lean as a process improvement tool for infrastructure maintenance

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A Joint Research Project funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission

Lean as a process improvement tool for

infrastructure maintenance

Presentation by John AmooreEFRTC Paris 4 October 2012

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Part One

Selection of the most appropriate methodfor process improvement

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Improving business performance

Companies facing increasing competition or other external pressures frequently implement established methods for improving business performance

Three of the most commonly applied tools are:

o Six Sigmao Theory of constraintso Lean

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Why has Automain selected Lean rather than another or a combination of all

threeAlthough there are similar characteristics in these techniques, key

defining differences areo Six Sigma ()

o problem-focused, with a view that process variation is waste. Improved performance through statistical methods (SPC)

o Theory of Constraints (ToC)o Understanding the weakest link (bottleneck) in the process chain

o Leano Elimination of all forms of waste – over processing, time, resources etc

These methods may be combined into an integrated system LSS-ToC

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Why Lean is preferred

There are good reasons for selecting Lean for railway maintenance.

Six sigma equates to 3.4 defectives permillion and is ideal in situations where thereis an abundance of data, mathematical toolsare appropriate and there is little processvariability ToC is concerned with improving the system constraint in a total

system approach Lean uses a visualisation approach to reduce waste and minimise

the total elapsed time for a process

-1 +1

-2 +2-3 +3

One

sta

ndar

d de

viat

ion

Mean

Area 68.26%

Area 95.44%

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Value stream map and added value

The value-stream map of the service we provide (infrastructure capacity at lowest LCC) includes value-added and non-value-added activities

Value-added processes are those that meet three criteria the customer is willing to pay for it our action physically changes the infrastructure we work on or contributes to

its life it is done right the first time

Adding value is another way of saying generating revenue (capacity). If it doesn’t generate revenue then it must add cost, not value

Some internet services add value at almost no cost

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process cycle efficiency (PCE)

PCE = Value-Added Time / Total Elapsed Time A Lean process produces a PCE of 25 percent or

more. Most business processes are not Lean. One of the main goals of Lean is to increase process velocity. Improving PCE achieves that goal by eliminating non-value-added activities from the process.

As IMs migrate towards predictive maintenance, process velocity needs to improve

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Lean plus innovation delivers greatest benefit

reduced possession

reduced opportunityfor waste

Enteron Plan Return to

normal servicepossession

maintenance process

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Six Sigma or Lean Thinking

SIX SIGMA LEAN THINKING

VIEW OF WASTE

APPLICATION

TOOLS

FOCUS

Variation is waste Non value added is waste

1. Define2. Measure3. Analyse4. Improve5. Control

1. Identify Value 2. Define Value Stream 3. Determine Flow 4. Define Pull 5. Improve Process

Problem focused

Visualization

Process flow focused

Statistics tool set

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Will LEAN work where there is process variation?

Let us examine a generic value stream map for making almost any Pizza.

The map may be a standard format having different parameters for ingredients, cooking temperature and cooking time

BUT IT WILL STILL IDENTIFY PROCESS WASTE FOR ALL PIZZAS

………..however

Lean and process variation

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Lean and process variation

Stock check ingredients

Removepizzawhen

baked

Dispose and

reorder

Bakepizza

checkingafter

5 mins

Prioritiseorders

Preheat oven

FormPizza

dough

Applytopping

Toorder

usedustedpeel toapplypizza

to stone

Servepizza

tocustomer

A value stream map will identify process waste for thick and thinbase pizzas and hundreds of sizes and toppings

……..but may produce

a disappointing

chocolatepudding

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Part Two

Process improvement in AutoMain

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The approach

o to undertake Structured Observations of the maintenance process

o to map out the maintenance and planning processes during Value Stream Mapping (VSM) workshops, quantification of key parameters wherever possible (the duration of the task, the manpower required, the probability of each step occurring right first time etc.)

o to produce a Hand Off Diagram

Lean provides an opportunity to re-connect management with what is happening at ground level

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Structured Observations

Key timings and observations were recorded, and the utilisation of time was subsequently broken down into 5 generic tasks:

o confirmation = confirming granting of possession o waiting = waiting for equipment to arrive o communication = phone calls and creation of documentation o tamping = carrying out the tamping activity o transportation = moving of tamping equipment to location This information was then presented in graphical format,

along with a summary of the observations made during the course of the visit.

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Value Stream Mapping (VSM) Workshops

the planning process is of equal (if not greater) importance:

o maintenance needs to be carefully planned to avoid waste – the overall maintenance process will only be efficient if the right machine and staff are sent to the right location at the right time

o the move towards predictive maintenance – it is therefore

important that the maintenance planning process can react sufficiently quickly to cope with this

It was therefore considered important to map out not only a

typical maintenance possession, but also the planning process leading up to that possession

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Findings – Structured Observations

Shift utilisation (how the tamping crews spent their time)o confirmation 6% to 15% o waiting 7% to 25% o communication 1% to 10% o transportation 17% to 21%o tamping 42% to 50%−a recording run prior to tamping accounted for 9% of the Network Rail possession−the SNCF, Trafikverket and ProRail maintenance was targeted at specific locations within the possession, whereas the Network Rail and DB maintenance was undertaken on a continuous length of track −the number of concurrent processes was different between administrations which potentially increases productivity at the cost of extra manpower and possibility of conflicts

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Possession Utilisation

Break down of time utilisation during a planned 6 hour possession on 12/09/2011 To

tal

NVA

- N

on-V

alue

Ad

ded

(Was

te)

NN

VA -

Nec

essa

ry

Non

-Val

ue A

dded

VA -

Valu

e Ad

ded

Totals (Minutes) 360 176 34 150

1. Waiting - Granting of Possession 45 45

2. Waiting - Arrival of Tamper 30 30

3. Pre-shift Brief 5 5

4. Tamping Machine Set Up 8 8

5. Carry out 'Recording Run' 1,600 M 16 16

6. Review 'Recorded Data' and Set up Tamper 11 11

7. Tamping Operation 150 150

8. Set Tampers to Travel Positions 2 2

9. Check Results of Track levelness 'Traces' 5 5

10. Paperwork and Report Writing 13 13

11. Waiting for permission to send Tamper 5 5

12. Tamper 'Sweep the possession' (approx - not seen) 30 30

13. Unutilised time 40 40

1. Waiting -Granting of Possession

2. Waiting - Arrival of Tamper

3. Pre-shift Brief

4. Tamping Machine Set Up

5. Carry out 'Recording Run'

1,600 M

6. Review 'Recorded Data' and

Set up Tamper

7. Tamping Operation

8. Set Tampers to Travel Positions

9. Check Results of Track levelness

'Traces'

10. Paperwork and Report

Writing

11. Waiting for permission to send

Tamper

12. Tamper 'Sweep the possession'

(approx - not seen)

13. Unutilised time

Utilisation of Available 'Possession Time'

59% of the Possession spent

on Non Value Added tasks

Identify the reasons – Why?

Objective:

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Tamping Process – Value Stream Map

Concerns and Improvement Ideas

collected from all AutoMain Tamping Experts

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Hand-Off Diagram

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Tamping Process – Value Stream Map

Total 394 Improvement opportunities

identified

Network Rail

SNCF

DeutschbahnSt

rukt

on -

Swed

en

Strukton -

Holland

Value Stream Map completed for all 5 Automain Partner Organisations

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Tamping Process – Opportunities Stratified

No Concern Improvement Idea Network Rail

SNCFStrukton

(Sweden & Holland)

Deutschbahn

Category Effort Benefit Rank

114Tamper given low priority if there is an

operational incidentx Standard Planning

ProceduresH L 0

115Tamper transit route sometimes blocked

by late running trainsx x Problem and

CountermeasureL H 3

116Mismatched understanding of plan

between PICOP and Signallerx Training and

CommunicationL H 3

117Create access points closer to regularly

used signalsx Infrastructure

DevelopmentH H 2

118Planners don't take account of location of

signals in relation to access pointsx Standard Planning

ProceduresL H 3

119 Auto PLB at standard blocking points x Standard Operating Procedure

L H 3

120Stop using Detonators and PLB - Use

'Signal Protection' onlyx Standard Operating

ProcedureL H 3

OUT:-Categorisation

-Evaluation-Project Stream

Definition

IN:Ideas

Recorded

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Tamping Process – Project Stream Definition

1. Planning Systems Development - Largest Opportunity

2. Data Systems Development

4. Training and Communications

6. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

3. Standard Operations Procedures

7. Problem & Countermeasure Systems

5. Technical Development

7 main ‘Streams’ for development

Key Point:

Opportunities are identified:But-

Improvements can only be realised through Implementation

Causation Factors

Why – 59% Non Value Added TasksStratified

7 High Level Project Streams Identified

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Visualisation of Results

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Ideas and suggestions – VSM Workshops

It was suggested that frequent track recording using in-service vehicles would provide the rate of deterioration information necessary to support a more responsive maintenance planning process. But others suggested that trend analysis based on the measurements currently made by dedicated track recording trains is sufficient to predict when maintenance will be required

planners have a great deal of skill and experience, it was highlighted that there are no specific software tools available to support decisions for aligning requirements and resources

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It was further suggested that maintaining track to a very high quality could reduce the overall deterioration rates. By contrast, more than one workshop suggested that a significant proportion of tamping actually makes track quality worse (as much as 25%).

This is a further case for decision support tools

Ideas and suggestions – VSM Workshops

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Opportunities for Lean Approaches

o there was a low level of standardisation in terms of infrastructure design (e.g. variable sleeper types and spacing) which further complicates the planning process

o there is considerable potential to improve the overall Life Cycle Cost through improvements in the planning stage and decision support tools

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Conclusions

The following comments do not apply to all IMs as a number of these practices are already in use by some companies

There is scope to reduce the duration of possessions by employing best practice such as using data from track recording cars to calculate vertical and lateral alignment corrections, having multi-skilled staff, and enabling adjacent lines to remain open to bi-directional traffic during maintenance.

Technological developments that could further enhance productivity include multi-functional high output machines capable of recording and working in either direction, and which minimise set up times on site

There is scope to improve the planning of track maintenance, and this appears to have even greater potential to reduce overall possession times than improvements to the actual maintenance processes and technology

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Conclusions Tamping targets based on track lengths maintained may

result in unnecessary maintenance activity Longevity and quality of the maintenance may be more

appropriate Predictive maintenance based on rate of change of track

geometry and other condition data requires a more reactive approach with a shorter interval between planning and implementation

Such a targeted approach could increase ballast life, minimise possessions and reduce costs

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Lean thinking is an appropriate tool for investigating process improvement for railway infrastructure maintenance

Process variation may be accommodated providing that mapping is performed by a team having the necessary knowledge to fully understand the differences, and we do not confuse pizza with chocolate pudding

Some IMs involved in this project are extending the implementation of Lean thinking into other maintenance activities

Conclusions

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A Joint Research Project funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European CommissionThank you

lean as a process improvement tool for infrastructure maintenance

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