Fix the process before you automate it
A common mistake is to automate a process exactly as it exists. If the process contains unnecessary steps, long waits or recurring errors, a machine will do those things faster and more reliably, but they will still be unnecessary. Streamlining first means understanding what the process really is, removing what adds nothing, and only then deciding what to automate. The result is often smaller, cheaper and easier to maintain than a copy of the old workflow.
Step 1: Map what actually happens
Draw the process as it is performed today, not as the procedure says it should be. Walk the route a product or document takes, and ask the people who do the work. For each step, record:
- what happens and who or what does it
- how long the work itself takes
- how long the item waits before the next step
- what is handed over, and in what form (paper, message, a pallet moved by forklift)
- how often something has to be redone or fixed
A basic flow chart or a value stream style map is enough. The act of drawing it frequently reveals surprises, such as an inspection nobody uses or a step that exists to compensate for a problem fixed years ago.
Step 2: Find the three usual culprits
Manual handoffs. Each time work passes between people, departments or systems, there is a chance for delay and error. Handoffs that rely on someone remembering to tell the next person are especially fragile. Information retyped from one record to another is a classic example.
Waiting. In many processes, the item spends far more time waiting than being worked on. Waiting for a batch to fill, an approval, a forklift, a machine to be free or a signal that the previous step is done are typical causes. Waiting adds no value but ties up inventory and hides problems.
Rework. Anything done twice, such as correcting a defective part or fixing a data entry error, consumes capacity. Tracing rework back to its source with root cause analysis usually yields larger gains than inspecting more.
A hypothetical example
The following is an invented illustration, with made-up numbers, to show the method.
Suppose a small assembly area makes a housing in six steps. Mapping shows that the actual work takes 5 minutes per unit, but each unit takes about 60 minutes to pass through. The other 55 minutes are waiting: units sit in a tray until a batch of ten is full, wait for someone to carry them, and queue at a shared test station. Also, about one unit in twenty fails final test and is sent back for rework.
The team considers buying an automated transfer system. Before doing so, they look at the waits. Moving to smaller batches, placing the test station next to the last assembly step and giving the operator a clear signal for when a unit is ready remove much of the waiting without any new machine. Tracing the failures shows that most come from one fastening step with inconsistent torque. Only now does automation make sense: a controlled fastening tool that records torque addresses the rework cause directly. The team has used automation on the one step where it solves a verified problem.
Step 3: Decide what to remove, simplify, combine or automate
A useful order of questions for each step is:
- Can this step be eliminated? Many exist out of habit.
- Can it be combined with another step or moved closer to it?
- Can it be simplified by clearer instructions, better layout or a fixture?
- Only then: can it be automated?
Where automation is chosen, aim it at tasks that are repetitive, well defined and stable. Highly variable work is harder and costlier to automate.
Step 4: Automate handoffs of information, not just motion
Streamlining is not only about robots and conveyors. Automatic transfer of production data, such as counts, status and quality results, removes retyping and the delays in paperwork. Conveyor throughput and material flow improvements deal with physical movement, while connected controls and software handle the information that travels with the work.
Step 5: Measure and stabilize
Choose a few measures before the change: total time through the process, waiting time, rework rate and output per shift. Compare after changes. Then write down the new way of working and train people, because streamlined processes drift back to old habits if the new method is not supported. Lean manufacturing principles offer a wider toolkit for continuing this work.
Cautions
Do not assume every wait is waste. Some buffers protect against variation between machines. Removing them without understanding why they exist can cause stoppages. Involve the operators in the mapping; they usually know which delays are real. And treat any safety-related step with care: changes to machine guarding, interlocks or procedures should be reviewed by qualified people following manufacturer manuals and local regulations.
This article is general information, not engineering advice.