Strategos Lean Manufacturing/Operations
Information-Training-Consulting
Aisle DesignLean Manufacturing & Lean Operations
Here you will find many articles explaining Lean Manufacturing and Operations as well as the various elements. There are tools for analysis, downloads of Excel templates and forms. There are simulations and many real-life examples. |
Facility Planning & Plant Layout
Facilities (land, buildings, equipment) provide the physical capability to add value and create products. The most common manifestation of facility planning (or lack thereof) is the Plant Layout. An effective layout incorporates and enables the manufacturing strategy on which it is based. Mr. Lee has authored two books and many articles on Plant Layout and Facility Planning. |
Manufacturing/Operations Strategy
Manufacturing Strategy flows from the premise that a factory design, as any engineering design, is a compromise between competing objectives and various constraints. We can optimize the design for one or two objectives (such as cost, quality, delivery, new products) but not all. Manufacturing Strategy starts in marketing. It asks questions such as:
The answers lead to "Key Manufacturing Task(s)." Manufacturing must excel at this task to win orders in the marketplace. The task may be cost, flexibility or another of several dimensions. From this Key Manufacturing Task, a set of policies flow that guide daily operations and decisions for purchasing equipment, setting priorities or designing a layout (for example). |
Lean Manufacturing Consulting
Use the Past–Manage the Present–Prepare the Future
Our mature and experienced consultants offer more than just technical expertise. Through hundreds of projects we have learned to build consensus and merge our knowledge with the knowledge of the client. Use Consulting for:
• Intractable-Recurring Problems
• Disagreement/Strong Opinions
• Too Much Agreement
• Once-In-A-Decade Designs
Strategos consulting projects range from quick assessments to the planning of major factories, offices and warehouses. We can guide the development of your Manufacturing Strategy at the highest level or assist 5S on the factory floor. We can execute all of the work or guide a mixed project team. Strategos Consulting>>
Strategos Lean Training
Targeted—Practical—Engaging
Give your people the skills to solve their own problems. We provide lean training that addresses the specific situations they face every day. Often with a case study from your own facility. The result is a trained cadre of employees and:
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A Problem Solved A Workcell Designed |
A Value Stream Mapped A Process Simplified |
Strategos training employs proven principles of Adult Learning. It is full of videos, dialogue, exercises and experiential learning. Instructional methods alternate frequently to maintain interest and address the learning modes of individual participants. Our "Learning Team" approach engages participants, increases discussion and allows for large overall sessions (50 or more). Standard Lean Training Programs >>
Our Expertise
Manufacturing Strategy
Forge Your Most Potent Competitive Weapon
A well-thought-out Manufacturing Strategy flows from and supports marketing by optimizing those factors that bring success in the marketplace (e.g. quality, customization, price, delivery). We have been employing the work of Wickham Skinner, Wheelwright, Hill and others in practical situations for several decades.
Lean Manufacturing
Streamline Operations: Quality—Productivity—Speed
Strategos consultants have been designing and implementing Lean Manufacturing for many years. We have contributed to the literature of Lean through hundreds of seminars, articles and papers as well as with this website. Through this experience we have developed procedures, rules of thumb and techniques to bring Lean to industries where the concepts seemed inapplicable.
Facility Planning & Layout
Make the Most of Space & Workflow
Strategos consultants have written three of the most popular books on facilities planning. We have done hundreds of facility plans from site-level to workstation level using our systematic and structured approaches.
Cellular
Manufacturing
Integrate People, Process, Product & Technology
Mr. Lee has been designing and implementing workcells for more than 30 years. While Toyota cells are ideally suited for Toyota, they do not work well in many non-Toyota environments. Our structured design approach helps design optimum workcells in a wide variety of environments, including many job shops.
Value Stream & Process Mapping
Make Any Process Smoother, Better & Faster
Let us assist you with improving any of your processes using VSM, Process Mapping and other improvement techniques. Mr. Lee's popular book on the subject can be a starting point for your workshop or guided Kaizen Event. This is a "must" for any Lean Implementation or Workcell Design.
Warehousing
& Supply Chain
Reduce Inventory, Stockouts & Space
Sims Consulting Group, a Strategos Affiliate, literally "wrote the book" on warehousing with the U.S. Navy's 800-page publication NS529. Ed Phillips is one of the foremost authorities on Warehousing, Supply Chain and Materials Handling.
The Human Side
Leverage Your People
People are an integral part of every manufacturing system. As such, their needs and limitations must be accommodated and integrated with equipment, layouts and systems for best results. We start with the Socio Technical Systems (STS) approach originated by Eric Trist to ensure that people and culture are woven into every design
Lean Office/Administration
Streamline Your Most Wasteful Activities
There is nothing fundamentally different about an office; work is work. The same principles apply to factories, offices, hospitals and every other purposeful activity. Strategos has been applying Lean methods to administrative activities and knowledge work for many years.
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The Strategos Guide To Value Stream and Process Mapping goes beyond symbols and arrows. In over 163 pages it tells the reader how to do it and what to do with it. |
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