Introduction to Lean Course: 7XR

7XR is an intense and highly impacting management simulation of key Lean and best practice disciplines. With minimal formal tutorial input the programme is essentially practical and revolves around the competition between teams each of 7 or 8 participants to establish, manage and continually improve a production facility to ever higher targets for quality, cost and delivery performance.

Among the disciplines covered in the programme are:

• Workplace organisation (5S)
• The value and contribution of Kaizen (low cost / no cost method improvement
• The importance of right-first-time and built in quality
• The problem solving mechanism
• The use of data in resolving problems and making improvements
• The appropriate use of team targets
• Leadership and teambuilding
• Mistake proofing (Poka Yoke)
• Team briefing and operational performance review
• The importance of workflow and production balance

In addition, there are three core learning concepts at the heart of the programme and for which 7XR was originally designed. These are:-

• The central role of the first line manager in enabling his or her team to engage in continuous process improvement and resolve problems quickly;
• The importance of detailed and meaningful standardised methods for all direct production and ancillary tasks to achieve ever more demanding standards of quality and delivery, for both customers and downstream customers, and at minimal cost;
• How to review team performance, and create a climate of action for improvement each and every shift using the improvement cycle: PDCA.

7XR programmes are typically for 4 to 5 residential days. The shorter timetable is marketed at executives who need a broad understanding and experience of new disciplines. The more common variant is stretched over 5 days and is usually for first and second line production managers, engineers and key technical and commercial support staff. This enables us to accommodate more practical detail and offset the need to work late into the evenings. An introductory half day at the clients' premises which can help shorten the residential element and also reduce accommodation costs.

7XR has a distinguished history and has evolved from techniques used to train production managers in Japan. Forward Vision clients who have embraced this training include Daimler Benz, Rolls Royce Power, Cummins Engines, Draeger, General Motors, Fiat, UPM-Kymene, Geest, Domnick Hunter, Merloni and Crane Fruehauf.

7XR forms the last module of the Diploma in Manufacturing Excellence(qv), affording as it does the means of unifying all the essential elements of Lean / best practice and demonstrating, vividly and memorably, how these fit together.