Production economics student Henna Louhi has been working this year at Jaakkoo-Taara, developing both Toyme’s Health & Safety service and the 6S system for production.
– Service will include a 6S form, which can be used to check what each workstation should look like to meet the 6S criteria. I went through what 6S is together with the production employees. At the workstation, there should only be the tools and materials needed for the work, and they should be neatly in their designated places. This way, we avoid wasting time, as everything is where it should be and easy to find, Louhi explains about the 6S system.
Not all workstations have a 6S form yet, so Louhi’s employment contract will continue until spring. In addition to 6S, Louhi has been working on the H & S service, which began to be adapted to Jaakkoo-Taara’s needs over the summer.
– I have been one of the people responsible for the Toyme project. I have planned and organized both internal meetings at Jaakkoo-Taara and meetings between Jaakkoo-Taara and the service. In these meetings, we have jointly defined the service’s goals and development needs, Louhi says.
The Health & Safety service includes various forms and registers, and Louhi has customized the service to fit Jaakkoo-Taara’s needs, for example, by creating tailored forms related to 6S and gemba walks, and by transferring information into the service, such as user accounts for all employees and importing data from the equipment and card registers. When Jaakkoo-Taara transitions to the new system at the end of the year, all old and new safety reports will also be found in the same place.
– Everything necessary should be available in one place. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility in the project, and people have trusted me, which has felt really great, Louhi says.
H & S service itself produces data based on the completed forms and reports, which can be reviewed within the service. Forms related to the ongoing Lean project, such as the gemba walk form, can also be found in service.
– During a gemba walk, production management is taken to the production floor to see what operations actually look like in practice. They are looking for concrete things that can help streamline processes, Louhi explains.
Taking a major role in the project has been a valuable and educational experience for Louhi in terms of her future career.
– I’ve learned an enormous amount over the summer. The work tasks have been varied, and I’ve been given responsibility. I’m also glad that the Lean project was running at the same time and that I’ve been able to participate in it, since the Lean philosophy directly relates to what I study. In the future, I’d be happy to be part of another new project at Jaakkoo-Taara, Louhi says.