Introducing Our New Product – DYKEM Cross Check (F900 Torque Seal Equivalent)

We are pleased to announce that we have a brand new product on sale which we are sure will be of great interest to the majority of our customers.

DYKEM Cross Check is our new F900 Torque Seal equivalent and, in a similar way to torque seal, can be used for identifying loosening and tampering of fasteners, assemblies and bolts. This product comes with a 2 year shelf life, which means it is able to last four times longer than any other tamper detection product we have sold. It also comes in a 1oz tube which is perfect for customers keeping this product for long term use.

 

To apply DYKEM Cross Check to bolts, users must follow the steps below:

1. Choose a colour which will be easily seen when applied to the bolt.
2. Ensure the fastening has been torqued properly so that it is tight and secure.
3. Clean the fastening to ensure DYKEM Cross Check can seal properly to the bolt.
4. Unscrew the tube and apply DYKEM Cross Check to the fastening and a fixed object. A single line down the bolt is sufficient.
5. Wait for DYKEM Cross Check to harden – this should take approximately 1-2 hours.
6. Inspect the bolt to ensure it has not loosened by looking for cracks in the DYKEM Cross Check. If there are no cracks, the bolt has not moved.
7. Leave for a further 24 hours if the bolt has not moved to ensure DYKEM Cross Check is fully cured and check for an intact seal.

Important Note: DYKEM Cross Check must NEVER be put directly onto the thread of a nut or bolt, as this may lead to the bolt getting cut off or completely replaced.

 

For more information on this brand new product and for a special introductory price throughout June 2016, please visit our website:

http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/dykem-cross-check—torque-seal-f900-equivalent-7318-p.asp

 

Lubricating Machinery and Maintaining Grease Guns – Getting it Right!

If you have large numbers of equipment in your manufacturing facility, you will be familiar with the task of lubricating the machines. Although some facilities will have automatic lubricating systems, there will be times where the lubrication must be done by hand using grease guns. It is important that users understand the correct way to use and maintain grease guns, as well as ensuring that they are applying the correct grease and the correct quantities of grease to the machines. Our new Coloured and Transparent Grease Guns have been developed to help make lubrication easier for users to do by hand.

Transparent/Coloured Grease Gun

Coloured Grease Gun

One of the most common errors made when using grease guns to lubricate machines is using the wrong grease gun and therefore the wrong amount of grease. There is already slight variation in the amount of grease pumped per stroke in the same grease gun, but for different grease guns this amount can vary considerably. It is important, therefore, that the same type of grease gun is purchased throughout your facility and that each grease gun is assigned to one particular machine. If grease guns become mixed up and are used for the wrong machinery, it can be extremely costly for the company due to contamination of different greases.

The outcome of two incompatible greases. Taken from http://www.maintenancetechnology.com (Lubrication of Electric Motor Bearings, 1st March 2008)

A damaged motor bearing due to excess grease. Taken from http://www.maintenancetechnology.com (Lubrication of Electric Motor Bearings, 1st March 2008)

 

Our Coloured and Transparent Grease Guns have been designed to solve this issue! By assigning a colour to each grease gun, users have the option of colour-coding their fittings to easily determine which grease should be used for which machine. Our Coloured Grease Fitting Protectors can be placed on fittings to indicate which colour grease gun should be used.

Coloured Grease Fitting Protectors

 

This creates a very simple yet effective system for lubricating machinery which can be used by all members of the facility that ensures grease guns are not mixed up or swapped around.

Maintaining grease guns and fittings is important for successful lubrication of machinery. Here are some handy hints and tips on how to do this:

• Ensure the fitting is wiped before use to clear any debris.
• Avoid laying grease guns on dirty surfaces to keep them clean.
• When grease guns are not in use, ensure they are covered.
• Regularly inspect grease fittings and ensure damaged fittings are replaced.
• Colour-code your fittings and grease guns to clearly indicate which type of grease should be used.
• The user should learn the correct grease gun operation and ensure they know the delivery of volume per shot. Calibrate each grease gun occasionally to make sure this volume is maintained.
• Always make sure grease gun use is done safely.

For more information on our lubrication identification products, please visit our website: http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/lubrication-identification-55-c.asp

Developing Teamwork Skills – The Planks Game

If you are looking for an original, effective game which will enable your employees to improve a wide range of skills then look no further! Our very own Planks Game has been specifically designed to challenge and educate teams when undertaking tasks under a specific time constraint. Not only does The Planks Game provide an opportunity for leadership skills to be developed, but it also aids in developing other skills such as communication, problem solving, planning, teamwork and management. It is therefore no surprise that The Planks Game is this month’s best seller item. Our clients in the past have used this exercise successfully in workshops, team builds, conferences and away days.

How to Play:

• As this game is a team building exercise, it should be played with teams of 4-8 participants. There can either be one team racing against the clock or several teams racing against both the clock and each other.
• The team is given 15 planks which are stacked according to length (longest at the bottom, shortest at the top).
• They then have 60 minutes to discuss and form a plan of assembling a finished structure in less than one minute. The planks must not be marked in any way to aid assembly.
• Once the 60 minutes is up, the team will then have three opportunities to assemble and build their plank structure.
• They will need to complete the assembly in the fastest possible time, in order to beat the benchmark time of 30 seconds. With each opportunity, the team will also need to demonstrate their ability to improve with practice.

The key to being successful is not only to communicate well, but for effective teamwork and the ability to thrive in small sub-groups. This blog highlights only a small number of specific skills that The Planks Game can be used to improve. Some other suggestions are listed below:

1. Problem Solving – The team must analyse and identify the issues that must be resolved to come up with a solution for assembling the planks in the shortest time.
2. Standardised Work – The team must develop Standardised Work Instructions for ‘The Planks’ process.
3. Continuous Improvement – The team must use review their performance and investigate potential improvements to reduce the total time taken to assemble the planks.
4. Waste Elimination – The team must practice using 7 Wastes in a challenging but safe environment to identify and eliminate waste and to improve their performance in assembling the planks.
5. Leadership (Planning and Communication) – The team must practice leadership planning through role play and observation.
6. Repeatability and Variation – The team must be timed assembling the planks five times so that their performance can be analysed and they can understand the issues with repeatability and the causes of variation.
7. Observation Skills – Two members of the team must observe the rest of the team assembling the planks and feedback what they have seen.
8. Communication – The team must be told by a selected team leader (who can see the plan) how to assemble the planks, using only verbal instructions.

 

If only I had a secure storage case for my Planks Game…. Keep your eyes peeled for our new Planks Game Storage Case, coming soon!

For more information regarding our original Planks Game, follow the link to our website!

http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/planks-game—team-working-standard-work-waste-1041-p.asp

Setting Realistic Targets – 100 Day Planners

Do you find it difficult to meet deadlines? Is planning your day a real chore? Our original planners at The Lean Warehouse can help to make your working day that little bit easier by allowing you to manage and plan your daily tasks. Not only do our planners enable you to reflect on your performance after each current day, but they also encourage you to look at your future schedule so that improvements can be made from lessons learned. We sell four different types of planners, each one containing a variety of different sections with several binding and size options to suit our customer’s needs. Our 100 Day Planners have become our best seller for this month due to their popularity and excellent customer feedback.

100 Day Planner – Leather Bound (6 ring)

The aim of the 100 Day Planner is for both employers and employees to improve their work force over a set amount of time; 100 days. This creates a realistic target whilst being able to log the ‘journey’ along the way. Many improvements will not come without their challenges and difficulties, which is why our 100 Day Planner sets aside sections to review and plan strategies. It has been designed to ensure that challenging tasks are not only faced but any problems are resolved for the next task.

The 100 Day Planner is our most popular planner and contains two sections:

Section 1 – My Time and How I Use It

Section 1 – My Current Daily Schedule

This acts as the first stage of accurate planning by focusing on the time management for a typical working day or week. The general representation of this is shown through a table format, allowing the user to fill in the boxes where tasks will take place and giving a visual representation of how busy their day or week is. This section encourages the user to not only create schedules for the current day or week but to also consider the future days and weeks, and how their schedule might improve.

Section 2 – 100 Day Planning

Section 2 – Daily Planner

This acts as a diary where the user can plan each day’s primary and secondary tasks in detail whilst keeping within a chosen time slot. Each day includes a ‘daily review’ page which involves reflection on the tasks and what has been learned, so that users are encouraged to realise their strengths and weaknesses whilst always looking to improve. There is also a ‘weekly review’ which again aims to reflect on weekly tasks and how the user will improve and recover tasks not completed during the next working week.

Our original 100 Day Planner not only acts as a diary for workers so that tasks are not forgotten, but helps the user to critically analyse their work progress and, most importantly, plan out actions for improvement. Getting the most out of our planner means following the written steps and filling out the reviews daily, in order to increase productivity and be one step closer to the final target.

If only I had more pages…. Each planner comes with its very own specific refill pack which can also be purchased separately, so you don’t need to worry about running out of sections!

 

Follow the link to our website for more information on our original planners!

http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/planners-153-c.asp

Foam Draw Liners – How to organise your tools effectively!

Are you constantly misplacing your tools? Is time wasted trying to locate the correct one in a cluttered drawer? Foam Draw Liners can help solve both of these problems so you can find your tools and items quickly, easily and effectively. At The Lean Warehouse, foam draw liners consist of:

• A black self-adhesive top layer of foam (10 x 420 x 297).
• A thinner layer of foam underneath (5 x 420 x 297). This second layer is available in various different colours! The coloured foam makes it very easy to see if anything is missing. Choose from yellow, red or blue to help make your draw liners stand out!

Very simple and easy to use with our DIY kit:

1. Arrange your tools that you want to group together onto the adhesive backed layout sheets in a way that suits you. It is completely customisable.

2. Trace around the shapes of your tools that are placed out with a sharp knife so the coloured foam is now visible.

3. If your cut outs are similar, you can add labels to avoid any confusion, for example in this way:

4. Foam draw liners can be used for multiple reasons and in different environments. The most popular usage is holding factory tools, however it can also be used to organise workspaces. Finding space for general items such as scissors, celotape and measuring tape makes office work run smoothly. Always have important office supplies quick to hand.

Benefits of foam draw liners:

• Our foam is constructed of durable material, which avoids damage caused by daily use.
• It is soft enough to ensure clean, sharp cuts into the foam.
• It helps to protect tools from any damage.
• It helps to organise many tools or small parts easily and effectively.
• They are one-sided self-adhesive sheets that stick to the bottom foam layer.

Our foam draw liners are durable and efficient and come in various different colours! Our delivery team will ensure that your purchases arrive promptly to your office or home so you can improve your workspace in no time! Check out our foam draw liners and other helpful products at: http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk Our colour combinations:

• Black and Yellow

• Black and Blue

• Black and Red

http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/foam-draw-liners-395-p.asp

How to use Red 5S Tags:

Red Tags are used for 5S workplace organization. The title ‘5S’ originates from five Japanese words beginning with an ‘S’. For this blog, we are only interested in ‘Seiri’.

 Japanese                          English                        Description

    Seiri                                  Sort                             Remove unnecessary items from the workplace

Red 5S Tag

We will explain:

• How to use a Red Tag in a factory.
• How the Sort process works.

Just to be clear, Red Tags should NOT be reserved for management or supervisors, but should be used by all employees in order to sustain 5S in the workplace.

Step 1: Clean the factory

Untidy work surface

Documents filed away neatly

To prepare for the sorting process, the factory must be cleaned in order to see what you have. Clean up accumulations of dirt, oil, grease, broken tools and scrap.

Step 2: Establish criteria for unneeded items

Outdated information on display boards

Ensure there is an agreed understanding between all employees of what makes an item non-value added. Formulate a list of criteria that deems an item “unneeded” and make it public – this will avoid any misunderstanding or mistakes being made in step 3.

Example Criteria for unneeded items:

• Unused machines, office and factory equipment
• Outdated information – old manuals, files
• Excess material

Step 3: Identification

Put Red Tags on unneeded items

Identify unneeded items in the workplace and put a red tag on each of these items.

Important Note: Instead of having one red-tagging event, ensure red tags are available to employees at all times. Encourage continued improvement and red tagging will become part of a regular routine.

Step 4: Create holding area

A large holding area

Make space for a ‘5S Red Tag Holding Area.’ Please note it needs to be large enough to accommodate all red-tagged items and have plenty of room to evaluate each item.

Step 5: Evaluation

Red 5S Tags

Do not throw out red-tagged items immediately. Experienced employees should evaluate all items in the holding area and discuss their disposal or re-entry into the factory. This avoids accidentally eliminating an item of value and reduces employee’s concerns about making mistakes during the red-tagging phase.

Important Note: Follow through on the disposal of agreed items after the evaluation step. Do not simply move the item to another department. This is simply “pushing the dirt around” and employees will sense a lack of commitment from management.

By using Red Tags to eliminate unneeded items, you will reduce the time wasted searching for parts or tools.

Fan of red tags

“Red 5S Tags” can be found on our website at http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/red-5s-tags-210-p.asp.

5S Tags also come in green and blue.

Need a QUICK 5S Start Guide?

Check out this book – “5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace”

http://www.theleanwarehouse.co.uk/5-pillars-of-the-visual-workplace-447-p.asp

Taiichi Ohno’s 100th Birthday

The Toyota Production System (TPS) is spreading across businesses worldwide. Once implemented it can speed up processes, reduce waste, improve quality and cut cost. TPS is constantly gaining popularity and we can thank one businessman in particular for its creation: Taiichi Ohno.

Ohno, who is considered the father of Lean Manufacturing, would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. If you’re interested in lean then you may already be familiar with Ohno’s work, however some of you may be asking: why is Ohno relevant to me?

To answer that question, lets take a look at the origin of lean.

Alongside Sakichi Toyoda and his son Kiichiro Toyoda, Ohno created the Toyota Production System which eventually became known as Lean Manufacturing.

Sakichi Toyoda (founder of the Toyota Group) had an interesting invention related to TPS. In 1902, he invented automatic looms that would stop automatically if any of the threads snapped. This meant that one operator could handle dozens of looms. His invention prevented low quality products being made because the loom would stop producing products after a problem occurred. Designing equipment to stop automatically and highlight problems is a main component to the Toyota Production System. It is a principle that can be found on all production lines at Toyota.

Okay, so back to Taiichi Ohno. (February 29, 1912 – May 28, 1990).

Ohno, born in Dalian, China, began his career by working for Toyota Automatic Loom works – the Toyoda family’s first business. The Toyoda family sold the Automatic Loom works to a Biritsh company and used the money to enter the automobile manufacturing industry. Toyota’s level of production was far behind that of the U.S auto industry, so it became Toyota’s goal to catch up within three years.

Ohno believed that the downfall of Toyota was wastefulness and inefficiency, so he set out to eliminate waste in the area of production that was his responsibility. The idea ‘to eliminate waste’ was crucial to the creation of TPS. There are a few parts of this system that are now frequently used in the United States: for example, kanban (the tags that are used in a just-in-time stock control system), jidoka (the injection of quality) and muda (waste elimination). The U.S auto industry has benefited greatly from using Ohno’s methods.

It is important to remember that also 100 years ago, Henry Ford opened his Highland Park assembly plant where he would show the power of flow production. This is central to what we now call lean. Ohno stated that he adapted many features of Ford’s system and that he shared with Ford a belief that they should continually make it new. Ohno wrote: “Progress cannot be generated when we are satisfied with existing situations.”

Ohno became well-known once the written material on his methods were translated into English. Large financial publications in the West started to write stories about Ohno, and the legends of Taiichi Ohno were born.

So Ohno is relevant to you because he paved the way for the development and success of lean manufacturing.

If you want to learn about the benefits of implementing lean manufacturing, check out this useful article: http://leanmanufacturingtools.org/63/benefits-of-lean-manufacturing/

And remember, thanks to lean manufacturing, Chinese auto makers sold over 18 million vehicles last year, more than was ever sold in the US even at its peak and the Chinese market is still growing.

“If you are going to do TPS you must do it all the way. You also need to change the way you think. You need to change how you look at things.” — Taiichi Ohno