Do Printers Believe in Continuous Improvement?

[Mike Griffiths]

I've been trying to push more efficient production for years. It's my company so you would have thought that would be easy.
General efficiency was my first push.
At first I was happy with experienced people doing it their way - if it worked for them
I discovered W.Edwards Deming in the mid 90s and was able to push my guys a little further towards efficiency. We specialise in producing CRFs for the pharmaceutical industry, short runs from around 10 to 500 with as many as 10 different finishing processes.
I cut our total steps taken in production from 144 to 33, massive saving. All my own work as no one else would join in
Still I can see more improvements and now take issue with other peoples ways, unless they are better than what we have. Good news - every now and again one of our guys does come up with a better way.
Next week we have Sid Joynson, a Lean guru coming in and I hope we can push it on further with the guys themselves taking the action required, I could do with some time off

Good and bad news:
I have builders working on extending and refurbishing my house.
The amount of time and materials wasted is colossal. It's fixed price so they could save themselves a fortune with some of the suggestions I have made

Main problem is getting people to 'get it'
It's a journey

[tdaisy]

If the recent Printing Industries of America Continuous Improvement conference is any indicator, then I would say that printers are thinking about continuous improvement. And it is the fundamentals - setup reduction, mistake-proofing, cycle time reduction through elimination of non-value added tasks, etc. And like other industries, continuous improvement is prioritized differently company by company. I've seen smaller printers do one-off Kaizen events to tackle a specific issue (eliminating hand written job tickets) and other mid-sized printers with dedicated continuous improvement managers.

In summary, I haven't seen the economy impact this to a large extent. Although, as I read these posts, it appears that some companies are impacted.

[Erik Nikkanen]

I discovered W.Edwards Deming in the mid 90s


I cut our total steps taken in production from 144 to 33, massive saving.

Fantastic effort.

Deming is one of my heros. Great mind.

Just my point. Deming would be appalled at what printers do. Measure and adjust, measure and adjust. He would probably say, find out why the process varies, then fix it. He was positive about the need for theory.

That kind of thinking is what I have been following since the mid 80's.

Good luck with your Lean efforts.

[David Dodd]

If the recent Printing Industries of America Continuous Improvement conference is any indicator, then I would say that printers are thinking about continuous improvement. And it is the fundamentals - setup reduction, mistake-proofing, cycle time reduction through elimination of non-value added tasks, etc. And like other industries, continuous improvement is prioritized differently company by company. I've seen smaller printers do one-off Kaizen events to tackle a specific issue (eliminating hand written job tickets) and other mid-sized printers with dedicated continuous improvement managers.

In summary, I haven't seen the economy impact this to a large extent. Although, as I read these posts, it appears that some companies are impacted.

tdaisy,

The PIA Continuous Improvement Conference is a really good event. I've presented at past conferences, but I was unable to attend this year. From your post, I'm assuming that you did attend this year. If so, could you estimate the attendance?

Thanks.

[tmason]

Erik,

Have you heard of ink, water balance? We try to control this variable through proper chemistry, roller temperature, water temperature, press room climate, roller settings, roller hardness, etc.

Despite controlling these variables as much as possible, it is still necessary to measure and adjust ink and water. This is the nature of the beast with traditional offset, especially short runs. We do have Hp indigo digital presses that "self" adjust and calibrate, but again there are variables and tolerances that do change. Age of Pip, blanket etc. It will always be a moving target that needs to be checked.

As for the Lean discussion. I went through a Lean course and came away with several great ideas. I also realized we have been practicing most of the principles of Lean for years. We just did not use the Lean terminology. Just because we do not buy into the full blown Lean program does not mean that we don't care to get better. On the contrary, anyone who is in business should realize there is no status quo. If you are stale at anything you do, you are behind.
Part of Lean is determining what principle to apply to our particular situation. Not every process needs to be changed and to invest in new technology to eliminate or automate a task may not be cost effective. Especially if the technology is unproven. "Let's jump on the bandwagon because everyone is doing it". As technology evolves it gets better and cheaper.

[PDeuth]

I cannot speak for, or of, an entire industry on why printers, in general, don't "get" Quality. I understand, however, that it's nothing specific to our industry. If you look at nearly every industry in the USA, there is an abundance of not getting it. Compare and contrast Toyota and GM, and know that Toyota has made the strategic decision not to lay off a single person during this recession, and is using the opportunity to train, re-tool, and improve their processes. When this recession ends, as they inevitably do, Toyota will emerge stronger, rather than weaker.
That being said, productivity in US industry grew at 4% between 1990 and 2003. Productivity in the printing industry grew at less than 1/2 that: 1.9% (NAPL 2004.) We, as an industry, really don't "get" it. It's a managment issue. Deming, Juran, Sholtes, Joiner, and the others there at the start of the Quality Management movement were quite clear that management is the problem. It's particularly a problem in the printing industry. Naturally, there are large cultural elements to this model, and the managers are part of that culture. Indeed, management is the group with the influence and access to the resources necessary to address those cultural problems.
Most printing managers wouldn't know a process if it bit them on the butt. That's notable, because those processes bite them often, daily, even. Why is this so? Well, I ran a small two-press shop when I was in my 20's. My family had some money invested in the place, and the fellow running it washed out, so I stepped in. I knew about camera work, and was a quick-study on the rest. The guy running the presses stayed on, so I had his help. Knowing next to nothing, I got the work out, at a profit. I knew next to nothing about printing, and I knew nothing whatsoever about management, yet acceptable work came out the back of the press, at a profit. Point is, this is repeated more frequently than not, this dynamic of making it by luck, this "winging it and hoping for the best."
Our internal, departamental, managers in printing nearly always come from the shop floor. I'd guess it's over 95% of them (please offer your estimates, this is an interesting point.) These folks might have been good operators, and in some cases, even good departmental managers who took promotions as company managers. They were not, however, professional managers. The know about getting the work out, in their own particular department. They do not know about management, especially about modern management. There is naturally an aversion to risk and to trying new things in management methods; lost, anyhow, going anywhere in the forest of management is particularly frightening. There is a need to cling to what's worked in the past. That is a key cultural element applicable in most of our industry.
There is a lack of appreciation for a system, to refer to Deming. Variation is not understood. There is no value placed in the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, most changes occuring by decree, and without follow-up (a particular killer, in my experience.) Using the capability maturity model, the printing industry is at Level 1, without a systemic or systematic approach, or maybe Level 2, the reactive phase. Especially in offset printing, the processes are not defined, no less controlled. New hardware is seen as the solution, even though upgrades are generally disruptive and rarely well-utilized. These symptoms lead back to the management issues, and the lack of appreciation for a system.
I have clashed with un-willing managers in the past over process improvement. As a career printer, with nearly 40 years experience, and as a Quality Management professional with three ASQ Certifications, I had/have something to offer. Nevertheless, it's futile offering to help where the help is not wanted. This is common knowledge in Quality Mangement circles, and applies generally, in all sectors and endeavors.
I am available for employment. I have concrete strategies for breakthrough improvement, especially in commercial offest printing. I have an understanding of color reproduction and hold a US patent pending on a method of integrating the color reproduction system; work on another patent relating to statistical process control is under way. I also know statistics and process capability. I am aggressively seeking to market my skills and knowledge. I will work for, and make a significant diffrerence in, a shop where management is willing to follow Quality. If that willingness is lacking, I'm not interested in wasting either my time, or theirs.

[Erik Nikkanen]

Erik,

Have you heard of ink, water balance? We try to control this variable through proper chemistry, roller temperature, water temperature, press room climate, roller settings, roller hardness, etc.

Yes I think I have.

By the way, none of those variables above are related to the fundamental cause of ink/water balance. That is why you have not had total success getting it to be controlled.

[tmason]

Erik,

Please enlighten us.

[Erik Nikkanen]

Erik,

Please enlighten us.

I have tried for years. Do a search.

It is related to the lack of positive control of ink feed into the press. Even modern offset presses do not have any mechanical setting that is directly related to the amount of ink that is fed into the ink train.

[tmason]

Erik,

So, if we have all the variables controlled, within our power, how is Lean supposed to help me, the printer in this situation? I am purchasing the latest technology available, and we spent over 1.5 million dollars to get it.
I don't understand the point you are trying to make and what does this have to do with my interest in getting better through Lean practices?

Todd