Lean Mastery Collection

by Jeffrey Ries

  Unfortunately, another common practice is to guess at the inventory levels of an item, not physically count each item. This saves time; however, it is inaccurate and can cause waste. It can increase costs and inventory levels. Understanding the opportunity for error, it should come as no surprise why leading manufacturing companies do not utilize this method, despite similar goals: always have on hand a consistent amount of inventory.

  The Kanban process, on the other hand, reduces non-value adding activity, like physically counting inventory, because of its visual nature. Each bin has a set number. When it is empty, it is restocked with that number. While it is waiting to be restocked, another bin is being pulled from. Because of the clear advantages of the Kanban system over the PAR methodology, many healthcare systems are beginning to change their processes to a Kanban system. Professionals involved in inventory management for hospitals and healthcare environments have reported positive results thanks to the extra time they now have to focus on valuable activities due to less time spent in the storeroom and ridding of the need for a daily inventory count.

  Why Kanban Method Should Replace PAR

  There are seven reasons that a Kanban process is a preferential methodology for inventory control over the PAR system.

  The practice of properly managing inventory is promoted through a Kanban system, not through PAR. Eyeballing the bins to determine if an item is below par is not a good practice, but physically counting each item would require intense amounts of labor and is virtually impossible, especially in larger systems. Keeping the storeroom orderly and "clean" can be maintained easily with a Kanban process, while it cannot be with PAR.

  The discipline required to restock inventory is easy to maintain with a Kanban system. A set number for each item is marked on the bin label, making it very simple for the handler to know exactly how much should be restocked for that item. It is easy and accurate each time. This means Kanban methodology can prevent shortages much better than the PAR system.

  Inventory is lean. Does it sound attractive to you to have 50% less inventory on hand and still meet your customer’s need consistently? It should! Imagine all the cost, time, and space savings you will experience! 50% is the average inventory reduction PAR users had experienced when they switched to a Kanban practice without compromising their inventory targets.

  Improvement and management are easier to achieve with the Kanban process. The amount of time between depletion and restocking can be tracked. This information can then be used to set the quantity in each bin appropriately. In addition, this information can be adjusted easily if the supplier's shipping times change or demand is different. PAR makes this management and improvement hard because it restocks items every day, in undetermined quantities.

  Fixed quantities for replenishment are possible with Kanban processes. PAR requires the daily counting, costing your team a lot of time. Instead, their efforts can be focused elsewhere because a Kanban system provides a fixed amount needed to be ordered and visually signaled by the empty bin. It is a much simpler process.

  Trips to resupply are reduced with a Kanban process. Bins are refilled when it is needed, not on a daily basis, as it is with the PAR system. This means your trips to restock a bin is greatly reduced. Some Kanban practitioners have estimated their trips to restock have been cut down by as much as 50%.

  Since bins are not refilled every day, counting does not need to happen every day, as it is required with the PAR system. Kanban methods keep the process as simple as possible: when the bin is empty, reorder the fixed number for that item. While you wait for it to be restocked you pull from the second bin for the product. You continue to pull from that second bin even if the first bin stock arrives before it is empty.

  When the second bin is empty, you move the first bin forward and pull from it while the second bin is being restocked. The cycle continues on a loop, refining and improving over time. Not spending all that time counting while using the PAR system will save your company hundreds, maybe even thousands, of man-hours each year! Imagine the improved efficiency and cost-savings.

  Inventory management for all healthcare and hospital systems should use a Kanban system over a PAR system. In fact, any industry that must regulate inventory should consider utilizing a Kanban system over the "eyeball the stock" approach of PAR. The industry and your organization can expect enormous financial savings thanks to the reduction in inventory, a minimal shortage, and improved productivity.

  How to Easily Change from a PAR to a Kanban System

  Because of the obvious advantages of a Kanban process over a PAR system, you may be wondering how it is best to change processes and also avoid errors and frustration. As with anything new, it is best to roll it out in a simple and clear manner after you get the buy-in from all the people involved, including your suppliers! Thankfully, there are technological solutions out there that you can consider to help make the transition easier for your company.

  Spacesaver

  On the shelf, in front of the two bins containing materials, there is an RFID tag. When an inventory manager recognizes the front bin is empty, they scan the RFID tag and move the empty bin behind the second, full bin. When the tag is scanned, it alerts the person or department in charge of ordering what needs to be refilled. The reason RFID tags were chosen is that they tend to be more accurate and uses less time than a barcode that is printed on a Kanban card or on the box. Of course, RFID tags and the reader cost extra money.

  PAR Excellence

  To minimize the manpower required even further, PAR Excellence looks to remove not just counting but also scanning barcodes or RFID tags. Instead of tags, scales are placed under the bins. A weight is associated with a full and empty bin. When the bin reaches the empty weight, it signals the person or department in charge of ordering the need to restock that particular item. As with the other solution presented above, this system adds the initial cost of installing scales in your stockroom, and each scale needs to be calibrated for the inventory item and set up on a specific network. Then you need to monitor and maintain a lot of associated data

  Logi-D

  Similar to Spacesaver, this solution offers an RFID tag to reorder the item that is depleted. Instead of scanning the tag and returning the tag to the shelf, like Spacesaver, Logi-D has a board located on a stockroom wall, which collects the tags of all the items that are being restocked. When the tag is removed from the shelf the empty tag space is colored red, signaling quickly to your inventory manager that the tag is on the wall for reorder.

  Technology is "cool" and exciting, but it is an added cost to consider. Do not jump on any technology "bandwagon" because it is new and looks fancy. Choose a system if you think you need it because you see the value it can add to your organization. If it helps, choose a solution. If it does not, keep it simple with a card or a bin.

  Conclusion

  Thanks for making it through to the end of Kanban: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide to Agile Project Management with Kanban. Let’s hope it was informative and able to provide you with all the tools you need to achieve your goals.

  Your next step is to observe and plan your transformation. Stop wondering how you can become more lean, agile, and efficient. You just read all about it! Now is the time for action. Now is the time to prepare your Kanban board and visual system to make your life easier and your team happier. Now is the time to lower costs and increase production using a simple and effective method.

  While you are planning, get the buy-in from your team, company, stakeholders, and even your customers. Sell them on the benefits of adopting a Kanban system, and stay close to the process, refining as needed, so it is the most efficient system for your business. Remember, the goal of this is to assist your team members in working alongside one another efficiently while also benefiting your company. Keeping your eye on this goal during each decision you make will help with all the changes and challenges.

  A Kanban methodology applies to a variety of situations, despite r
umors it is “outdated.” As it is with new technology, do not jump onto the glossy “bandwagon.” You have read the options and reviews. Determine the unique needs of your organization and create a way to make this basic system work for you. Do not forget, before you roll out your Kanban board; compare them against the checklist in Chapter 9 to make sure they are “good!” It is a great practice to do each and every time, or at least until you have a firm grasp on the process. The more and more you use boards, lists, and cards, the better your team will get at running an effective Kanban project and process. As they continue to feel empowered and successful, imagine the positive atmosphere and engaged work environment you will have! Success will come to you in a variety of forms thanks to you implementing this methodology in your company. Congratulations on taking this step towards a more productive future for your company!

  Finally, if you found this book useful in any way, a review on Amazon is always appreciated!

  Scrum

  The Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Managing Product Development Using Agile Framework

  Introduction

  Congratulations on getting a copy of Scrum: The Complete Step-By-Step Guide to Managing Product Development Using Agile Framework and thank you for doing so.

  When it comes to improving your team’s ability to generate useful iterations of a product in a reasonable amount of time, while at the same time ensuring they have the tools they need to cut out as much waste as possible, there is no better choice than a Scrum framework.

  While it may have developed a reputation over the years for being somewhat obtuse, this is only because its approach is so much different than what the average team expects that it can seem arcane without a little guidance. As such, this book is here to guide you through the ins and outs of the Scrum process to ensure your team gets on the road to improved efficiency as soon as possible.

  First, you will learn all about the basics of Scrum including its underlying philosophy and what makes it so effective. Next, you will learn about the main event in the Scrum process, the Sprint, why it matters and how it will help improve efficiency across the board.

  From there, you will also learn about the key artifacts in Scrum and the Scrum Master and how they all work together to improve efficiency on all sides. From there, you will learn about the practical side of the process including how to make the transition to Scrum as well as tips for success while doing so. Finally, you will learn about the success stories of companies from all around the world that have made the transition and seen great results because of it.

  There are plenty of books on this subject on the market, thanks again for choosing this one! Every effort was made to ensure it is full of as much useful information as possible, please enjoy!

  Chapter 1: Basics of Scrum

  Scrum is a process framework in which team members can deal with a wide variety of complex and ever-changing problems in a creative fashion while at the same time remaining productive and delivering products that meet or exceed expectations. While Scrum is relatively lightweight and easy to understand at a basic level, it can also be extremely complex and take years to master.

  It was created in the early 1990s by Jeff Sutherland and Ken Schwaber for use in software development but has since been used in a wide variety of other industries as well. Scrum’s greatest strength is that it makes it very easy to determine the overall efficacy of work techniques and product management while also making it easier to deal with the issues that come along with striving to continuously improvement the working environment, team and product.

  The Scrum framework is made up of various Scrum Teams as well as their associated rules, artifacts, events and roles. Each of these components then serves a very specific purpose, with the whole coming together to be essential to the Scrum framework’s continued usage and overall success. Meanwhile, the rules of Scrum are what bind the interactions between the main relationships, artifacts, events and roles that make the Scrum framework work as effectively as possible.

  Scrum uses

  While Scrum was initially used to develop products, for nearly 30 years it has been used in a wide variety of industries to do things like:

  Determine viable markets, products and technologies

  Identify products ripe for refinement or enhancement

  Iterating and producing new versions of products or additions as quickly as possible

  Sustain existing operational environments and create new ones including cloud environments

  Renew and sustain existing products

  Due to its rapid iteration process, Scrum has been used extensively when it comes to developing hardware, software, embedded software and the like. It has also been used for almost everything else including autonomous vehicle creation, governments, schools, marketing strategies and organizational operations too numerous to mention.

  While it was created nearly 30 years ago, as the interactions between environmental, market and technological complexities have grown, Scrum has proved its utility when it comes to dealing with life’s complexities on a near daily basis. It has also proven especially adept at improving processes related to incremental and iterative transfers of knowledge.

  At its heart, Scrum is all about small teams of people working together as effectively as possible. These teams are extremely adaptive and flexible and these strengths can be maintained regardless of how many teams are concurrently working side by side. These teams are then able to interoperate and collaborate via a mixture of targeted developmental architectures and sophisticated release environments. When discussing Scrum, the words development and develop are used when referring to any type of complex work that may be taking place.

  Basics of Scrum Theory

  The basics of Scrum can be found in the empirical process control theory which itself is part of the philosophy of empiricism. The basic idea behind empiricism is that knowledge is gained most effectively via experience and making the best possible decision at the moment with the information that is available. To take advantage of this idea, Scrum uses an incremental an iterative approach as a means of control risk and increasing the predictability of the desired outcome. There are three pillars at play when the empirical process is used, adaptation, inspection and transparency.

  Transparency: Transparency is vital as it is important that those who are responsible for the outcome of a given process have a clear understanding of how it is proceeding at every step along the way. Additionally, transparency is also important to ensure that anyone else who needs to see what is going on can follow along as well. The end goal is that any observers will all have the same general understanding of whatever it is they are seeing.

  One such area in which this is the case is when it comes to having a common language throughout the process that can be shared by everyone who has a hand in it. For example, those creating the product and those looking at the results will both need to have the same understanding of when the project is actually completed.

  Inspection: Scrum users are frequently required to use Scrum artifacts as they progress towards a goal in order to determine potential variances that may be undesirable to that goal. These inspections should not be so frequent that the get in the way of the work that is being completed and are instead most effective when they are performed diligently by those who are skilled at inspecting this point of work.

  Adaptation: When an inspector finds that some aspect or aspects of the process are deviating more than is acceptable, or that the resulting product will ultimately be unacceptable then the process must be changed as quickly as can be managed to avoid additional deviation as much as possible. When adaptation is required, there are several specific events that take place as part of the Scrum process and they include the Sprint Retrospective, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Planning.

  To ensure the pillars of Scrum all work at maximum efficiency while at the same time building trust among the group as a whole, the entire Scrum team needs to live by the values of respect
, openness, focus, courage and commitment. Scrum team members explore and learn to embody these values as they work with various Scrum artifacts, roles and events. Using Scrum successfully ultimately requires team members to become more adapt at living these specific values over time. Likewise, it is important that the team feel the need to personally commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum team as well.

  It is important that the Scrum team feels supported enough to have the courage to always do the right thing on a project, regardless of how difficult it might seem at the time. If the Scrum Team and its various types of stakeholders can all ultimately agree to be open about the work that is being done and the challenges being faced then mutual respect will flourish and everyone can focus on the work of each Sprint and the ultimate goals of the team.

  Members of the team

  The Scrum team is made up of the Scrum Master, Development Team and the Product Owner. Scrum teams tend to be both cross-functional and self-organizing which means the member of the team will be responsible for choosing how to accomplish their work most effectively as opposed to being directed one place or another by one person or, even worse, someone outside the team entirely. A team is considered cross-functional, however, if it consists of multiple people who can accomplish each part of the goal thus making it possible to virtually ensure the team never has to rely on anyone else to get the job done. The Scrum team model was designed to optimize flexibility, productivity and creativity.