CC BY
13DOI: 10.24412/cl-37100-2023-12-74-81
A.-R. Kassou, S. Yakovenko
TRIZ and Production system: Methodological and Organizational View of their Interaction
SUMMARY
The methods of TRIZ and the Production system *differ in properties and opportunities, despite some similarity in their primary function while their application on production sites (search/solution of problems and shortcomings). This distinction is caused by the difference of classes and the nature of the studied problems. The experience of the implementation of TRIZ at the enterprises, where rather a wide experience of the implementation of the Production system has already been accumulated, shows both advantages and shortcomings of the interaction of these two concepts in the uniform space of resources and restrictions.
There is a set of viewpoints on how tools of these two methodologies must/can be integrated. Their review is presented in publications written by numerous authors. The aim of this research is the presentation of orderly theoretical and practical data on the integration perspective. In this article there was performed a task to suggest an updated approach based on the experience of the existence of two methodically aimed infrastructures (TRIZ and the Production system) at domestic enterprises.
* The Production system is a concept of lean production management at domestic enterprises, derivative from Lean manufacturing
Keywords: TRIZ, Lean, Production System (PS), Project, Project stage, Business Process (BP), Life cycle
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this research is the presentation of orderly theoretical and practical data on the integration perspective. In this article there was performed a task to suggest an updated approach based on the experience of the existence of two methodically aimed infrastructures (TRIZ and the Production system) at domestic enterprises. The authors investigate the questions of the search and use of potentially significant aspects of the integration in practical conditions of conducting a project activity. The perspective of the implementation of one infrastructure or a technique when there already exists and is being successfully applied another one is vital for innovative development.
SHORT SUMMARY OF PUBLICATIONS ON TRIZ AND PS INTEGRATION
The subject of the combined application of TRIZ with various techniques of product or production process (such as Lean, Six Sigma, TQM and etc.) development for the purpose of quality and production efficiency improvement is not new. However, the research results on this problem from various points of view have been published for two decades. The reason is that experts and departments of the available infrastructures on the well-known methodologies of change and improvement management at large companies not always well understand where to move further. Similarly, it unclears sometimes where and how to implement the methodology of innovative development and TRIZ, which are gaining the increasing popularity.
To understand what is lacking in understanding of the status and the research results of such an integration it is necessary to classify them by the directions and to get acquainted with the materials of the publications devoted to the matter.
In this article, the consideration of the problem is narrowed down to the issue of integrating TRIZ with PS (localized version of the lean production1 concept introduced at Russian enterprises). A practical approach to their methodological and organizational interaction is also presented. This issue is debatable and there is no unambiguous opinion about the way to coordinate the implementation.
1 Lean production is lean production. The system of the organization of production developed by Japanese automobile giant Toyota.
The first direction is a review of conceptual properties of each methodology of TRIZ and Lean, their similarities and distinctions as well as ideas of their potential combination [1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 17].
The second direction is the adaptation of the concepts and purpose of the tools in order to ensure their general perception by different methodologists. A detailed studying of the fields of method crossover is available here. [1, 2, 10, 11, 13]
The third direction is a process integration of the TRIZ and PS methods in design and innovative activity. [5, 9]
The fourth direction is an experience of the combined use of these approaches in applied tasks of production process, the review of integration opportunities through a prism of examples and cases. [6, 11, 15]
The fifth direction is a narrow-purpose integration application (on the industry, on the purpose). [7, 14, 18]
In their publications the authors pursued different aims while investigating the issue. At different stages of the TRIZ and Lean bi-system development it is possible to notice the domination of one of the component concepts (when it is offered that the tools of one of the techniques become optional or an integral part of the other's roadmap).
The authors want to note the qualitative review of a wide range of publications and cases of tasks under consideration on the matter in question. [12]
METHODOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS OF TRIZ AND PS
Although the purpose of TRIZ and PS may outwardly have some similarities and differences in the terminology of the methods used (identification and elimination of shortcomings), there are several features and differences that guide each of them into different implementation areas, which does not reduce but rather emphasizes the importance of their smart combination.
Let's consider some of these differences. The PS clearly determines the main and derivative values as well as the ways of their creation, which is the guide to the methodological procedure organization. In TRIZ, the values of the object under consideration and the subject area can be different and specific, which makes it possible to set a variety of tasks with different levels of complexity. There are three of the common values for PS and TRIZ, namely, cost reduction, productivity growth and quality improvement.
In the PS, the effectiveness of each tool is determined by the built-in process measurement mechanism for the proposed improvements or changes. For example, the Kaizen forms specify the target and actual cost-effectiveness calculation. However, the specified limitations of the PS tools do not allow considering the issue more broadly, in terms of other systems and components. For example, in PS stream analysis is considered from the flow organization perspective whereas in TRIZ it
is carried out systemically to identify 'bottle necks', flow-riders, gray zones and resource optimization. The use of TRIZ roadmaps and tools provides a large degree of freedom for the researcher, but on the other hand, this property complicates the assessment of their activity effectiveness.
A careful quantitative calculation of losses (Muda , which is provided in PS, is a private vector to ensure the ideality of the systems provided for in TRIZ, which offers a comprehensive qualitative assessment of the parameters (useful and harmful functionality (functions), costs and etc.).
More detailed information about the characteristics of the two concepts that are important while analyzing the ways of their combining and role distribution comes as follows:
Table 1. Comparison of Characteristics of TRIZ and PS concepts
PS TRIZ
Task Type identification and elimination of losses (unnecessary motion, overproduction, waiting, over-processing and defects) - quality and safety improvement in work areas - standardization of works - identification and resolution of key issues - technical and design tasks - management tasks - patent strategies - technology forecasting - production cost reduction - productivity improvement - product quality increase
Problem Class Problems that can be solved promptly and easily. There is no problem complexity classifier Solving complex inventive problems that have not been solved by applying the well-known methods and knowledge in the domain. There is a problem complexity classifier
Objects of change Production site and personnel actions. Flows of goods and services. Processes with the biggest waste. Logistics. Documentation Technical systems. Products and technologies
Nature of changes to objects Reduction of the number and time of operations. Reduction of defects and material losses in the production process. Optimization of work zones and personnel actions. Creation of favorable working conditions System components collapse. Reduction of harmful functions. Implementation of new technologies and effects. Systema-tization and globality (changes in supersystem components). Implementation of a new operating principle and radical system changes
Methods of scanning and handling problems Regularity and fixation of observations on Gembe4, loss measurement and change result control. Staff survey. Documentation change. The methodology has a fixed set of standard calculation and analytical procedures. Identification of key issues. Analysis of consumer values. Comparative analysis of systems and technologies. System resource analysis and development. The methodology does not provide for a continuous process of data collection and analysis at production sites.
Peculiarities of Workshops and activities for site monitoring. Calculation of the Analytical steps to identify and address key issues.
PS TRIZ
Project Activity specified data forms and using the reporting document templates. Presentation of Kaizens4 The implementation process generally does not require additional infrastructure and management resources. Verification of solution directions with the stakeholders. The process of implementing TRIZ solutions requires additional infrastructure and management resources.
Standardized Work Continual monitoring of work to add a value or business need. One-off evaluation of functional model for functional and system component optimization.
Quality Control Improvement effectiveness control through comparative measurements before and after changes are implemented. An additional business process is required to interact with quality assurance services. Quality control is not provided by TRIZ measurement tools.
Tool implementation principles 1- 'Think about the customer' 2- Personnel are the most valuable asset' 3- 'Culture of continuous improvement - Kaizen' 4- 'All attention is directed to the production site - Gemba'. 1- Identification and resolution of key issues (through the target analysis) 2- Summary of problems and ways to resolve them 3- Achieving system ideality
Creative stage External design of Kaizen lists when presenting the initial situation and the situation after the changes have been implemented. At each of the design stages, it is possible to realize the creative potential of the performer of a particular analytical tool, both in the way the data is presented and in idea generation processes for solving primary and secondary problems
Key performance indicators - KPIs Direct linkage to methodological tools. The tools are oriented towards economic impact Their performance depends on the setting of tasks. It is necessary to establish links between KPIs and the TRIZ project activity (the actual economic effect obtained, the number of the projects completed, the innovative component of the implemented solutions and etc.)
Automation Processes and tools are easy to automate. Software and hardware solutions for monitoring and fixation make it possible to apply PS in the background without compromising the main working process There are significant limitations in the automation of the methods and road maps for a large number of typical tasks
'Kaizen' is a Japanese philosophy or practice that focuses on the continuous improvement ofpro-
duction, development, auxiliary business, and management processes as well as all aspects of life (Wikipedia).
'Muda' is a Japanese word that means loss, waste, i.e., any activity that consumes resources but does not create value.
4 'Gemba' is a designation of the approach characteristic of Japanese management practice kaizen, according to which for a full understanding of the situation it is necessary to come to the Gemba, which is the place of the work process execution, collect the necessary information and make a decision right on the spot.
AREAS OF FRUITFUL COOPERATION OF METHODS
In one of the studies [5], a comparative analysis of the volume of the solved problems was carried out in five TRIZ complexity classes in two situations: (Fig. 1 (a)) without TRIZ integration with PS and (Fig. 1 (b)) with a combination of the two methodologies.
Figure 1 (a). Comparative analysis of the solved problems
Figure 1 (b). Comparative analysis of the solved problems
According to the study, the following changes were noted in the second situation:
• Level 1 - obvious solutions: - 30%
• Level 2 - minor improvements: + 48%.
• Level 3 - main improvements: + 179%.
• Level 4 - new paradigms: + 78%
• Level 5 - opening: 0%.
Thus, the number of obvious Level 1 solutions fell by 30% using the joint methodology. This is the desired effect as the Level 1 reduced solutions move to more robust solutions at Levels 2, 3 and 4. This often leads to the organization releasing a new product line that is one or two levels higher than the one of its competitors.
When combining the two methodologies, you need to reorganize their business processes (BPs). Such a reorganization can be achieved through the following steps (1 or 1 + 2):
1) Adaptation of two di fferent BPs: Reorganization of BPs of one infrastructure so that at certain stages of the project activity it is possible to attract participants and the methods of another infrastructure. This means preserving the lifecycle of the two business processes. This process can be lengthy and last from one to five years depending on the scale of implementation (enterprise department, business departments and corporation). Without a period of successful project execution in the context of role switching, it is impossible to proceed to the next step and achieve sustainable integration.
2) Combining BPs into one: When it becomes clear which methods and resources can be effectively used at which design stages the transition to activity planning to merge the two BPs into a single process starts to be available, which can mark the transition to an innovative and streamlined process that requires fewer management resources and gives transparency to the role interaction as well as helps to avoid duplication of functions and project tasks.
Since the PS is more on Gemba than TRIZ, the obvious solution is that TRIZ can more efficiently use the PS to collect input (primary) data at the analytical stage of solving the problem as well as at the most important stage, which is the implementation of TRIZ solutions into the production since PS is closer to production and production personnel than TRIZ, with regard to and due to the fact that PS had been implemented for many years before TRIZ was. TRIZ can also, at the analytical stage, very successfully, use data from standard PS forms, for example, timing forms and movement trajectories etc.
Other positive features of PS that can and should be developed and implemented in TRIZ in order to successfully compete in large-scale production:
1. Creation of mass corporate TRIZ culture. Development of team spirit.
2. Continuity of implementation, use and development.
3. Use of gaming techniques.
4. Creation and use Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs).
5. Development of typical TRIZ forms for data collection and solutions (analogue of PS forms).
6. Simplification of learning, i.e., creation of more effective TRIZ training materials.
CONCLUSION - PENDING A BREAKTHROUGH
In this article, approaches on the optimal and effective way of integrating two methodically directed infrastructures (TRIZ and Production System) are presented to specialists in the field of methodological development. These approaches, on the one hand, are based on the theoretical and
practical experience of previous studies, and on the other hand take into account the achievements and challenges of practical implementation of the ones at national enterprises. Thus, the set target tasks of the authors' research have been solved and are available to the interested parties and organizations.
There is a wealth of experience in the practical development of PS at our national enterprises where the pace of TRIZ implementation is also increasing. Despite a limited set of tools, the PS model is being improved, namely the transfer of properties from one development concept to another is being carried out [19]. The presence in the modern TRIZ of roadmaps and tools for forecasting business development and functional search for technologies allows approaching this integration systemically and innovatively when solving problems and management tasks.
Disadvantages and a small number of PS methods are striking (for example, timing, analysis of movement trajectories), and the authors suggest that TRIZ should soon be forced to add PS methods to the system level, using the concepts, principles and approaches of TRIZ, and, as a result, a TRIZ version will appear, which will be more targeted at production rather than the theoretical solution of problems, namely the production TRIZ, or lean TRIZ. TRIZ experts predict that refined PS methods using the TRIZ methods will be much more effective than the existing ones. This will bring production closer to the innovative development of large production.
The hopes and expectations placed on the combination and interaction of the elements of the two concepts under consideration, each of which individually has great potential for continuous improvement and innovation, can be realized under the condition of a competent and diligent organizational and methodological process. Literacy comes with experience and the conducting of a lot of integration tests and pilot sites since this area is still considered to be a new one, and the localization of the application of each of the methods has its own individual infrastructure circumstances and opportunities.
It would be naive to believe that leading experts in any field of PS or TRIZ will be able to go through a long and effective path of integration without 'trial and error' as well as without developing the potential of methodologies and not expanding the horizons of their application. It is also very important to understand that the key success factor is the spread of a culture of thinking patterns in terms of both PS and TRIZ among all the employees of an organization, starting from production and servicing to managerial and expert capacities. It is important for the management to understand that the lack of correct practical understanding together with the division of values of one of the development concepts leads to imminent failures in the pace of reaching breakthrough success stories.
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