How you assess the operations at LFP? Based on the process flow analysis, there are numerous areas where waste is generated but nothing is done to correct it. For example, we find that there are six areas of waste that no one is doing anything about. These areas of waste are consuming resources and driving costs up – but Barry Jamieson is unaware of them.

Assess the production process for the Ram light assembly. How efficient is it? Using the process flow diagram, we can see that the process does not satisfy Barry’s requirement of being low cost.

Do you have enough information on which to assess the environmental problems encountered? We do not have enough information for calculating the cost of waste here because the people in the system are aware of them but they have never done anything to reduce them. Why should they? After all, these areas have never been measured. What you do not measure, you cannot control! Without being able to capture these hidden costs, we cannot show Barry how much is lost because of waste. The evidence is present that these are big issues.

What is the process map of the process? See the attached map.

What strategy/approach would you use for dealing with Barry Jamieson? First, begin to collect data on the areas where waste is present. This can be done through sampling. Next, using the estimated cost of waste, subtract it from the total costs to generate the costs if no waste were to be created. Divide this number by the number of good pieces to generate the “per unit” cost with no waste. Second, talk with operators to identify any other problems created by the current process; document these costs. Third, take the resulting process flow diagram, the cost data (total, waste, cost per good piece), and the summarized comments from the operators and go to Barry Jamieson. Remember, because Barry Jamieson is either a late majority or laggard, we have to use data to make our arguments – observations, while important, are not enough. Present them and get his “buy-in” to attack the resulting problems. Get him to approve projects aimed at monitoring the costs of waste – something that we are not doing now. We have now laid out a process for helping Barry achieve his objective of reducing cost per unit while also making the process more sustainable – a true “win/win”.