VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [63]
“The data tell us that we do not have smooth flow through the plant.”
“And why is that? I’ll tell you: variation. That is the core issue. Fluctuation, deviation beyond tolerances, excess change – however you want to say it, that’s the root of the problem. Not Whac-A-Mole.”
“All right, forget I mentioned it! But that’s what it seems like.”
“The solution is to keep applying Six Sigma to eliminate the variation,” said Wayne.
“But that’s going to take years,” said Kurt, “and meanwhile, we’ve got all these moles popping up.”
Just then, Murphy Maguire came from around a corner and headed directly for them. There was heat in his eyes.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, but are you aware that Godzilla has been idle for the past forty-five minutes?”
Kurt turned to the worker and asked, “How many more?”
“Sixty-two.”
“You heard her,” said Kurt. “They’re waiting on these last sheets.”
“Why are we waiting?” asked Wayne.
“They’re waiting because there are not enough pieces to fill the customer’s order,” said Kurt. “And this order requires one of those low pressure, special atmosphere soaks in the autoclave. So the whole batch has to go in at the same time. Once the door on Godzilla is closed and locked down, it can’t be opened again to put a few more in.”
The frustration showed in Wayne’s face, and he said, “We are supposed to be guided by Lean principles now! We are supposed to be moving toward one-piece flow! Why are we still talking about batches?”
“Because the nature of the autoclave process requires a batch,” said Murphy. “As Kurt was saying, once the door on Godzilla is shut, it has to stay shut until the process is completed – times ranging from three-quarters of one hour to twenty-three-point-five hours, depending upon the specification. With the current technology, that is the reality.”
“There has to be a better way,” said Wayne.
“Sir, while we are standing here discussing that better way, the fact remains that Godzilla is waiting to be loaded,” said Murphy. “And because you have reduced the work staff dedicated to Autoclave, every load and unload takes longer.”
“Maguire, we have balanced all work staff throughout the plant to takt time,” said Wayne. “You had people standing around doing nothing, and that was waste that we have eliminated.”
“To what gain, sir?” asked Murphy.
“How can you not understand this?” asked Wayne. “People waiting for something productive to do is waste. And waste is the enemy!”
“Murph, you approved the staff changes,” said Kurt, attempting to intercede. “Don’t you remember?”
“As I recall, I said I agreed to give it a try; I did not necessarily agree that the changes would work,” said Murphy. “What I would emphasize is that I would much rather have a few workers waiting than to have Godzilla waiting.”
Wayne was now about to blow a fuse.
“I would very much appreciate it, Maguire, if you would give up this obsession with the so-called Godzilla,” said Wayne. “It is one piece of equipment. One process out of many processes. Start thinking about the performance of the entire system.”
“I do think about the performance of the entire system!” Murphy insisted.
“This plant is going to run to takt time, with every resource balanced to customer demand,” Wayne insisted. “That is our objective, and we will reach it!”
Not wanting to provoke Wayne Reese further, Murphy – who was quite angry himself by now – held up his hands in surrender and walked away.
As soon as Murphy was out of earshot, Wayne turned to Kurt and quietly said, “He is the problem.”
“Why?” asked Kurt. “You think he’s sabotaging the program?”
“No, I wouldn’t go that far,” Wayne admitted. “He’s just set in his ways. Lean Six Sigma is a new way, and he is never going to accept it.”
“I don’t know,” said Kurt. “He’s been running the plant a long time. You’ve got to give him his due.”
“You just hit the nail on the head. He’s been here a long time. I think it’s been too long,” said Wayne.
Just then the fusing machine shut down, and the soft whine it had been making went silent.
“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked in alarm. “It didn’t break,