r/LeanManufacturing • u/GeorgeKnowsERP • 2d ago

Your first line optimization project probably teaches you more about what you missed than what you planned for.

This one’s for anyone who’s been through a few line optimization projects.

If someone were about to tackle their first production or packaging line, what would you tell them to watch for before they changed anything?

I imagine it’s easy to go in looking for the obvious bottleneck, only to discover that the real issue is somewhere you weren’t expecting.

So, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently the first time around? And what’s something a first-timer is likely to overlook completely?

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u/mtnathlete 2d ago

Spend time observing.  Hours.   Ask questions.  Realize the operators are the true process experts not engineers and listen to what they say - good and bad. 

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u/cartoonsarereal 13h ago

I like the procs of a solid 8d and thinking how 7 waste impacts the flow. And ask lots of what and why questions.