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With over 500 people trained in Lean Six Sigma’s Continuous Process Improvement program, sweeping positive changes are being seen at Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command on the Yermo Annex aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
The program was implemented approximately 10 years ago, with myriad supervisors at the helm. In 2012 Angelina Rivera took over as the Production Analysis Branch Head and had a new vision for the program.
“Angelina brought stability and clear direction to the CPI program,” said Isaac Luna, the current Production Analysis Branch Supervisor. “I was a Program Analyst at the time. The consistency really worked well and it allowed us to build relationships with the people who are actually doing the hands-on work on the production floor.”
Rather than having a team of people holed away in an office whose purpose was to think about the processes and how to streamline them, without actually doing the jobs directly themselves, the team began to draw in subject matter experts for consultations. They also began to build a sense of trust and mutual respect.
“The SMEs are the experts, and the people who actually do the work, on a daily basis,” Luna said. “They know every aspect of their job so if we want to find out ways that we can improve their systems, or streamline their functional areas, why not ask them?”
As they began to coordinate efforts effectively between personnel on the production floor, and the CPI team, another opportunity was embraced.
“Within the CPI program there are various levels,” Rivera said. “White level is the entry level training course and offers a basic introduction to CPI’s Lean Six Sigma structure.”
This White Level training is now provided to all new government services employees at PPB during their welcome-aboard orientation. This way everyone coming aboard has the same basic knowledge and can work together to that end.
“Then there is the Yellow Level,” Rivera said. “I became a Yellow Belt Instructor in 2018 and started training all Department of Defense civilians here at the plant in Yellow Belt, which became a requirement mandated by David Clifton, executive deputy, Marine Corps Logistics Command.”
The objective of Yellow Belt training is to provide the participant with a practical understanding of CPI methodologies such as: Lean thinking, Six Sigma, and Theory of Constraints and the process improvement tools associated with each. “At the end of the eight hour Yellow Belt training, the student will be prepared to participate as a CPI team member on a CPI Project or Event,” Rivera explained. “This training has allowed employees on the floor to see what they can do in their own areas to help improve their work areas.”
There are several examples of work-flow improvements made as a result of this team focused CPI process. One project that was recently completed was conducting a Value Stream Map on the M-88 Pack Assembly. Once the project was complete, it resulted in eliminating 30 percent of waste (non-value added steps). Another example is the current evaluations and changes going on with the Amphibious Assault Vehicle components section.
“They are doing significant clean-up and are re-arranging all of their work areas to help increase their production flow,” explained Rivera.
“Once they’ve had the White and Yellow Belt training, you can see a difference in the employees’ approach, too,” Luna said. “We get to experience the moment when the SMEs realize that their insights are taken into account and they are helping to impact positive change. You can see their ‘Eureka’ moment when they see the Value Stream Map, and things click. They start thinking of different ways to do things, or doing them in a different order, and acknowledging that they can get more done in the same amount of time, or perhaps with even safer conditions. It’s their moment, their suggestions, and we help them make those happen! It’s pretty cool to experience that, and then they come to us in the future with more project ideas.”
The shift in perspective is part of what the Yellow Belt training is all about.
“We want them to think outside the box, and realizing that whatever they’re doing in their section doesn’t just affect themselves,” Rivera said. “It affects other areas and other people. The whole chain is impacted and whatever they’re doing affects people down that entire chain. It’s a way to get the transmission people to work with the engine people, for instance, so that they can see the bigger picture. In that area, one of the things that changed was going from one work-cell, to four work cells. They cross-trained more people, and in doing so found that they could be more productive instead of having people wait for specific parts or components.”
“We want them to focus on more than their own little slice of the pie,” Luna said. “They’re part of something much greater.”
When they conduct the Yellow Belt training, they even use Legos to do simulations on how to practice an assembly process.
“We put the participants in practical applications, where they can do hands-on experiments in modifying a production line,” Luna explained. “Then we give them modifications to the production line requirements so that they have to change their workflow, view a bottleneck and resolve it, and then do a cost analysis.”
Clairisa Mattig Smith, program analyst, helps conduct the Yellow Belt training.
“We work with a lot of people who are very hands-on in what they do,” Smith said. “By doing these simulations, it really clicks with people and makes them eager to want to try the concepts in their own work areas.”
Another improvement that took place as a result of employee input, was adding an automatic roll-up door to an area on the production floor.
“Employees noticed others getting off a forklift multiple times a day to open a specific door,” Rivera said. “One supervisor, Dennis Blackford, collected data, did a cost analysis, and figured out that the roll-up door would essentially pay for itself in productive hours, within two years.”
Rivera and Luna are now both Black Belt trained, as well, allowing for further on-site training in the CPI methodologies.
“It’s allowed us to maintain such a strong knowledge base so we can adapt those process improvement methodologies to really fit our production plant,” Luna said. “Adjusting the CPI tools to fit the depot maintenance processes really helps us, as a team, to continue to hone those skills.”
“Management’s commitment to CPI in the last few years has really helped elevate our CPI program,” Luna said. “Managers like Chip Schwartz, plant manager, Will Beckley, Trades Division manager, and TJ Perez, Production Support Division manager have really given their support to Process Improvement. They have invested in training, and been Project Sponsors and Project Leads. With upper management’s backing we can remove organizational roadblocks that might otherwise hinder a successful project. We meet with them monthly to discuss all CPI initiatives going on throughout the organization and they help us prioritize the projects that will have the greatest impact.”
Whether it’s organizing supplies in specific cabinets, with labels for each specific item, or getting an analysis done to approve a rolling door, no project is too big or too small. The CPI team is willing and ready to get their hands dirty and work side-by-side with production crews to make their areas the best they can be, with the understanding that things will continue to change over time as workflow demands change.
| Date Taken: | 01.23.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2020 13:38 |
| Story ID: | 360510 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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