I want to pause before proceeding to the second driver, uninterrupted flow, to reflect on an important point. The process of rapidly deploying waste-free manufacturing is a series of events and/or actions that sequentially link its four drivers. As you move the linkage process forward throughout the operation, the level of implementation and the subsequent results pick up considerable speed. The first task is getting a selected area in the factory up to a level II in workplace organization, and then to begin to link the basics of driver two, uninterrupted flow, to what has thus far been accomplished in workplace organization. Next you need to move forward with a linkage of driver two to three (error-free processing), and finally driver three to four (insignificant changeover). (See Figure 5-2.) Remember, we are striving to build a foundation for continuous improvement, from which you can make dramatic, significant, and rapid change.

Figure 5-2: Levels and Linkages of the Four Drivers

By the time the first pilot area is at the point mentioned above, it is then time to start the same process in another selected area of the factory. In essence, by the time the first area is brought up to full speed on all the drivers, tools, and techniques of WFM, most areas of the factory will have at least started work on the first driver (WPO). This is a totally different approach than is commonly used in implementing world class manufacturing techniques in a...