This workshop demonstrates the 6S process and facilitates the immediate implementation of 6S principles in the work place. We work with the people over two days to upgrade the orderliness and maintenance standards of their workplaces. The objectives are to achieve a dramatic change in both the appearance and the functionality and to set new and sustainable standards for the future. This program is often the initiation of activities in the workplace for a company, which has elected to pursue Lean Thinking.

Key objectives are:

• Implementation of a safe work place
• The elimination of unwanted/unused materials and equipment
• Efficient storage and control of equipment and stock at the workplace
• The implementation of visual controls
• The standardisation of 6S practices to maintain the new work place standards.

A factory simulation is used to make comparison between traditional manufacturing typified by a functional layout and batch-and-queue production driven by conventional 'push' scheduling, and contemporary customer-focused 'pull' methodology.

This program brings together many of the concepts developed in other OPTIM Improvement programs. The participants get to feel the benefits of working in a very flexible company where all the employees are in touch with the customers and where lean manufacturing has reduced costs and response times. In this workshop, the participants get to see how all the main principles finally come together.

Kanban is one of the most successful concepts ever devised to control production flow and to manage the elimination of waste. However, good kanban implementations are uncommon because essential issues are misunderstood or overlooked. This Kanban Basic workshop introduces operational people and their leaders to:

• The principles of customer focused manufacturing
• Kanban functions, rules and types
• Trigger, traffic light and heijunka boards
• Kanban calculations
• Kanban rules
• Kanban implementation

This one-day program is for Managers in both manufacturing and service sector industries that want to involve their people directly in productivity and service improvement. The workshop covers:

• Recognising the need for change
• The critical role of management
• Strategies for improvement
• Measuring corporate productivity
• People involvement
• Incentives
• Tools for change
• Resourcing change

We address the issues of serious and sustainable change in business through a sound framework of proven principles and practical tools. Participants experience the use of simple techniques for process analysis and improvement. They also develop their own plan for application of the principles on return to their firms.

An effective strategy for uniting the workforce is to focus everyone's attention on a common enemy. In this short workshop, the participants are introduced to the concept of operational waste (muda). They get to see how extensive the waste is and what it is costing the business. We measure the waste using OPTIM Improvement’s waste audits and we consider how it might be reduced. The objective is to create a culture amongst the workforce that is obsessed by waste and with its elimination.

The supervisor's role is changing as companies move down the path of greater autonomy for middle management and supervision. As roles change, many supervisors feel threatened as subordinates become involved in continuous improvement and change. Supervisors are expected to be leaders and facilitators but in many cases do not have the understanding or skills to effectively fulfil the expectations made of them.

This program covers essential topics that must be understood by supervisors before they can feel they have a worthwhile role to play in an environment that needs leaders. This program is designed to be run in stages over a three monthly period of time, so allowing each element of the training to be given time for practical application.

The "New Generation Problem Solving" course combines teambuilding with creative problem solving techniques and statistical analysis. The participants understand the interdependence of the three elements for success. They experience the satisfaction of a total approach to problem solving. Also, they learn that by working together using basic techniques for data collection and effective team interaction, they can achieve results beyond their own expectations.

Topics covered include: personal influences, setting goals, decision making, creative problem solving, data collection and analysis, project management.

At the conclusion of the workshop the attendees are required to plan and manage a real problem-solving project. At the conclusion of the project they are expected to produce a short report and give a presentation to management and colleagues.

This course has produced some stunning results for a number of OPTIM Improvement’s clients. These include massive reductions in product loss, resource waste and manufactured cost with significant improvements in culture and morale.

Statistics and measurement lectures were designed by academics to blind, baffle and bore their pupils into submission. Yet the old adage says, "You can't control what you don't measure." Optim has made a breakthrough in the teaching of statistical techniques by making the learning process interactive and fun.

The participants are introduced to a process out of control. Using a series of measurement techniques to analyse the current performance, to diagnose the causes of failure, to eliminate variability and to bring the outputs under control, they find they can make the process capable.

Poka-Yoke is a process for addressing mistakes and random failures that occur in every workplace in industry, offices, hospitals, shops and government departments. This short workshop teaches the basic concepts behind Poka-Yoke and the reasons why Poka-Yoke is important to industry. Attendees are given the opportunity to analyse their own equipment for Poka-Yoke applications. Projects are then initiated to apply their ideas back in the workplace.

Changeover reduction can provide immediate cost and productivity benefits, often for only a small investment. OPTIM Improvement’s Smart Changeovers program is by far the most popular one of its kind in Australia, having been attended by over 1000 people and 300 companies in the last two years in Australia, New Zealand and North America. The emphasis is on teamwork and creativity in devising low cost solutions. The program can be run over two days on your site and is designed for operators, maintenance fitters and their leaders.

OPTIM Improvement’s Smart Changeovers Blitz process provides a practical team based approach for the systematic reduction of time loss during changeovers, set-ups, start-ups, shut-downs and routine maintenance functions.

The concepts are applicable to all areas of a business and are the same as used in the normal two-day Smart  course. However, this program provides a sharp kick-start to reinvigorate a previous changeover reduction campaign. Extra tools for analysis are taught and, in a highly intense hands-on program, the focus is on one machine. The changes are made and demonstrated during the workshop. Reductions in excess of 50% are targeted and usually achieved before the end of the workshop.

The program encourages the collective effort of operators, support staff, engineers and management to work together to devise low cost, imaginative solutions to traditional problems and implement them immediately. The whole process takes two days and must be run on site.

Having a workforce that is motivated, flexible and willing to work together is every manager's dream. This really can be achieved over time if the right environment and foundation exists, and if the employees understand how to draw on their total pool of talent.

Team members need a whole suite of new improvement skills today to contribute fully to the future of the company. If delivered all at once, they tend to be quickly forgotten. OPTIM Improvement’s approach to team building provides the people short injections of interactive training over an extended period of time, which progressively builds a portfolio of new and useful abilities.

Through OPTIM Improvement’s progressive approach, people gradually learn and try things out, so gaining confidence and proficiency. This leads to a sustained and stable team environment.

This two-day workshop gives attendees a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of statistical process control and how to use statistical tools to improve control over their processes. The attendees learn the fundamentals of SPC through a series of creative and interactive exercises and activities.

The course starts at the basics of probability and variability then progresses through histograms, control charts and process capability. The use of SPC software and FMEA analysis is also included in the second day. At the completion of the course attendees are expected to carry out an SPC project.

This course is generally tailored to suit the level of knowledge of the attendees.

Value Adding Machines embodies the best principles of Total Productive Maintenance into a simple step-by-step process to helping operators and their maintenance colleagues to work together to achieve optimum performance from the value adding equipment.

Value Adding Machines targets:

• Zero downtime
• Zero material waste
• Machines that get better over time

The Value Adding Machines process transfers daily maintenance responsibilities to operators and provides maintenance crews with a framework for the longer term management of equipment effectiveness.

OPTIM Improvement’s Value Stream Analysis is a process for analysing all the actions and tasks that go to delivering your product or service to your customers.

It applies to both internal and external customers and clients.

It aims at improving the whole process not just optimising parts of it, and when used with powerful tools such as OPTIM Improvement’s New Generation Problem Solving and other team based methodologies, can give a strategic advantage previously only dreamed about.

Utilising the best knowledge base available to your company, your employees who are doing the job everyday, the existing processes are analysed, the knowledge shared and a new vision created.

The teams empowered by this knowledge assess all aspects of the value stream and make recommendations to Management on their course of action. A mandate is constructed allowing for boundaries to be set to cover Safety, Quality, Capital Expenditure, Research and Development, various accreditations and Maintenance Procedures so that none of these are compromised in the process.

OPTIM Improvement’s Value Stream analysis can help your Continuous Improvement process by sharing more information with a greater number of staff.

It can revitalise previous efforts and really contribute to the “bottom line results” you expected from your Continuous Improvement Program but are not realising.