Will Sampson talks about lean manufacturing and automation and how they can work together. Then he continues the conversation with Brad Cairns of Quantum Lean and Best Damn Doors in an interview recorded live at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta.
This episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast was sponsored by Wood Pro Expo Lancaster. You don’t have to wait a year for the next big industrial woodworking show if you are near the Mid-Atlantic area. Wood Pro Expo Lancaster offers a lot of what the big shows have including machinery in action, a show floor with a wide selection of exhibitors offering show specials, and a conference full of educational sessions to boost your business. All of that in a convenient setting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Network with peers, learn about ways to improve your business, and see your next machine in action at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, October 13-14, at Spooky Nook Sports Center. Learn more at WoodProExpoLancaster.com. See you there!
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, Wood Pro Expo. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Lean vs. automation
Automation was everywhere at the recent International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta. There was a robot and/or CNC machine in every aisle. I led a daylong CNC symposium the day before the show opened, and there was lots of discussion in that event about automated material handling. Lots of the people selling automated equipment portray the technology as a solution to not being able to hire enough skilled workers.
But I kept wondering where lean manufacturing fits into this equation. I know serious lean proponents who operate both automated and non-automated operations. Some of both camps were at the show. With lean so focused on continuous improvement and driving efficiency, why isn’t everyone who advocates lean buying the latest in technology?
The answers to these questions are complicated, but I think fundamentally there are some misperceptions about how technology works and the role automation should play in a business.
Years ago, when computers first started making an appearance in woodworking shops, there was resistance by some who saw computerization as some kind of dilution of craftsmanship. If I use a keyboard and a mouse to design a project instead of pencil and paper, is that somehow cheating? And if I use a computerized machine to actually make all or part of the project, that’s a bridge too far for some people.
I just don’t see it that way. I see both lean and automation as tools that complement each other. In fact, if you try to automate without having a solid lean continuous improvement program in place, you might have a more difficult time of dealing with the changes automation naturally brings, like creating new bottlenecks that you did not anticipate.
No matter what or how you automate, you need good processes in place to take full advantage of your automation. Lean helps create those processes by identifying waste and building systems to reduce or eliminate that waste. Some of the non-automated lean proponents I know haven’t adopted automation because they are still finding so many ways to improve their shops without expensive technology that they just don’t yet see the need. But automated lean operations see robotics and CNC as natural parts of a dynamic lean enterprise.
What is too often overlooked is that no one thing is a silver bullet that will heal all that ails your operation. Getting that first-time CNC or robot is not different than putting in your first lean processes. In both cases they will solve one or two bottlenecks but move those bottlenecks somewhere else in your operation. You can’t just buy machines to solve problems, and to get the most out of machines you have to put the right processes in place. In my view, lean manufacturing principles provide the road map to choose what to automate first and when, and those same principles continue to point the way after you start on a road to automation without sacrificing any quality.
I want to get to our interview with Brad Cairns, but first let’s pause for a word from our sponsor:
You don’t have to wait a year for the next big industrial woodworking show if you are near the Mid-Atlantic area. Wood Pro Expo Lancaster offers a lot of what the big shows have including machinery in action, a show floor with a wide selection of exhibitors offering show specials, and a conference full of educational sessions to boost your business. All of that in a convenient setting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Network with peers, learn about ways to improve your business, and see your next machine in action at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, October 13-14, at Spooky Nook Sports Center. Learn more at WoodProExpoLancaster.com. See you there!
Now let’s get to our interview with Brad Cairns: