THE HIDDEN OBSTACLES OF CONTINUOUS FLOW: A CASE STUDY

Continuous flow is a straightforward concept-easy to visualize but hard to materialize. This paper is not about sustaining but initiating a mindset of continuous flow. Working professionals, in their attempts to streamline and orchestrate the flows of information, materials, and work, face a road of obstacles that range from the operations not being conditioned for continuous flow and “I can't” mindsets from production associates that make it harder to flip the switch from a push, intermittent and bumpy operations to a pull, continuous, and smooth operations. We present a case of a company that was unprepared for continuous flow. This paper argues that raising awareness of those “hidden” or frequently neglected obstacles is the first step to overcoming them. Data from initial assessments of conventional lean metrics (lead time, cycle time, non-value-added percentage, walking distance, wait times, inventory levels, etc.) was pivotal to showing uncomfortable truths about disruptive operations. Leadership was pivotal in refocusing the attention on the future state with projected data. Overcoming one paradigm at a time and small, visible gains on the shopfloor were crucial. Listening sessions and discussion meetings were instrumental in overcoming one of the most challenging obstacles to continuous flow-the “I can't” mindset.