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Definitions/Water Spider.md

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+A water spider or ”_mizusumashi”_ in Japanese is a person who has a prescribed set of tasks to keep materials in stock at the point of use in production areas and reduce [[Buffer Time]] of regular production activities.
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+A water spider's purpose is to handle the replenishment tasks so the production-oriented personnel can focus on revenue-generating activities.
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+They should make their rounds the same way and perform replenishment tasks identically each and every time. They take finished goods from the work area, drop [[kanban cards]], refill bins from central locations, and remove waste materials. All of these tasks keep the operators in their work areas and keep production flowing.
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+## Warnings about using water spiders
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+- A water spider might not perform their role full-time, but it's critical for them to make their rounds at regular, expected intervals.
+- Water spiders move between different areas with different leadership, making standardization much more important. Visual guides and nomenclature must be standardized for water spiders to function well. For example, [[5S lists]] should be standard in each area the water spider will operate.
+- During their rounds a water spider should only do their prescribed tasks. There is a tendency for managers to think of water spiders as secondary to production, which can tempt managers to assign water spiders additional tasks. Don't treat a water spider as an excess person or a floater.
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+## General tasks of a water spider at LDR
+A water spider should circulate the whole production floor on a set interval, stopping in each key production area to handle any replenishment needs. In between intervals, the water spider should be focused on [[STOW]].
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+The water spider is expected to circulate the production floor on a regular basis and resolve the following issues at each production area:
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+- Make note of low supplies or consumables, such as tape, packing materials, printer paper, etc. and replenish low supplies.
+- Monitor the central distribution point of supplies for low quantities and report them to the [[Quality Manager]].
+- Break down boxes and remove trash.
+- Replace spent racks/bins with new ones.
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