Lean Free Geek
Lean is basically all about getting the right things, to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity while minimizing waste and being flexible and open to change.
The core of lean is founded on the concept of continuous product and process improvement and the elimination of non-value added activities. The Value adding activities are simply only those things the customer is willing to pay for, everything else is waste, and should be eliminated, simplified, reduced, or integrated.
Some Steps
Improve quality
In order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace, Free Geek must understand its customer’s wants and needs and design processes to meet their expectations and requirements.
- Free Geeks customers include
- Doners (equipment and monitary)
- Volunteers (very inportant)
- Shoppers (people who shop the store)
- Recyclers (we contract with them to take away the things we break apart)
Eliminate waste
Waste is any activity that consumes time, resources, or space but does not add any value to the product or service.
- types of waste
- Overproduction (making more than what is needed, or making it earlier than needed)
- Waiting (products waiting on the next production step, or people waiting for work to do)
- Transport (moving products further than is minimally required)
- Extra Processing (rework and reprocessing)
- Inventory (excess inventory not directly required for current orders)
- Motion (extra steps taken by employees due to inefficient layout)
- Defects (do not conform to specifications or expectations)
Design Simple Free Geek System
A fundamental principle of lean Free Geek is demand-based flow manufacturing. In this type of production setting, inventory is only pulled through each production center when it is needed to meet a customer’s order. The
- Benefits of this goal include
- decreased cycle time
- less inventory
- increased productivity
- increased capital equipment utilization
Final Note
There is Always Room for Improvement
Improving the flow of material through new ideal system layouts at the customer's required rate would reduce waste in material movement and inventory.
Continuously Improve
A continuous improvement mindset is essential to reach Free Geeks goals. The term "continuous improvement" means incremental improvement of products, processes, or services over time, with the goal of reducing waste to improve workplace functionality, customer service, or product performance.