Manufacturing Knowledge Base

DV03PUB35 - Mapping Your Value Stream. Part of the Shingo Prize winning Manufacturing Insights Video Series, this program explains how value-stream mapping can be used to find waste in your production system. It starts by discussing the problems associated with a mass production philosophy. Dr. James Womack, president of the Lean Enterprise Institute, shares some of his experiences with mapping and what kind of reaction most people have when they learn to see waste within their operation. The three types of information needed to build a value-stream map are explained along with an explanation of how the timeline calculation at the bottom of the map highlights excessive inventories.

DV07PUB12 - What Lean Means. On every lean journey, what may seem easy to understand isn't always easy to implement. Part of SME's award-winning Manufacturing Insights Video Series (MI) and produced in cooperation with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), this video shows you what lean means today by exploring its visible evidence and promise. This program is an updated version of AME's classic 1992 video release.

DV08PUB6 - Incorporating Lean from Factory to Front Office. While lean is a popular term on the shop floor, this video will show you a company that didn't stop there. A global leader in particle separation equipment, SWECO applied lean plant wide, from the office to the loading dock. Part of the Shingo-Prize-winning Manufacturing Insights Video Series, this video will show how applying lean techniques, such as kanban, visual boards, 5S, and pre-staged kits helped SWECO increase profits. At the same time, the company improved quality, reduced costs and better served its customers.

DV04PUB1 - Kanban Systems. Kanban is a Japanese term for a visual system used to trigger activity upstream in a given process. The most important point to remember about a Kanban system is that the best Kanban system is none at all and it is only a substitute for not being able to implement single piece flow in your system.

Part of the Shingo Prize winning Manufacturing Insights Video Series, this program takes you inside Carver Pump Company, Muscatine, IA, who uses Kanban cards, bins, and visual replenishment to deliver a wide variety of military and commercial pumps.