LEAN TIPS Over-production is the worst of all waste. Meat processors have long made money by making product today, freezing it and taking in big profits later. This business strategy should be revisited given the current global and national economy. Consider whether or not it is really profitable to place meat products in the freezer on the speculation that there will be a market day that brings returns that outweigh the costs. In over-processing the workers cut larger portions than needed. Workers may add extra spices or trim excessively. Over-packaging can occur with additional paper, wrapping or thicker millage than required. Sometimes production workers weigh precisely when there is substantial tolerance or exact weights are not in the specification. Or the reverse may be true and "give-away" is out of tolerance. In short, more effort or material is put into a product than is required. Rework is a term that describes processing needed to correct mis- Product processed and ready to ship is the main goal for production management. takes. Rework results in additional time, material and labor costs. Rework results in lower net productivity. The reasons for rework, overprocessing and over-production are numerous. One factor that is often the culprit is excessive speed. More speed than is warranted creates breaks in flow. Furthermore, a production run does not have to go fast if there is no order (pull) for the output. For example, bottlenecks results occur when the grinder, sausage stuffer or bacon slicer is producing more product than wrapping, labeling or packaging 70 I MEAT&POULTRY I April 2009 I www.MEATPOULTRY.comhttp://www.MEATPOULTRY.com