DC Velocity - January 2010

inbound

“lean” times at home?

“Lean,” the Toyota-developed system for eliminating waste and increasing efficiency in processes and production, has earned a reputation for revolutionizing manufacturing and related operations. But few have tried applying lean principles to the daily household routine—unless they happen to work for LeanCor. Two recent issues of the consulting firm’s monthly electronic newsletter, “The Lean Digest,” featured humorous articles by employees about their attempts to apply lean thinking on the domestic front.

In October, Vimal Patel described how he applied the “pull replenishment” concept to the task of feeding his one-month-old son. Designating the baby the “customer” and his cries the “demand signal,” Patel established a routine that would ensure an even flow of warm milk—delivered just in time, of course—and replace exactly what was consumed.

In November, Roger Pearce wrote about using lean to avoid holiday disasters. He conducted a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) of his family’s Thanksgiving preparations, identifying potential weak spots and developing a contingency plan. Working with his mother and sister, he determined that the turkey was most at risk of failure. The solution: cook two birds. “I argued at first that it would be overproduction,” Pearce wrote, “but my mom quickly offered the rebuttal that it is safety stock to protect us against events of special cause variation.” (“Special cause variation” refers to unexpected events, like a cousin’s dog getting wrapped up in the tablecloth and pulling the turkey off the table.)

The newsletter promised another “lean holiday tip” for Christmas, but it was not yet available at press time. (Planned for JIT delivery on Christmas Eve, perhaps?)

Biodegradable RFID tags may be an interesting and timely idea, but are they feasible? Smartrac N.V., a manufacturer of ready-made and custom RFID inlays and transponders, is determined to find out. Research is under way at the Rotterdam, Netherlands-based company to develop biodegradable production materials for the tags.

Current RFID transponders are usually made from polymer substrates, a metal antenna, and a silicon chip, with the various layers joined by adhesives. But these materials tend not to be biodegradable, which has sparked concerns about the tags’ disposal if tag use takes off the way some have predicted.

Smartrac wants to develop biodegradable and easily recycled transponder substrates and encapsulation materials before that happens. “As a leading RFID transponder manufacturer with the largest single production capacity in the industry, we feel that it is our duty to also take a leading role with regard to the implementation of biodegradable production materials,” said Chief Technology Officer Manfred Rietzler in a statement.

The manufacturer’s R&D department is working with several technology institutes in Bangkok, Thailand, on the project. Smartrac is also in discussions about green materials with substrate and chemical manufacturers.

the greening of RFID
pallets in the park

There’s something about pallets that just seems to fire the artistic imagination. As we’ve reported before, they’ve been used to create furniture, have inspired Lego toys, and have appeared on a football-themed cover photo for ESPN The Magazine.

The pallets-as-art trend has now spread to New Zealand, where sculptor Aaron McConchie has used them to create an outdoor installation he calls “The Continuous Work of (a) Giant(s).” The exhibit, located alongside a highway near several industrial parks, consists of nine pyramid-like structures. Each is made of 15 wooden pallets painted with water-based biodegradable paints and decorated with stenciled designs.

Construction was no walk in the park: McConchie and his father used a bucket truck to lift and position the heavy pallets, working in rain and wind. Heavy-duty steel pins keep the pyramids safely in place.

To see photos of the pyramids and read the artist’s blog about
how they were constructed (“A mountain of CHEP pallets has
arrived!”), go to http://aaronmcconchie.com.