Acquiring capital equipment in a lean manufacturing environment requires a nontraditional mindset.
Imagine a board game for manufacturing engineers where all the game pieces are assembly machines, conveyors, parts feeders, robots and other types of equipment. The game takes place in a Tier 2 auto parts plant that has adopted lean production principles. The objective is to acquire the right type of assembly equipment while confronting management, operators and customers constantly chanting the lean manufacturing mantra of "waste elimination."
As lean initiatives become more popular, many engineers are playing that game every day. To thrive in that type of environment, engineers must break the age-old habit of always wanting to buy the fastest machine equipped with the latest bells and whistles. The trick is to challenge complexity and balance the right amount of automation to meet lean objectives and customer needs.