BEST PRACTICES+

PROBLEM SOLVING

A best practice is a technique or methodology that, through experience and research, has proven to reliably lead to a desired result.

A commitment to using the best practices in any field is a commitment to using all the knowledge and technology at one's disposal to ensure success.

While best practices generally dictate the recommended course of action, some situations require that such practices be followed.

The term is used frequently in the fields of health care, government administration, the education system, project management, hardware and software product development, and elsewhere.

BEST PRACTICES

Problem solving is:a systematic process whichdefines a problematic situation (where there is a gap between

actual and expected or the situation is vague, or there is something that is unsatisfactory) and identifies the problem as an opportunity

for which a resolution or solution is needed to be implemented by an individual or group

and which finally, and crucially should be worth while solving.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Reduced Setup Times: All setup practices are wasteful because they add no value and they tie up labour and equipment. By organizing procedures, using carts, and training workers to do their own setups, Toyota managed to slash setup times from months to hours and sometimes even minutes.

Small-Lot Production: Producing things in large batches results in huge setup costs, high capital cost of high-speed dedicated machinery, larger inventories, extended lead times, and  larger defect costs. Because Toyota has found the way to make setups short and inexpensive, it became possible for them to economically produce a variety of things in small quantities.  

BEST PRACTICES AT TOYOTA

Employee Involvement and Empowerment: Toyota organized their workers by forming teams and gave them the responsibility and training to do many specialized tasks. Teams are also given responsibility for housekeeping and minor equipment repair. Each team has a  leader who also works as one of them on the line.

Quality at the Source: To eliminate product defects, they must be discovered and corrected as soon as possible.  Since workers are at the best position to discover a defect and to immediately fix it, they are assigned this responsibility. If a defect cannot be readily fixed, any worker can halt the entire line by pulling a cord (called Jidoka).

Pull Production: To reduce inventory holding costs and lead times, Toyota developed the pull production method wherein the quantity of work performed at each stage of the process is dictated solely by demand for materials from the immediate next stage. The Kanban scheme coordinates the flow of small containers of materials between stages. This is where the term Just-in-Time (JIT) originated.

The suggestions which are being recommended in the following points are based on our observation after the visit to the company. Some of the techniques or practices that we learned from the Toyota and that could be implemented at Amul for achieving better results are as follow:

One of the major issue was that of high inventory at the plant itself. This resulted in high inventory cost and extended lead times. To over come this they need to produce in smaller lots which will help lowering inventory costs and more value to the customer chain.

APPLYING BEST PRACTICES AT AMUL

Secondly in order to have a reduced lead time and lower inventory cost they need to follow the concept of JIT, wherein which they only need to produce only when there is a requirement at the next stage.

Next they need to in order to produce high quality goods they need to motivate and make the workers responsible for the quality and cleanliness. The is of quality as source and employee involvement. Cleanliness is very crucial factors as they into the manufacturing of dairy products.

Building healthy relations is of great importance. In their case the supplier for the most important raw material i.e. the milk are the farmers. Good relations will ensure effective implementation of JIT.

Best practices had helped Toyota to become world leader in the automobile industry and set benchmark for the other industry competitors.

How benchmarking is helping companies to deliver more value to the customers.

Learning and implementing best practices can also take place from other industry domain as in our case.

Implementation of best practices helps in better productivity.

LESSONS LEARNED

THANK YOU