Lean design 1

What is lean design?

First of all, customer demand or need driven all activities in the company. In lean concept, we are only producing the product needed by customer. In the same words, we design the product according to customer wants.

There are three steps of the lean design, listed as 1. concept design, 2. detail design, 3. launch design. The details of those steps will explain below,

1. Concept design;

Refer the Kano analysis, in the stage of concept design, the designer or engineer should well study the customer demand according to Kano analysis. They should design which are the valued-added features for their target customer. For instant, a mobile phone manufacturer is going to design a easy phone for old people. They have to well study what are the features for old people needed. Is that old people need commerial features such as the words and excel built in their phone? Is that they need many mini game built in as well? No, I don't think so. On the other hand, I think they need a screen can shown bigger word and number. I also think they need a bigger keypad so that they can easier to press on the right number. May be they also needed a radio function built in so that they can listen the radio when they go out for a walk. So on and so on..., all the features they need are value-added. The manufacturer is only can produce a suitable product for their target customer in a good cost, otherwise, the product will cost too high and nobody would like to buy your stuffs. The value-added analysis is the most important tools in this stage.

2. Details design;

In this stage, we need to apply platform design and modular design in our product development process. In the words by lean concept, we must apply the standardization in our product design. Let us think about the design in automotive, all the car can be said combined by different engine platform, suspension platform, and structure platform in order to form a high flexible product line. What is the problem if they produce the car with different engine and suspension in every model? It is no way to produce the car in a low cost because they have to setup a special product line for every model, they have spend much resource to handle the material and subassembly. The other benefit is the automotive manufacturer can shorten the product development time. The engineer can choose the suitable engine, suspension and interior to fit with a attractive shape. That's the way how the successful manufacturer works for their product development, and it is also a lean concept applied. On the other hand, modular design is another important element in detail design. There is commonly appling on PC, and we always called it as, plug and play. It is good in expand the features of the product and reduce much development time. no matter is the platform design or modular design, they can be concluded as the standardization of lean concept.

3. Launch design;

For this stage, I will expand in next post. Thank you very much!

Visual Management - color indication

I have so many readers out of Hong Kong, but I believed that many of them travel to Hong Kong before. Do you know how many color used on the taxi in Hong Kong? The answer is "3".

Red color taxi are running in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

Green color taxi are running in New Territory.

Blue color taxi are running in Lantau Island.

Kowloon and Hong Kong Island is the urban district in Hong Kong, so the license and management fee of taxi is the highest. Offcause, the daily income and the rental charge of the red taxi driver is also highest. The green color taxi are running in New Territory and the density of client is lower than the red color taxi in urban district, at the same way, the license fee is also lower than red color taxi. Blue color taxi are only running in Lantau Island. The density of client is the lowest.

Many decade before, somebody in the colonial government felt there was trouble to seperate into three colors. They needed three sets of management rules and team to control. They suggested to combine all the color into red. Some councilors rejected the suggestion and gave their comment. Three colors of taxi is using to solve the problem of traffic jam. The highest population is in urban district, all the taxi from new territory will all move to Kowloon or Hong Kong Island to earn money. The citizen in New Terrritory may not take the taxi because it will be no taxi there, and the citizen in Urban District may not take the taxi too because all the traffic will jam. At that moment, there was no brigde connecting Lantau Island to urban district yet, but the truth is compatable too. The color indication is using to control the traffic flow.

In order to make the rule success, there is another important factor needed. Discipline, in Hong Kong, no matter the driver or citizen would call police to complain if they saw a green taxi running in urban district. Most of people has the sense of discipline, this is the most important element for the success. In the progress of kaizen, we are needed to focus on build up the lean culture as well. The culture would form the discipline and make the people to follow the change.

When we apply the tools of lean to our working environment, there are so many sample existed around of us for using. Sometime, use the actual sample in the real world to intruct the concept is more easier than list the samples from the text book, because those story is too far away from the people and they are hard to understand the matter they never saw. Therefore, keep watching the world and learn from it.

Sorry! I am back.

My friends and readers, I am sorry that the article was stop issued for a month because I need sometime to think and review for my future. From now on, I will resume the aritcle writing and keep share the thinking of lean with you.

At recent moment, I am setting a workshop for lean manufacturing concept in Hong Kong. Please email me if you want more information for that wongwowai@gmail.com

Thanks your your long term supporting and kindly care.

Think out of the box

This week, stop for writing post for lean concept. We are going to look at a architectural-model. As we saw before, most of the architectural model are built on a base and you can study the outlook of the building easily. However, you can not study the internal details from the model.

There was an exhibition on view at the Guggenheim Museum, the models of Wright’s designs are attracting as much attention as the exhibition itself. Perhaps the most notable model is that of Wright’s Herbert Jacobs House #1 of 1936-37, the first of the architect’s pioneering open-plan, energy-efficient Usonian houses. This and the exhibition’s five other models were designed and made by Situ Studio.

The model were made different, and all the details of the house were hanging in the air. They are all attracting your eyeballs out of the other projects. Think out of the box, you can make everything differently and amazing. A common matter can be shined from your brain if you think it and make it different. The most important thing is you needed to know what is your customer want to know and see.

Lean consumption

I read an article about re-layout of a famous supermarket. She made an inscrutable decision to put the diaper and beer together in the same area, the configuration was not appeared in other supermarket before. This is not a joke and it happened in US Wal-Mart. People thinks that it is non-sense to put them together, however, the sales of both beer and diaper was growing much with the combination existed in the supermarket.

The fact is wifes are always "order" their husbands to buy diaper after they left office. The husbands are rushing to the supermarket on the way they are going back home. They are tired by all day works in office and they just want to spend their shortest time in the supermarket. The husbands have no time to walk through the whole huge area to seek the goods they needed in detail. When they arrive the area stored for diaper, they always bring some beer they like. Therefore, the husband is willing to shopping in Wal-Mart again, because they can bring some gifts for themselves during shopping.

The article was ended here with the words "it is a amazing combination! Diaper and Beer.", however, I think it can be explained in lean concept! Here is some lean consumption concept from the book "Lean solution - James Womack" for your reference.

Principles of lean consumption; the customer only thinks the items are value-added as below,

1. Can solve my problem entirely;

2. Do not waste my time (cost of consumption included the price of goods added the time I spent and the trouble I got during consumption);

3. Prepared the goods or service what I wanted;

4. Prepared the goods or service where I wanted;

5. Prepared the goods or service when I wanted;

6. Reduce the options for me to choose.

Yes, your wife is only needed diaper and you needed beer, the storage combination is preparing exactly what / where / when your family wants. It solved your problem and absolutly not waste your time. That's why the combination was success in US Wal-Mart, however, you have to remember that it was always shopping by your wife in family of Hong Kong. That may not work in Asia too. However, the most simple element is, create the value in the flow. The flow is the path from the entry to exit in the shortest distance of the supermarket. The stuffs you will pick is the value-added action for both supermarket and you. That's only a simple concept in lean but it can explain the story better than the words "amazing combination.....!"