting a lot of attention at APEX. As one exhibitor put it, attendees are asking “How much is the machine? And how much will it cost me to run it?” With capital equipment spending dwindling, vendors must get the answers to both of those questions right.

Sunstone Circuits and partners National Instruments, Digi-Key, and Screaming Circuits gathered at the show to discuss their ECOsystem product, which brings PCBs from design through sourcing and manufacturing in one cohesive supply chain. Design for manufacturing (DfM) was the theme at JTAG Technologies’ booth as well, where they discussed the possibilities of utilizing boundary scan from first prototype through PCB test through in-field service to cut down prototype iterations, make service less invasive, and increase yield. JTAG refers to this as DfTALES, which means design for test, assembly, logistics, engineering, and service.

The manufacturing execution software (MES) suite from Valor also incorporates DfM, along with machine integration and inventory management to detect and call out inefficient or out-of-spec processes. Valor just surpassed the 800 customer mark globally. Juki debuted a shop-floor management software program, Intelligent Shop-floor Solutions (IS), to complement its component placement and selective soldering machines at the show. Aegis released the third revision to its Version 7 manufacturing operations software (MOS), called R3. This also is designed to cut costs through maintaining peak efficiency and streamlining operations in everything from screen print to thru-hole insertion to box build. Without a main computer interface, and with operators interacting with the MOS suite verbally, R3 targets a less skilled, less trained workforce on the line, cutting out that monetary burden.

Aegis’s R3 system was recently selected by Sanmina-SCI to go into about 20 facilities globally. Sanmina has installed the system in a handful of assembly plants and approved it for company-wide deployment. Maximizing the effectiveness of equipment and people saves users from investing in new machines, which likely isn’t an option for many assemblers in 2009.

Equipment providers can found innovative ways to cut costs as well. Aqueous Technologies, which recently acquired the Austin American Technologies MicroJet defluxers, pointed out that the in-line defluxers stagger the force, or energy, of the wash to remove flux intelligently rather than blasting it with cleaning solution indiscriminately. This means the machine requires a smaller motor, less energy draw on the factory floor, and therefore a smaller footprint. Aqueous also redesigned its Zero-Ion cleanliness tester and in doing so reduced the purchase price.

Inspection system manufacturer Koh Young brought its lower-priced machines to the show, KY8030 series, which typically target manufacturers in China. With a primarily North American attendance base at APEX, this seems like a shift to more cost-conscious purchasing at domestic manufacturers.

Essemtec showed a full suite of screen printers, component placement systems and reflow oven at APEX, but they were also promoting the company’s stability, with a fully owned manufacturing plant in Switzerland and no debt/good credit. One has to believe this reassuring tone is prompted by the bankruptcies and shaky footing of major companies all over the world, such as the “Big 3” U.S. auto makers.

Siemens introduced the Siplace CPP MultiStar placement head, which switches on-the-fly between high-speed and pick-and-place modes. It effectively eliminates the need for both a chipshooter and an end-of-line pick-and-place machine, performing the tasks of both. Placement “silos” that lack this range slow the production line down and have the added burdens of machine downtime, underutilization, maintenance, etc. The MultiStar head’s flexibility brings it beyond the silo model, yet maintains the accuracy found in dedicated machines.

Solder recovery systems supplier EVS International highlighted the COO advantage of investing in a dross recovery system. Users can cut solder purchasing by 40% in some cases, representing a huge savings in consumables. The system also brings dross management in-house, eliminating a step in the EMS/OEM supply chain that was not controllable by the manufacturers.

CeTaQ Americas, which manufactures machine calibration equipment, emphasized the importance of running in-spec and at top efficiency in an era of tight profit margins. Keeping a paste printing machine at its best level of performance will extend the system’s usefulness and lifetime, delaying investment in new capital equipment. CeTaQ offers all of its equipment as a service as well as for purchase.

Inovaxe also highlighted lean as a way to save money and reduce costs at the assembly house. Inventory management is central to this philosophy. The company showcased its software as a service (SaaS) options, which allow users to track incoming and in-process inventory, eliminate spoilage, and protect sensitive components like moisture-sensitive devices (MSDs). In 2009, manufacturers must find ways to cut out non-value-added time, making each job as profitable as possible.

Human effort can be the largest consumer of non-value-add time, and Europlacer highlighted its camera-based footprint programmer on the inneo placement platform as an example of technology replacing human effort. Parts profiles are obtained via a camera and programming in the inneo system, freeing up operators who would otherwise be drawing in the parts. This also enables more job changeover and more job runs with less downtime.

Cost is by no means the only story coming out of APEX this year. Emerging markets, such as photovoltaics manufacturing, are becoming a complementary focus for some assemblers, and equipment and materials providers are supporting this change. Counterfeit electronics are a hugely important topic, and many new products, from advanced labels by Polyonics Inc. to XRF analyzers by RMD, are coming out to combat the problem. Inspection remains an evolving realm, with some players exiting and others getting more involved in this sector. And the industry can still have fun in bad economic times, as evidenced by the informally dubbed APEX band, which gathered toward the close of Day 1 to play a few songs.

SMT will continue to cover the trends from the show floor at APEX on our Website and in our e-newsletters and issues following the show.

Meredith Courtemanche, managing editor