Bottlnecks Open Wide and Say Bye with Managing for Daily Improvement

(October 2006) Bright Wood has a new addition to its continuous improvement toolbox: Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI). “MDI is a very powerful tool,” Kevin Stovall, Materials manager, said. “Its visual nature helps in keeping a clear focus on issues, progress, and activities.”

“In many ways it is similar to our old Daily Maintenance Lists, but MDI is much more refined and encompasses the entire process and not just maintenance issues,” Kevin said. “I am excited about rolling this process out throughout all of Bright Wood.”

Madras Plant 11 was the first to test MDI’s potential. “A low throughput problem led to the project,” Max Walters, Madras Cutting Value Stream manager, said. “There were a lot of things throughout the elevator that caused issues getting material to the scanners so we figured that was the best bottleneck to start with.”

“When we began our run time was below 70 percent on average,” Robert Holcomb, MDI team member and Plant 11 Continuous Improvement Projects manager, said. “After two weeks of MDI meetings and great input from the operators, we began to see our run times hit goal sporadically. Now we are getting 90 percent or greater run time on the equipment daily and we have seen the performance of wood at the scanners increase substantially. All this took place during our transition from a centered lumber line to the south-end index at the elevator, making it even more amazing.”

The nerve center of a MDI is its communication board. Each morning the team stands and meets for 10 minutes in front of it. They begin by reviewing the previous day’s production numbers (red and green target lines make goals obvious). Next they read all the improvement suggestions recorded by the elevator operators over the last 24 hours.

“The operator log is our biggest source of input,” Daryl Booren, MDI project leader and Plant 11 manager, said. “They are the ones fighting the issues and it is their workplace.”

The elevator operators’ suggestions, along with others, are written on index cards and added to the To-Do section of the board. The cards are moved to the Doing section only after they have been assigned to a team member. Just six cards can occupy the Doing section at one time. The Action Decision Register lists exactly who has taken responsibility for each item, the target due date, and the actual completion date.

Once an action item has been completed, its card moves to Done. “Everyone on the team has been good about hitting their target completion dates,” Daryl said. “Daily attendance by production, Fabrication, Electrical, and Maintenance members means the people who know what it takes to get each action item done are in the room.”

“With everyone involved, you have a lot more participation and help,” Gary Ross, MDI elevator team member and North-End Maintenance supervisor, said. “We are all on the same page and know who is responsible for what and when. Elevator operators can watch the board too and follow their suggestions through the To-Do, Doing, Done process.”

In many instances, action items jumped from Doing to Done by the next morning’s MDI meeting. “MDI is managing for improvement on a day-to-day basis,” Daryl said. “You should see incremental improvements every 24 hours.”

Other Newsletter Articles:

New Friendly Auto Feeders for Fingerjointers (October 2006)

Fever Signals Trouble for Equipment Too (October 2006)

Madras Machinist Heads to Iraq with Navy Seabees (October 2006)

705 Rebuild Team Outpaces Schedule (June 2006)

Madras Door Frame Plant Nails All Box Score Targets in March (June 2006)

Take the Steering Wheel with Diabetes (June 2006)

2P + 2 Products + 2 Crew Members =
2 Percentage Points to Run Time Goal (March 2006)

Consolidation Idea Rejuvenates Skid Row (March 2006)

In-Plant Mill Supplies Keep Drivers Home (March 2006)

Bright People Donate $11,742 to Central Oregon Charities in December (March 2006)

Bright Wood to Close Bend Facility (Company announcement released February 17, 2006)

Run time at Plant 11’s elevators increased from 70 percent to 90 percent just four weeks after a Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI) team started making incremental improvements. The MDI communication board (pictured above) sums up the team’s progress in a glance.

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