Web Pages
Inventory Record Accuracy
Lean Implementation Series
Seminars
Cycle Counting & Inventory Accuracy
Tools
Cycle Count Estimator
(Excel Template)
Download Article
Inventory Record Accuracy Series
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Strategos
L e a n B r i e f i n g
The Newsletter of Lean Manufacturing Strategy
28
May 2008
www.strategosinc.com
Inventory Accuracy, Cycle Counting
& Lean
Counting That Really Counts
We rarely hear of
cycle counting as an
element of Lean Manufacturing. I suspect that Taiichi Ohno would have
turned purple at the idea and Shigeo Shingo would have dismissed it
sarcastically.
And, rightly so since
Cycle Counting, alone, is a backwards way to get accuracy. It fixes
errors after the fact (waste). It does nothing to prevent, and even encourages, future errors.
Yet, inventory and the need for accuracy will be with most firms for a long time. With poor accuracy,
the spectre of a stockout looms
large in the minds of many and this pervasive fear inhibits lean implementation.
What most firms need is not Cycle Counting
but an Inventory Accuracy program that
integrates with lean strategy. Such an approach includes:
-
Physical Inventory- One complete,
accurate, last, and final physical inventory to jump-start the program.
-
Error Prevention-
Aggressive efforts to identify and eliminate root causes of
inventory errors
and reduce the error creation rate.
-
Transaction Reduction-
Using Kanban, workcells and lean
to reduce the volume of transactions and, thus, new errors.
-
Cycle Counting-
To locate and correct those errors that do enter the system.
If shortages and high inventory hamper your lean efforts, our new
pages on
Inventory Accuracy and
our
Cycle
Counting Seminar may interest you. We also have a free
Cycle
Count Estimator to estimate count frequency.
Regards,
Quarterman Lee
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