Workshop Teaches Lean Manufacturing Methods

American printing managers attended the inaugural presentation of PIA/GATF's three-day workshop on lean manufacturing in Pittsbrugh.

PIA/GATF said that the three-day programme, one of the industry's first on the topic, showed printers how to apply the fundamental concepts of lean production for faster job turn-around, fewer defects and lower costs.

Delegates learned the eight sources of waste, the use of various lean manufacturing tools, strategies for overcoming barriers and what 'living lean means for management.

It also gave attendees the opportunity to participate in a simulated printing plant and measure productivity increases from lean tools, such as 5S, quick change-over and standard work instructions.

Presenters Ken Rizzo, PIA/GATF's director of consulting and Rhonda Huskins, a lean manufacturing consultant with the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership, are said to have spent 150 hours developing the programme, which they based on their respective experiences working with printing companies.

The programme was sponsored by PIA/GATF's Centre for Lean Practices, formed in the summer to assist PIA/GATF members with the implementation of lean manufacturing practices.

In addition to the workshop, PIA/GATF has published a new book, 'Lean Printing: Pathway to Success' and it will conduct its annual conference in April - the PIA/GATF Continuous Improvement Network Annual Conference that will featue printer case studies on the use of lean manufacturing and quality systems.

A second programme has been added to run from December 4 - 6 to meet demand, added the organisation.

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