Lean Integration Level Achieved
Managers at Ethicon's Juarez facility attribute much of the plant's growth -- from 19 employees in 1999 to more than 1,100 in 2011 -- to its focus on continuous improvement. In 2010, Ethicon reached J&J's Lean Integration level, the highest designation in the parent company's Lean Maturity Assessment.
The Integration level indicates the plant is working with all stakeholders throughout the supply chain to achieve lean goals, explains Edgar Vasquez, process excellence manager. For instance, the Secure Strap line has become such a success the plant is spending more than $4 million to improve capacity throughout its supply chain, including improvements for external suppliers, Schneider says.
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| Ethicon plant employees wind sutures and prepare them for sterilization. The plant produces nonabsorbable and absorbable sutures, the latter accounting for 70% of its suture portfolio. |
Secure Strap is a device used to attach hernia meshes during laparoscopic surgery, and it's the plant's first new product introduction. As of November, Ethicon was on pace to reach Secure Strap volumes that weren't expected until the seventh year of production, Schneider says. On the plant floor, workers used a Six Sigma methodology known as DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) during the initial product introduction phase to spot any potential issues before going live, says Manuel Ochoa, manufacturing facilitator. This included identifying a poka-yoke, or mistake-proofing, machine that reduced the likelihood of a potentially critical defect in the cannula subassembly.
The plant's "lean Sigma" strategy offers employees the opportunity to receive Six Sigma belt certifications. But the certification process at Ethicon's Juarez plant requires more than just standard training, says Luis Roman, vice president of manufacturing for Ethicon's Americas region.
"It's not about getting certified to get certified," he says. "You identify projects and opportunities, and link them with the certification program rather than just training to train."
