Tom Knuth from STILT.PRO will offer an engineer’s perspective at applying industrial factory metrics and terminology to visualize and improve your growing operation’s productivity and efficiency.

1/21/2019

Tom KnuthTomK@STILT.PRO

(218) 343-2650Thomson, GAwww.stilt.pro

@STILT.PRO

• Value Stream Mapping and Process Flow Tools

• Cause – Focused Brainstorming Tools

• Efficiency Improvement

• Monitoring / Metrics

Value Stream Mapping and Process Flow

Tools

Tools document a process in a consistent manner

Provide observational and real information on current problems

Helps simulate and evaluate new options

What's it for?

Process mapping is the way to create a flowchart of a process.

It is the framework and foundation for more detailed tools.

Preparation:

• Detail - Not too much, not too little.

• Too much will overwhelm and too little will not give you the desired results.

• Scope of the process and identify boundaries

• Is the map as-is or should-be?

TIPS: Parking lot of ideas not directly related to the process mapping - improvement ideas, assumptions, questions, out of scope issues/ideas

Step back and talk about how to measure key information

Concentrate on the process, not the details, times or other non pertinent information

https://www.draw.io/

Steps1. Get the team together

2. Team brainstorms steps. Organize sticky notes on a board

3. Use symbols that are relevant to your business

4. As a team, agree on and arrange steps in order.

5. Keep the process flow moving in chronological order. Only go in reverse if there is a repetition of a step

6. Walk the process forward to understand the flow. Then backward pretending to be the customer of the process

7. After reaching an agreement on all the steps, number and transfer to a spreadsheet.

Ideas for process mapping at nurseries:Complete growing process

Potting

Customer Ordering

Propagation

Pruning

Chemical Spraying

Watering

Some things to note:• Unbalanced primary flow• You should work to balance the process flow • Certain people have multiple jobs and may be missing when needed

• What steps can be simplified?• What steps can be consolidated?• How can the process be evenly matched?

What's it for?

• Used to visualize the physical movement and flow of a desired task.

• Once visualized, you can better understand the true cost of a process.

• From this you can identify waste, evaluate improvements and improve productivity.

• Pick your approach

As-Is

Should-Be

Page 42 – Lean Six Sigma

Preparation:

• Create a diagram of your workspace showing all key components and areas

• Work from existing flowchart of the process, or brainstorm a list of steps

• Decide on creating an as-is chart or a should-be chart.

TIPS: Remember, you can depict more than just people movement, you can visualize material or even information.

Steps

1. Find or Create a workplace diagram

2. Start with existing flowchart or brainstorm steps

3. Mark where the first step of the process happens

4. Draw arrow to the next task location

5. Map all steps

6. Evaluate the diagram

Look for crisscross lines, returning repeatedly to a common location, long travel distances

7. Extra Steps – add time and information to better understand the value add versus nonvalue add time

Ideas for process mapping at nurseries:

• Propagation

• Potting Line

• Order Pulling

• Spraying

• Applying granular material

Factory Example

Example of propagation workflow1. Receive work task from manager2. Get vehicle3. Go to field4. Take Cuttings5. Go to propagation building6. Store cuttings7. Fill liner trays with media8. Water Trays9. Apply Rooting Hormone10.Sticking11.Watering Trays12.Transfer to carts13.Moving to field14.Place in liner growing area15.Return vehicle16.Return to break area

BLU

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alu

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dd

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asks

Identify waste areas. Steps and tasks should be evaluated based on function.

Evaluate with respect to customer.

Page 50 – Lean Six Sigma

Categories:

Value Added – Essential to deliver plant to customerPruning, fertilizing, spacing, upsizing containers, weeding, watering

Business Nonvalue Added – Required for business operationOHSA/EPA reporting, frost protection, equipment maintenance

Non-Value Added – No value from customers perspective.Transportation of product, movement around nursery, overproduction, excess pruning, waiting

Cause-Focused

Brainstorming Tools

Tools to help you identify the root

cause of a problem

What's it for?

• Basic technique to work down to root cause of a problem

TIPS:

• Don’t send baggage through the Five Whys. Discourage team and not likely to be successful.

• Many times, the underlying issues on old problems have been around a long time and may be very difficult to fix.

• Use on new problems. Often when a new problem is evaluated with 5 whys, old issues will surface organically.

• Be tolerance of all mistakes the first time.

• Never allow the same mistake to be made twice.

Getting Started:

Ask “Why” five times in a row to get to the root of the problem

Good uses:

• Inventory issues

• Missing inputs

• Miscommunication

• Differing or missed expectations (sales and production)

• Equipment / Machine Failures

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

WHY?

“We have a very sophisticated technique for developing new products. It is called five-why. We ask why five times.” – Yuichi Okamoto (former Toyota Technical Center VP)

Level of Problem Corresponding Level of Countermeasure

The belt is broken Replace belt

There was a tear in belt Monitor belt Integrity

The belt was misaligned Adjust belt tracking

The belt was not properly adjusted

Create a belt adjustment procedure and acceptable range

No one noticed or spoke up that the belt wasn’t aligned

Educate on proper operation

The crew did not receive proper training on what to look for

Setup training program for new hires

Worn Belt on Conveyor

Page 230 – Lean Startup, Page 252 – The Toyota Way, Page 145 – Lean Six Sigma

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?

“Observe the production floor without preconceptions and with a blank mind. Repeat “why” five times to every matter” – Taiichi Ohno

What's it for?

Tool to arrange and organize many potential causes of a problem.

Used to identify critical areas to investigate and not miss other areas that may be root cause

Good tool for persistent and reoccurring issues

TIPS:

Use this tool to organize different causes of a problem and determine which areas you should test to find root cause.

There may be more than one root cause. Fishbone diagrams provides structure to your evaluation.

Page 146 – Lean Six Sigma

Steps

• Name the problem – Be Specific

• Decide major categories

• Brainstorm detailed causes and add “fishbones”

• Identify most likely causes

• Determine ways to quickly test causes and verify if they are true root cause

Example Uses

• Weed control issues

• Identifying cause of shrink

• Finding the root cause of a complicated issue or something that has many sources causing a problem.

Efficiency Improvement

Some simple tools to improve efficiency of

your operation

What's it for?

Poka-yoke is a tool to eliminate failures by designing them out of the process. Stop a mistake before they occur or prevent it from making it to the next step of production.

TIPS:

Corresponding resolution should be proportional to associated risk

MISTAKE PREVENTION (Safety Decals)

MISTAKE PROOFING (cannot be assembled wrong)

Steps Example Uses

• Plant identification

• Proper chemical applications

• Branded Plants

• Order Pulling

• Potting Drill

• Identify defect and how it affects customer

• Identify process step that caused the defect

• Investigate and analyze root cause

• Brainstorm ways to eliminate or detect

• Implement mistake proofing device

Electrical outlet in your house.

Mistake Prevention

Mistake Proofing

USB-C

20 Amp outlet

USB-A

Mistake proofing & prevention (Poka-yoke)

Pesticide Re-Entry Sign is a MISTAKE PREVENTION example.

REDUCING re-entry periods is working towards MISTAKE PROOFING

Mistake proofing & prevention (Poka-yoke)

Drilling on potting line prevents plants from being placed off center.

Allows for proper placement of plant every time.

• Lowering the “Water Level” of inventory to expose problems.

• You must deal with the problems or sink.

Broken Conveyor

Out of Soil

Missed weeding interval Wrong

Chemical Mix Rate

Crop Freeze

Wrong Water PH

Wrong Product Mix

Inventory Levels

Page 88 – The Toyota Way

Monitoring / MetricsTools to monitor your progress

Measures 3 factors:

Uptime

Total potting time vs time working.

Any stops, breaks, changeovers, out

of soil counts towards uptime.

Productivity

Measure line operating speed vs maximum capable

speed

Quality

Count of rejected plants from

inspection (each wagon to be inspected for

quality)

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) renamed to Overall Potting Effectiveness for nurseries.

Shift Duration 480 Mins DATA

Pot Size 3 Gal Pot Size People Concatenate Output

Operators 7 People 1 5 15 306

Average Output 208 Pots/Man*Hr 1 6 16 294

Machine output 1456 Pots/Machine*Hr 1 7 17 292

Maximum Shift Output 11648 Pots 1 8 18 295

1 9 19 300

2 6 26 245

break 30 Mins 2 7 27 207

out of soil 5 Mins 2 8 28 213

lunch 30 Mins 3 3 33 180

wagon movement 6 Mins 3 4 34 227

cleanup 10 Mins 3 5 35 220

TOTAL DOWNTIME 81 Mins 3 6 36 210

Availability 83% 3 7 37 208

3 8 38 196

3 9 39 190

Total Pots Completed 8714 Pots 4 6 46 133

Run Speed 1310 Pots/hour 4 7 47 129

Total Runtime 399 Mins Total time minus downtime 4 8 48 136

Expected Output at max 9682 Pots total runtime * Max output rate 7 6 76 95

Performance 90% 7 7 77 77

7 8 78 71

QUALITY

Rejected Plants 35 Pots

Reject time 0.026709 Hours Lost

Quality 100%

Overall Potting Effectiveness

UPTIME

PRODUCTIVITY

74.5%

Shift Duration 480 Mins DATA

Pot Size 3 Gal Pot Size People Concatenate Output

Operators 7 People 1 5 15 306

Average Output 208 Pots/Man*Hr 1 6 16 294

Machine output 1456 Pots/Machine*Hr 1 7 17 292

Maximum Shift Output 11648 Pots 1 8 18 295

1 9 19 300

2 6 26 245

break 30 Mins 2 7 27 207

out of soil 5 Mins 2 8 28 213

lunch 30 Mins 3 3 33 180

wagon movement 6 Mins 3 4 34 227

cleanup 10 Mins 3 5 35 220

TOTAL DOWNTIME 81 Mins 3 6 36 210

Availability 83% 3 7 37 208

3 8 38 196

3 9 39 190

Total Pots Completed 8714 Pots 4 6 46 133

Run Speed 1310 Pots/hour 4 7 47 129

Total Runtime 399 Mins Total time minus downtime 4 8 48 136

Expected Output at max 9682 Pots total runtime * Max output rate 7 6 76 95

Performance 90% 7 7 77 77

7 8 78 71

QUALITY

Rejected Plants 35 Pots

Reject time 0.026709 Hours Lost

Quality 100%

Overall Potting Effectiveness

UPTIME

PRODUCTIVITY

74.5%

Shift Duration 480 Mins DATA

Pot Size 3 Gal Pot Size People Concatenate Output

Operators 7 People 1 5 15 306

Average Output 208 Pots/Man*Hr 1 6 16 294

Machine output 1456 Pots/Machine*Hr 1 7 17 292

Maximum Shift Output 11648 Pots 1 8 18 295

1 9 19 300

2 6 26 245

break 30 Mins 2 7 27 207

out of soil 5 Mins 2 8 28 213

lunch 30 Mins 3 3 33 180

wagon movement 6 Mins 3 4 34 227

cleanup 10 Mins 3 5 35 220

TOTAL DOWNTIME 81 Mins 3 6 36 210

Availability 83% 3 7 37 208

3 8 38 196

3 9 39 190

Total Pots Completed 8714 Pots 4 6 46 133

Run Speed 1310 Pots/hour 4 7 47 129

Total Runtime 399 Mins Total time minus downtime 4 8 48 136

Expected Output at max 9682 Pots total runtime * Max output rate 7 6 76 95

Performance 90% 7 7 77 77

7 8 78 71

QUALITY

Rejected Plants 35 Pots

Reject time 0.026709 Hours Lost

Quality 100%

Overall Potting Effectiveness

UPTIME

PRODUCTIVITY

74.5%

Things to Note:• Separates effectiveness into 3 buckets• Allows you to quickly see problems• Specific to your operation, cannot be

compared to other nurseries

~1 Hour Faster!

Process Cycle Efficiency

Once you have a process map and times you can start to understand:

• How efficient your processes are running

• Evaluate how well improvements are working

𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝐶𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑃𝐶𝐸 =𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝐴𝑑𝑑 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒

Value Stream Mapping and Process Flow ToolsProcess Flow MapTransportation DiagramValue Add vs Non Value Add

Cause – Focused Brainstorming ToolsFive Whys

Fishbone Diagram

EfficiencyPoka YokeReduce WIP Inventory

Monitoring / MetricsOverall Potting EffectivenessProcess Cycle Efficiency

Tom KnuthTomK@STILT.PRO

(218) 343-2650Thomson, GAwww.stilt.pro

@STILT.PRO

• Kaizen – “Change for Better”

• Kanban – “Signboard”

• Hansei - “Reflection”

• Jidoka – “Built-in Quality”

• Gemba or Genchi Genbutsu – “Go and see for yourself”

• Takt – “Cycle Time”

• Heijunka – “Leveling”

• Poka-Yoke – "mistake-proofing“

• Muda – “Non-Value-Added”

• Muri – “Overburdening people or equipment”

• Mura – “Unevenness”