Barkeep, another Lean beer please

Joe Jancsurak
Editor

That’s right, Lean, as in Lean Flow, a manufacturing philosophy that could benefit commercial growers willing to think outside the greenhouse box.

What does Lean Flow have to do with greenhouse growers? A lot. Manufacturers buy raw material, add labor and overhead, and produce finished products – computers, cars, widgets, it doesn’t matter. Growers, meanwhile, buy raw material (plant material, soil, hard goods, etc.), add labor (sticking, fixing, pulling, watering, etc.), add overhead (greenhouse expense, management salaries, utilities, etc.), and produce finished products – plants in various stages.

This is the message of Gary Cortés, a partner with Dillon, Colo.-based FlowVision, LLC, www.flowvision.com, and writer of “Growers should go with the flow” on page 18. The article is the first of a two-part series on how to transform greenhouse operations into lean “factories” by doing more with less. He’ll also be speaking on Lean at Cultivate14 (www.cultivate14.org/) in July in Columbus.

When Cortes isn’t writing articles and speaking at industry events, he’s consulting with greenhouse and nursery operators who get it. Lean, that is. “If you’re going to do it, you have to embrace it, or else don’t do it at all,” said Cortés during a recent phone conversation.

He went on to give examples of how to make Lean a part of your everyday life. For example, “In the kitchen, keep the pots and pans you use regularly at a close distance in the front of the cabinets or cupboards,” Gerson said. “The ones that you don’t use regularly, keep in the back of the cupboards.” The same holds true for tools in the workshop or garage.

As for the beer reference, Cortes says Lean, as it pertains to time management and work flow, can even be put into play at your favorite bar (or any bar for that matter).

Here’s how: First, order two beers or drinks of your choice. When you receive your drinks, tell the server that when a coaster is empty you’ll require another drink. Then, consume the beverage from the front coaster. When your glass is empty, put it aside and pull the next beverage from the back coaster to the front coaster. The empty coaster is the signal that tells the server you need another drink. The second coaster should cover the amount of time it takes the server to replenish your beverage. You are now replenishing based on consumption.

Get it? Now find a pub and start practicing. Cheers!

Joe Jancsurak, Editor | jjancsurak@gie.net
216-236-5960 | Twitter: @Greenhousemag