The coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to disrupt society around the world, becoming not only a major health crisis but a major economic crisis. However, it’s also sparked a surge in innovation, some of it involving the application of Lean Six Sigma.
Faced with the daunting task of continuing operations through a period that requires remote workers and difficulties with supply chains, some companies have turned to Lean-based ideas. In some cases, they’ve coupled process improvement with technology and intelligent automation. In others, they’ve used more “old-school” techniques.
Here are three examples from the first few months of the outbreak in the United States.
Saying Goodbye to Doorknobs
In Portland, the Indow company, which makes energy-efficient window inserts, decided to use a Gemba Walk to determine changes needed in the small company’s manufacturing area. While most company employees now work from home, that’s not a possibility for those who make the company’s products.
Company owner Sam Pardue told Oregon Public Broadcasting that factories must continue to operate or “the economy’s just gonna be done. It’ll be a depression.” However, he added, his main concern was how to operate the factory and maintain worker safety.
Pardue decided to put a concept of Lean Six Sigma, which he uses at his company, into practice. A Gemba Walk is typically employed by managers or project teams attempting to solve a manufacturing problem. They learn the problem firsthand by observing the flow of work on the factory floor. In this case, Indow management identified places in the factory where people touch surfaces repeatedly.
Many of those places were marked for extra cleaning every day. They also led to changes such as removing doorknobs and replacing them with elbow hooks, replacing fridge handles with foot pulls and engineering the toilet so it flushes with a push of a forearm.
Virtual Assessment of Warehouse Inefficiencies
Indianapolis software company enVista has released “virtual operational assessments” that allow companies to address warehouse inefficiencies and manage peaks in operations quickly.
It will allow companies to get information from enVista consultants on making changes while maintaining social distancing.
The company will offer GoPros and iPads that allow company officials to do a walkthrough on their sites. Consultants with enVista will then use Lean Six Sigma strategies to perform “remote design sessions” and come up with recommendations to improve processes and eliminate waste.
This is especially important for companies that provide essential supplies, such as food or medication, and cannot wait until after the crisis passes to make adjustments in supply chain and warehousing.
Cloud-Based Systems For Remote Workplaces
Cloud-based systems are emerging to support a remote workforce, helping companies maintain high levels of productivity while everyone is working at home. One company, Convergency, is providing a cloud-based system for pharmaceutical companies working on treatment for the coronavirus.
The company’s business intelligence portal, built for a global pharmaceutical company, allows instant data sharing from 21 clinical trial studies on COVID-19. The company’s cloud-based system accelerates data analytics processing to the point it cuts delivery times up to 70%. One Japanese pharmaceutical company reported cutting operating costs by more than 50%.
Part of what the company offers are a team of Lean Six Sigma experts who help labs and other healthcare operations become more efficient. That’s especially important as they work on potential drugs to treat COVID-19.
