Lean Dynamics LLC                                                                            

Peter L. King, President of Lean Dynamics, has written a text and several articles describing how lean concepts and tools can be applied to process industry operations.

Lean for the Process Industries – Dealing With Complexity,  is the first comprehensive treatment of how Lean concepts and methods developed for parts manufacture and assembly can be tailored and adapted to the challenges found in process industry operations.  It begins with a brief overview of Lean as it evolved within Toyota as a way to eliminate waste in parts machining and assembly operations, then discusses some of the challenges faced when applying those concepts to the manufacture of paint, sheet goods, food products, plastic pellets, and personal care products.  It then walks through the proven techniques and methods for dealing with these challenges, that King learned and developed over a twenty year period working for DuPont, one of the largest process companies in the world.

Topics covered include:

• An overview of Lean, its history, and traditional applications
• Introduction to Process Industry differences and challenges
• Wastes found in Process Industry operations
• Creating a Process Industry Value Stream Map
• Reading and analyzing a Process Industry VSM
• Creating a Future State VSM
• Total Productive Maintenance
• SMED applied to process operations
• Visual management and 5S
• Kaizen Events
• Managing process bottlenecks and Theory of Constraints
• Cellular manufactuirng applied to process operations
• Product Wheels - production leveling and campaign optimization
• Make-to-Order and Finish-to-Order
• Pull concepts applied to process operations
• Supermarket design and inventory management principles
• Lean leadership, Lean metrics, and the importance of Lean business processes

Crack the Code on Safety Stock, APICS Magazine, July/August 2011, Peter L. King, explains the importance of an engineering approach to determining optimal safety stock levels. It then describes how to calculate the appropriate safety stock levels to protect against demand variability, lead time variability, and situations where both are present. The article is now available at APICS Magazine (APICS membership required to access.)

Productivity Press, May 2009

www.productivitypress.com

It is also available from amazon.com

Making Cereal, Not Cars, Industrial Engineer Magazine, December 2008, co-authored by King, explains the challenges that industrial engineers face when applying Lean and other industrial engineering concepts to process industry operations. The article is available at Industrial Engineer Magazine (IIE menbership required to access.)

SMED For The Process Industries, Industrial Engineer Magazine, September 2009, Peter L. King, explains the special importance of changeover improvement to the asset intensive process industries.  It then describes proven techniques for dealing with the more complex product changeovers generally found in process lines.  The article is available at Industrial Engineer Magazine  (IIE menbership required to access.)

The Bottleneck Conundrum, Industrial Engineer Magazine, January 2011, Peter L. King, explains how to recognize, manage, and open up the bottlenecks limiting throughput in your processes.  Opening up bottlenecks can increase revenue while lowering inventories.  The article is available at Industrial Engineer Magazine  (IIE menbership required to access.)

Work Cells Can Apply in Process Plants, AME Target, 4th issue 2011, Peter L. King, explains how cellular manufacturing can be very beneficial to many process plant operations - without relocating any equipment or investing any capital.  A case study demonstrates the method and the benefts achieved.  The article is available at Target - The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (open to public)