One important tool of Lean Manufacturing is the Six Big Losses. While it is sometimes forgotten, you should make sure that you use it within your business.
The Six Big Losses were developed originally by Seiichi Nakajima back in 197. According to him, employees were responsible for all maintenance and they should carry it out divided into small groups.
Learn more about Lean Manufacturing.
The Six Big Losses were developed originally by Seiichi Nakajima back in 197. According to him, employees were responsible for all maintenance and they should carry it out divided into small groups.
Learn more about Lean Manufacturing.
Why Should You Use The Six Big Losses
When you need a more detailed perspective on equipment loss, there is no better tool than the Six Big Losses. But let's take a closer look at each one of the Six Big Losses in more detail:
#1: Unplanned Stops:
Unplanned Stops occur when a piece of specific equipment should be up and running but, instead, it is stopped due to an unplanned event. Some examples include being blocked by downstream equipment, being starved by upstream equipment, lack of materials or operators, unplanned maintenance, tool failures, equipment breakdowns, among others.
#2: Planned Stops:
Another one of the Six Big Losses is Planned Stops. These occur whenever the piece of equipment is stopped due to a planned event but it should be running. Some examples of Planned Stops include quality inspections, planned maintenance, cleaning, tooling adjustments, changeovers, among others. There are some businesses that also consider meetings and breaks as Planned Stops.
Discover more about the production line balancing.
Discover more about the production line balancing.
#3: Small Stops:
Small Stops are stops that usually only take about a minute or two. They occur suddenly but the problem is solved by the operator. This type of stops is usually called chronic since they can occur within any day. Some examples include periodic quick cleaning, equipment design issues, blocked or misaligned sensors, incorrect settings, material jams, misfeeds, among others.
#4: Slow Cycles:
Whenever a piece of equipment runs slower than the Ideal Cycle Time, we can say that Slow Cycles are occurring. Some examples include shutdown, startup, operator inexperience, poor environmental conditions, substandard materials, poor lubrication. worn out or dirty equipment, among others.
Learn everything you need to know about the Jidoka.
Learn everything you need to know about the Jidoka.
#5: Production Rejects:
Simply put, Production Rejects are the defective parts that are produced during steady-state production. Some examples include lot expiration, equipment or operator handling errors, incorrect equipment settings, among others.
#6: Startup Rejects:
Startup Rejects include the defective parts that are produced since the startup and up to stable production. While they are more commonly tracked after changeovers, Startup Rejects can occur after any equipment startup. Some examples include equipment that inherently creates waste after startup, equipment that needs warm-up cycles, suboptimal changeovers, among others.
The Main Six Big Losses Benefits
The Six Big Losses has benefits both in terms of the short-term as in terms of the long-term. In what concerns the short-term, the Six Big Losses provide additional information to the OEE. In what relates to the long-term benefits, you can expect it to help you identify effective countermeasures for equipment-based losses through improved actions.
Using The Six Big Losses Within Your Business
As you can imagine, when you implement the Six Big Losses within your business, you will have some roles assigned to different members of your team:
- Operator: Is the one who should collect the reason codes on the equipment during Planned and Unplanned Stops. He should also be able to suggest improvements based on what he sees.
- Supervisor: His main role will be to validate Ideal Cycle Times. He will need to review all the losses at the beginning of each shift to identify and assign improvement actions.
- Manager: He is the one who defines how data should be collected as well as he also defines the standards for the Ideal Cycle Times. The manager will also be the one responsible for identifying strategic improvement initiatives, setting and tracking improvement targets, defining and maintaining reason codes, and auditing for sustainability.
- Operator: Is the one who should collect the reason codes on the equipment during Planned and Unplanned Stops. He should also be able to suggest improvements based on what he sees.
- Supervisor: His main role will be to validate Ideal Cycle Times. He will need to review all the losses at the beginning of each shift to identify and assign improvement actions.
- Manager: He is the one who defines how data should be collected as well as he also defines the standards for the Ideal Cycle Times. The manager will also be the one responsible for identifying strategic improvement initiatives, setting and tracking improvement targets, defining and maintaining reason codes, and auditing for sustainability.
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