The BASICS Lean™ Implementation Model

Lean Tools to Drive Daily Innovation and Increased Profitability

Charles W. Protzman III, Daniel Protzman, William Keen

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351172707
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

In 2004 Charlie Protzman created The BASICS Lean Implementation Model, which covers the full spectrum of what is needed to be effective and successful at implementing a Lean System. The reader is taken through a step by step approach developed over the last 15 years, in the use and understanding of Lean tools, principles, and processes. The authors break down Lean concepts to their simplest terms to make everything as clear as possible for Lean practitioners.

You will learn an integrated, structured, problem-solving approach identified by the acronym BASICS (Baseline, Analyze, Suggest Solutions, Implement, Check and Sustain). This methodology is combined with a proven business strategy to help ensure a successful and sustainable transformation of any organization. The BASICS approach produces "real" bottom line savings with 20% to 50% or more increases in productivity when compared to pure batching environments.

As those who have read the book will tell you, this is not a theory book… but rather a book you can return to over and over again for reference, throughout your Lean journey.

Chapter 1

The BASICS Model Overview

Baseline (B):

■ Create the vision.

■ Train the leadership and implementation team in Lean.

■ Charter the team, scope the project.

■ Select the pilot area and team members.

■ Conduct five-day Lean training seminar.

■ Baseline metrics, identify the “gaps” and set targets.

■ Build a chronological file—take photos and videos of how it is today.

■ Health check.

■ Value-stream map: current, ideal, and future state.

■ Determine the customer demand and takt time (TT).

Assess/Analyze (A):

■ Involve all the staff to analyze the process.

■ Process-flow analysis (PFA)—become the customer or product. This includes a point-to-point diagram of how the product flows.

■ Create process block diagram.

■ Group tech analysis (if required).

■ Workflow analysis (WFA)—become the operator. This includes a spaghetti chart of how the operator works.

■ Setup/changeover analysis (SMED).

Suggest Solutions (S):

■ Update the process block diagram—one-piece flow vision for the process.

■ Create the optimal layout for the process.

■ The ten-step process for creating master layouts.

■ Design the work stations.

■ Create standard work.

■ Determine the capacity and labor requirements.

■ Make and approve recommendations.

■ Train staff in the new process.

Implement (I):

■ Implement the new process—use pilots.

■ Start up the new line.

■ Update standard work.

■ Determine capacity and staffing (PPCS).

■ Implement line balancing.

■ Implement line metrics.

■ Visual management—Incorporate 5S, visual displays, and controls.

■ Implement Lean materials system.

■ Implement mistake-proofing.

■ Implement total productive maintenance (TPM).

Check (C):

■ Do you know how to check?

■ Check using the visual-management system.

■ Heijuka and scheduling.

■ Mixed model production.

Sustain (S):

■ Document the business case study and results.

■ Create the Lean culture.

■ Create a sustain plan.

■ Upgrade the organization.

■ Ongoing leadership coaching.

Why Is the BASICS Model Different Compared to Point Kaizen Events?

Many of you reading this book have probably already implemented Lean or think you have already taken Lean as far as it can go. No matter how far down the Lean maturity path you may think you are, we believe, based on our past and current client experiences, you still have lots of opportunities and room to improve.

BASICS is a different implementation approach with a much higher sustain rate^* versus traditonal point kaizen events or WCM major kaizen. BASICS is a system-level approach designed to take more time up front to involve everyone in studying and analyzing the current process and set the target for the future state condition. It typically takes anywhere from one to ten weeks to study, implement, and run the line,^* as well as getting 5S and lineside materials in place. We train the leadership, pick a pilot, and use small dedicated teams, with 100% operator and team leader involvement to manage the conversion from batch to flow.

This time frame is based on how much total labor time exists to produce one complete piece in a manufacturing line, one patient in a healthcare process, or one complete activity within a transactional process. For processes with very lowtouch-labor, i.e., less than three minutes per piece, we can analyze it and have the new line up and running in a week. Then we spend two to four weeks teaching team leaders how to run the line, create visual scheduling, standard work, and material flow systems. For lines or processes with longer total labor times it can run up to eight to ten weeks. This approach can also be used on converting station-balanced lines to bumping^† lines.

In every case where we have applied this approach we have been able to obtain significantly better results in less than eight to ten weeks as compared to implementing using only five-day point kaizen events or major kaizen in WCM, which can take up three to five years or more.

The BASICS model yields much higher productivity in less time than traditional point kaizen events.^‡ BASICS has the added value of seeing the process from a systems perspective, which allows for very innovative solutions in healthcare that would virtually never be found using traditional point kaizen events.

We even use the BASICS model in hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, which takes on average 12–14 weeks to complete an implementation. This approach, because of the systematic view, applies to a variety of industries and services. One of the key concepts that separates BASICS from other approaches is its simplicity.

The BASICS Model and Transactional Processes

Within most companies, transactional costs are often hidden, not well understood but still included in overhead. There is little to no knowledge of current transactional capacity or current performance against that capacity and overhead costs are embedded in many locations on the traditional P&L statement.

For example, much of the waste in manufacturing and transactional processes is included in the time standards. The days of the official stopwatch man are now gone. What’s left are five- or ten-year-old time standards that can no longer be met due to all the wastes growing in the process.

For example, in the general and administrative (G&A) section of the P&L statement, we often find costs for contracts, central accounting, legal, marketing, and the executive staff. The typical G&A costs can be large and are thought of as fixed.

The reality is the consumer considering a new car purchase would not want to pay for an option on the window sticker entitled G&A costs; however, those costs are real and are concealed in every car made by every manufacturer. Also, there can be overhead costs related to direct labor and they are shown as a separate line on the P&L.

Every business has transactional processes, while some businesses are virtually all transactional processes (i.e., banking and insurance). Every business, healthcare institution, financial services, and governmental agency can apply Lean, streamline their processes, and eliminate waste. By its very nature transactional processes are 95% non‒value-added.

Financial, human resource, and sales and marketing processes are not activities a customer wants to pay for; but, they are required to keep a business viable and effective. These processes supply companies with the data necessary to make the strategic decisions required to stay in business and provide the customer with better products and services at a lower cost.

When implementing office or administrative-type processes, we yield the same results:

■ 80% reductions in throughput times (weeks to days or days to hours)

■ 80% reductions in work in process (WIP) (amount of paperwork, sometimes e-mails in the process)

■ 30%–50% or more increases in productivity

■ 80% reductions in (non-electronic) travel distances

■ 10%–20% increases in quality

At many companies we see Lean savings charts, and when we ask, “Are those bottom-line savings?” we find most are paper-savings where, for example, they freed up 0.7 of a person. We see much of this paper-savings in WCM implementations. This doesn’t get to the bottom line unless you can make that person productive somewhere else. The book and the movie by Goldratt called The Goal ^* does a great job of emphasizing this point.

The BASICS model is 50% scientific management and 50% change management. It is a Lean approach, which targets an entire transactional process, i.e., accounts payable, or production line. In a hospital, for example, it will target an emergency room “system” or surgical “system.”

The BASICS Model

The main objective of creating the model was to present an easy-to-use roadmap. This roadmap helps to guide t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 The BASICS Model Overview
• 2 The BASICS Model: Baseline (B)
• 3 BASICS Model: Assess/Analyze (A)
• 4 BASICS Model: Suggest Solutions (S)
• 5 BASICS Model: Implementation (I)
• 6 BASICS Model: Check (C)
• 7 BASICS Model: Sustain (S)
• Bibliography
• Index