7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Simple changes make a big impact

White paper by KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL*
 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Introduction

Lean supplies:
a hidden
opportunity

Lean has transformed in your facility every day, solving

manufacturing and basic supply problems can make
a surprisingly big impact. This What is Lean?
continues to make a major approach can improve safety,
impact on safety, quality, quality, and productivity while Lean is a production practice
productivity, and cost. reducing operational expenses. that considers the expenditure
of resources for any goal
And while many leading This discussion summarizes
manufacturers have been practicing our approach to continuous other than the creation of
lean for years, there are still gains to improvement, helping you uncover value for the end customer to
be made – especially in overlooked hidden opportunities that can make be wasteful, and thus a target
areas like industrial supplies and a big difference in your operation. for elimination.
personal protective equipment
(PPE). This approach is based on our
experience helping hundreds
To us, that’s a missed of manufacturers improve their
facilities in measurable ways. We
opportunity. Practicing what we
call our approach The Efficient
As a manufacturer who practices Workplace, an innovative preach.
lean ourselves, we know that program that combines proven
lean professionals tend to focus lean manufacturing principles Kimberly-Clark Professional*
on the big problems—things like with industry best practices and is a major global
process flow, equipment upgrades, customized product solutions. This manufacturer ourselves. As
and organizational design. These program is helping manufacturers
part of our own continuous
problems often cost lots of money, around the world look at their
supplies and PPE in a new way. improvement journey, we
resources, and time to solve. Easy
changes you can make in the way eliminated 1.4 million hours
you manage industrial supplies We hope you find it useful. of waste and delivered $2.2
are often overlooked. But since billion in value across our
these products touch everyone own facilities.

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

The Seven + 1 Wastes

Lean identifies 7+1 wastes that compromise
safety, productivity, quality, and cost in the
workplace. Industrial supplies and PPE play a
role in all of them:

Conveyance Over-processing
1 Unnecessary movement of material,
product, or information. Moving of
supplies from one location to another.
5 Unnecessary or overperforming processes,
tasks, or operations. Use of lower quality,
inefficient supplies to perform a job.

Inventory Over-production

2 Tying up capital without producing

income. Storing excessive amounts of
industrial supplies.
6 Producing more product than is required.
Production of defective product due to
damage from low quality supplies.

Motion Correction

3 Non-value added movement of

machines or people. Walking away
from the work area to get supplies.
7 Rework, defects, scrap, or inspection.
Defects in production due to
contamination from low quality supplies.

Waiting Knowledge or Untapped Skill

4 Downtime when no value-added work

is being done. Stopping activity while
workers are searching for supplies.
+1 Failing to take advantage of everyone’s
skills and talents.
Inadequate knowledge about which
supplies to use for a given task.

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 1

Go and see the industrial

supplies life cycle.

But you’ve probably walked your Dispensing

1 Choice facility a thousand times. The
challenge is to take the same walk Are supplies dispensed in a central
with a fresh pair of eyes. location that workers must leave
their jobs to travel to?
In this case, you’ll be walking the
floor looking specifically for the way Are dispensing locations often
2 Storage your people are managing industrial
supplies and PPE.
empty causing work to stop
or inadequate products to be
substituted?
Take a look at the entire life cycle of
the products you use. Are line workers leaving their jobs
to refill dispensers?
3 Dispensing Choice
Use
Are you using lower quality
products that are causing you to Are workers unsure which products
use excessive amounts? should be used for their jobs?
4 Use Are the supplies you are using Are workers following standard
causing defects in your products? techniques for product use?

Are you using older technologies Are work areas well organized with
that can be replaced to improve supplies ergonomically located
5 Disposal efficiency or quality? according to use?

Storage Disposal
You can’t discover waste Are you storing excessive amounts Are you adequately separating
from behind a desk. of supplies? hazardous and non-hazardous
waste?
A core principle of lean Are your supply areas poorly
manufacturing is “go and see” – organized without clear visual Are you generating excessive
getting out onto the factory floor indicators of where supplies should amounts of waste due to overuse of
and experiencing how your people be stored? low quality products?
do their jobs every day.
Do your workers have to wait in Are you disposing of products
line for supplies to be given to them before the end of their useful life?
at a tool crib?

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principal 2

Small improvements
can have a big impact.

In applying lean principles to

industrial supplies management,
aggregating small improvements A rag is a flag.
can add up to big wins.
Rags made from recycled
If you look at your industrial clothing are still widely used
supplies management with lean in manufacturing. But a
eyes you’re likely to find hundreds
of these opportunities. Simple rag is almost always a sign
changes can affect things like the of a process that could be
amount of supplies you use, the improved.
time it takes for people to perform
a task, and even the quality of the
product that you manufacture.
One Example:
They can also improve the safety
of your workplace by preventing Switching from recycled
accidents and exposures to
rags to manufactured wipes
unnecessary hazards.
can reduce the cost of storage
In short, small things can make and disposal and improve
a big difference. worker productivity.

Heavy duty manufactured

wipes...

• Require one fifth the

storage space
• Create over 70% less waste,
by weight
• Absorb twice as much
water per pound

(Based on switching from mixed

recycled rags to WYPALL* X80
Wipers, Jumbo Roll format)

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 3

Dispensing and disposal

are as important as the
supplies themselves.

Production professionals are often It’s also important to consider

extremely careful about the supplies who fills the dispensers and
they specify for use but ignore the who removes the trash. If it’s the Case in point
way those supplies are dispensed worker who is adding value to
and disposed of at the end of their your product then this is causing One easy way to improve
useful life. unnecessary waiting waste. One productivity is to implement
best practice is to delegate these portable dispensing systems
Line workers who are adding value tasks to materials managers instead
to your products often have to for supplies instead of
of line workers.
stop what they are doing to deal requiring workers to access
with the dispensing and disposal of them from a central location.
supplies. This problem is typically
caused by the location and
condition of dispensers and trash
receptacles.

Product dispensers and trash

receptacles should be located
as close to the work as possible
to minimize motion and waiting
waste. And both should be easily
accessible so the worker does not
have to reach excessively or wade
through clutter to get to them.

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 4

Think about
standards.

Industrial supplies can be Here are some examples

an afterthought of some standards that Case in point
you might create to help
Because industrial supplies can be
an afterthought for manufacturing, eliminate waste associated Thirty percent of workers
not much thinking goes into how with industrial supplies experiencing hand injuries
they are managed. management. were wearing the wrong glove
– and the cost per injured
Manufacturers may provide the • Replenishment of supplies at
supplies their workers need. But the point of use worker can average $16,000,
how they are stored, dispensed, which includes medical costs.
used, and discarded is often left for • Proper techniques for using
individual workers to figure out on supplies
their own.
• Specifying specific supplies
This approach can lead to and PPE for specific tasks
significant waste and even safety
hazards, especially if you have a • Maintaining order in supply
flexible workforce where people are storage locations
often stepping into unfamiliar tasks. • Separation of hazardous,
One way of addressing this is to non-hazardous, and
create standard work, accompanied recyclable waste
by visual tools, to guide people in
the management of supplies. • Supply locations during
planned shutdowns

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 5

A lean workplace is
a safe workplace.

Everyone knows that continuous Take a look at your supplies

improvement of workplace safety management through a
is critically important in preventing Case in point
accidents, injuries and illnesses. safety lens.
One aerospace OEM was
• Are supplies stored and dispensed
Of course the human cost is most able to reduce worker
considering proper ergonomics?
important. But workplace safety exposure to acetone vapor
problems are also an efficiency • Is access to supply locations
issue, often leading to equipment by over 45% in the painting
impeded by trip hazards?
downtime, lost time for workers, area by switching from open
and even lost expertise. • Are supply locations cluttered and buckets and rags to a closed
poorly maintained? saturated wipe system.
Safe workplaces are uncluttered,
well-maintained, clean, • Are hazardous materials properly
standardized and predictable. labelled, used, stored, dispensed,
Applying lean principles to the way and discarded?
you manage industrial supplies can
go a long way toward achieving • Is PPE easily accessible and are
that vision. there clear visual standards in
place for PPE usage?
We’ve already talked about how
nonstandard industrial supplies
management can lead to waste. But
it can also lead to safety hazards.

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 6

Learn from
”quick and dirty”
solutions.

Workarounds could be Here are some examples

masking problems of workarounds commonly
seen in manufacturing
We’ve all seen examples of great
ingenuity from line workers in facilities:
manufacturing. Building ad hoc • Mounting wipes or rags on
solutions with duct tape and poles to access unreachable
cardboard is a standard practice in areas.
many facilities.
• Using costly consumer-
People tend to find ways to make packaged cleaning chemicals
their jobs easier using the supplies instead of bulk-packaged
they’ve been given. That’s okay but options for industrial use.
workarounds could be masking
problems that merit a more • Piecing together rags or wipes
sophisticated approach. to cover large surfaces.
Take a walk through the facility and • Creating ad hoc dispensers
look for ad hoc solutions. Then dig to store supplies at the point
a little deeper. Determine why the of use.
workarounds exist and if there is a
better alternative to consider. • Using homemade PPE to
protect against hazards

• Hoarding supplies in personal

lockers to ensure they are
available when needed

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Principle 7

Listen to the experts:

your workers.

Your people drive your Nobody knows their work +1

success. better than they do. Enlist Remember...
their help in your industrial
Their knowledge and skills, effort
and energy make the difference supplies management Using a team’s skills and
between an average manufacturing initiatives. Ask questions. knowledge ineffectively is
facility and an exceptional one. Learn from them. Get them just as wasteful as using the
The continuous improvement
on board and involved. wrong tools or supplies.
approach is really all about • Ask workers to identify
empowering them to make their problems to solve
jobs easier and safer.
• Include them in problem
solving sessions

• Get their feedback on proposed

changes

• Ask them to help explain

proposed changes to their
colleagues

• Review the impact of changes

with them regularly and keep
improving

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

Conclusion

Take a lean look

at your supplies.

If this discussion accomplished

one thing, we hope it convinced
you that taking a lean approach to
industrial supplies management can
make a significant contribution to
your operations.

Continuous improvement teams

typically focus on the big problems
that cost lots of money, resources,
and time to solve. But the quick
wins are right there, waiting for
you to find them with simple, easy
changes in the way you manage
industrial supplies. And remember—
since these products touch
everyone in your facility every day,
solving basic supply problems can
make a surprisingly big impact.

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 7 Principles of Lean Supplies

About Kimberly-
Clark Professional*
Kimberly-Clark Professional*
provides essential solutions
for a healthier, safer, and more
productive workplace.

Want help uncovering

hidden opportunities?
Get started with The
Efficient Workplace
program.
The Efficient Workplace from
Kimberly-Clark Professional* is an
innovative program that combines
proven lean manufacturing
principles with industry best
practices and customized product
solutions. It’s designed to help you
uncover the hidden opportunities
that can make a big difference in
safety and efficiency. It helps you
see industrial supplies through a
different lens. So you can turn your
attention to places you may never
think to look.

For additional information on

The Efficient Workplace, visit
www.kcprofessional.com/
efficientworkplace.

/*Trademarks of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. or its affiliates. Marques déposées de Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. ou de ses filiales. © 2014 KCWW.
®
K02983 K10565-13-01 I91 P14-425

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