Consulting Services

Summary of Portfolio of Client Services

Conducting a detailed Lean Assessment of shop floor operations
Teaching a workshop (not including a plant tour)
Teaching a workshop (including a plant tour)
Conducting a simulation-aided learning seminar
Conducting a video-aided learning seminar
Supporting a kaizen team seeking ideas on how to improve their project
Leading a kaizen team on a 3-5 days kaizen
Mentoring an intern hired by the company
Moderating a deep-dive discussion on a management bestseller book
Arranging a benchmarking visit to a non-competitor company that I know
Helping a team to brainstorm on how best to implement a new management strategy
Leading a discussion on pros and cons of a new manufacturing technology
Teaching a tutorial on a new method (or tool) for Continuous Improvement
Arranging for a software demo by an invited vendor
Participating, mainly as an observer, in strategic planning meetings of the executive team

Please click here to see a Detailed Description of Portfolio of Client Services.

A Unique Model for Delivering Consulting Services

In the case of a client in Houston, I work for 1-3 days full-time every week at the client’s facility throughout my period of engagement with them. However, in the case of an out-of-state client, assuming that they will hire 1-2 interns to work under my supervision for 3-6 months, I prefer to work for 2-3 days full-time every alternate week at the client’s facility.
I guide and mentor in-house teams for the different projects.
I give relevant training to in-house teams specific to their projects.
I recruit, train, supervise and mentor IE interns to support my projects and training events at the client’s facility throughout my period of engagement.
If a reputed IE department is located nearby, I engage their students through their co-curricular programs to support my projects and training events at the client’s facility throughout my period of engagement.

Examples of On-site and Off-site Activities

ON-SITE ACTIVITIES

OFF-SITE ACTIVITIES

Observe and learn!
Photograph different occurrences of the Seven Types of Waste and poor manufacturing practices (especially safety and ergonomics) to include in training presentations
Conduct training workshops on Lean to educate employees and managers
Work with the project teams
Mentor and supervise the intern/s to (1) align their work with the projects and (2) teach them subject matter related to the projects
Meet with appropriate managers and execs concerning the projects
Work with employees and managers to implement their ideas for improvement projects that they decide to do

Write the Activity Report after each visit concludes
Write a Confidential Memo after each visit about issues/concerns with suggestions for remedial actions
Review reports and presentations prepared by the interns
Develop reports and presentations with the interns
Analyze data relevant to the projects and advise the appropriate project teams
Do online research about software tools and other technology on the market
Do online research to obtain subject matter pertinent to different projects

Example of a Weekly Activity Schedule for a Long-Term Engagement

Here is an example of the schedule that I followed for each week of onsite engagement with this particular client over a 3-month engagement:

DAY OF WEEK

TEAM

PROJECT

THURSDAY

(9:00 – 10:30 a.m.)

(L) Joseph Daye

Henry Guevera

Abe Reyna

Mike Criswell

Layout of the RAW MATERIAL STORES and PLATES Racks that feed PARTS FAB
Kanban System for Visual Management of the Inventory in the RAW MATERIAL STORES and PLATES Racks that feed PARTS FAB

Abe Reyna

Strategies for Increasing Inventory Turns

Reduction of SKUs through Design Standardization
2-bin Kanban System
JIT Inventory Acquisition
Vendor Managed Inventory
Phased Buy of High-volume SKU’s
Same Monthly Spend spread over More SKU’s
Etc.

THURSDAY

(10:30 a.m. – Noon)

(L) Troy Brett

Sergio Guerra

Re-layout of SUB-ASSEMBLY to Improve Material Flow and Factory Logistics

THURSDAY

(1:00 – 4:30 p.m.)

ALL

Lean Training

***OR***

Project Reviews

FRIDAY

(9:00 – 10:30 a.m.)

(L) Chris Householder

Aldo Cortez

Bob Ernull

Reducing Wasted Time in Engineering
Reducing Release of Incomplete Orders into Production
Parts Standardization

FRIDAY

(10:30 a.m. – Noon)

Mike Criswell

Troy Brett

Jose Garcia

Jason Green

Mike Windham

Employee-led Improvement Projects in PARTS FAB

Several projects to eliminate/prevent waste (or NVA work) have been assigned to individual employees in the department.
Each of them is expected to drive the project to successful completion.
The team will meet with each of these employees to get an update on their project and offer ideas, on-the-spot assistance, etc.
Upon completion of the project, a 1-page write-up about the project should be posted on the Employees Ideas board.
Tangible cost reduction and/or savings have to be reported from every project!

FRIDAY

(1:00 – 2:45 p.m.)

(L) Mike Criswell

Troy Brett

Jose Garcia

Jason Green

Re-Layout of PARTS FAB to Improve Material Flow and Factory Logistics

FRIDAY

(2:45 – 4:30 p.m.)

Troy Brett

Mike Criswell

Jose Garcia

Chris Householder

Jason Green

Mike Windham

Produce a SINGLE Schedule for the Entire Factory:

Orders Tracking Board to Monitor the Production Schedule
Production Status Meeting (“Morning Huddle”) using the Orders Tracking Board to Discuss Schedule Disruptions
Synchronizing Production of Kits by Backward Scheduling from Shipment Dates in TRAILERISE and FINAL ASSEMBLY
Investigating if MS Project could be used to Schedule Production at ACT
Rack System Design to Implement Kitting Zones for Storage of Kits Supplied by PARTS FAB and RIP STORE
Information Hub (“Obeya”) using Visual Communications Boards

If you would like to hire Lean & Flexible, llc, for a consulting engagement, please contact Dr. Shahrukh Irani by email (ShahrukhIrani1023@yahoo.com) or phone (832-475-4447).