P.I.T. EVENTS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TEAM by Tom Umek February 11-14, 2014 ACPA Spring Short Course School www.concrete-pipe.org

The object is to continually seek perfection and to remove waste. Kaizen:   A Japanese term that has been adopted into English over the past few decades. It refers to a philosophy or practices focusing on continuous improvement in manufacturing activities, business activities in general, and even life in general. The object is to continually seek perfection and to remove waste. www.concrete-pipe.org

A cross-functional team is created for a three- to five-day period. PIT Event: Copied in part after a kaizen event, it is a focused effort to “make a leap” with a major change rather than a gradual improvement over time. A cross-functional team is created for a three- to five-day period. Team members focus on improving a specific process in the areas of safety, efficiency, best practice and quality. www.concrete-pipe.org

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Defining a PIT Event Identifying an area or process that is not performing to its potential or has a history of inconsistent best practice. A group (4-8) of employees, not necessarily from the same plant or department , that are familiar with the process will spend 3-5 days on the event. They first study the process for a day or two and then make immediate adjustments to equipment, safety issues or efficiency deficiencies. www.concrete-pipe.org

This plan is to be clear and decisive in order to stay focused. There MUST be a Plan! Management will define the scope and the objective of the PIT Event and choose the attendees. This plan is to be clear and decisive in order to stay focused. Complete buy in by all employees is paramount to the success of the event. www.concrete-pipe.org

There are no BAD ideas and all observations should be considered. Open and Honest There are no BAD ideas and all observations should be considered. One conversation at a time during meetings so every hears every comment. Everyone in the group NEEDS to participate and make suggestions or verbalize observations. www.concrete-pipe.org

We will start with some Handouts How to Organize the PIT Event We will start with some Handouts www.concrete-pipe.org

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OBJECTIVES vs DELIVERABLES www.concrete-pipe.org

OBJECTIVE…. An objective or a goal is about what you want to achieve. It is a performance improvement and it can be charted or graphed but you can’t get your hands on it! www.concrete-pipe.org

It is WHAT and How www.concrete-pipe.org

To improve the quality of the 36” pipe An Objective would be….. To improve the quality of the 36” pipe To increase the number turns per day To decrease the number of rejects If you can put it on a chart it is probably an objective www.concrete-pipe.org

A Deliverable would be….. Repair the 36” pipe form and clean it Eliminate wasted time by having tools available to the operators Review and improve the fill times Fix the cages and headers for better quality www.concrete-pipe.org

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Before

After Outside of new trailer Inside of new trailer

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Header Cleaner Brush Installed Pipe Before Pipe After 21 21 21

AN EXAMPLE PROJECT Divide into groups by rows and turn chairs Look at the sheet that is being handed out Discuss the plan of attack and the specific problem you want to resolve. What are the solutions you came up with? Were there safety issues that needed correction? www.concrete-pipe.org

The Wrap Up and Report out What were the goals and were they met? What were the deliverables? Did you find at least three safety issues? www.concrete-pipe.org

REPORT OUT Gather all of the employees and explain how the goals and deliverables were accomplished and what to expect going forward. www.concrete-pipe.org