You've Got an Urgent Business Case for Lean. Now What?

During the preparation phase, the general director expressed to all employees that a lean company was the priority strategy, and conveyed how this would benefit customers, the company and employees. By implementing lean to improve capacity, the company would be able to increase revenue, improve customer satisfaction, reduce conversion cost per unit and give employees the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the future of the company. 

Planning established the initial scope as a small business unit.  The operations director became the prominent leader during the implementation.  The operations director led the cross-functional implementation team of operators, quality inspectors, leaders from sales, operations, quality, maintenance, logistics and finance. Specific target milestones were developed. Business leaders and the implementation team were trained in the lean philosophy, methodology and specific tool of Value Stream Mapping to identify bottlenecks and significant wastes. They developed a future value stream map to increase capacity 60% over the next six months and an implementation plan to remove bottlenecks on a two-week cycle.

The key bottlenecks were equipment change-over time, unplanned downtime, wait time on material and quality defects. Execution started with the basics of 5S housekeeping, standardized work and visual management. Every morning at the beginning of the shift, the implementation team had a five-minute meeting on the production floor to define production targets of the day. During the day, operators started measuring every step of the production line using an internet of things device and calculated each day the overall equipment effectiveness. Then, at the end of the day, the team had a final five-minute meeting to evaluate the results of the day and understand the main causes of problems.

Then the top bottleneck for each step in the flow was addressed. This demonstrated capacity was improving within 3 months. Improvement cycles then addressed the next set of bottlenecks through the entire flow, thus achieving the next set of milestones. 

The main tools implemented to increase capacity were quick change-over preparation, total productive maintenance, kanban, error-proofing and cross-training.

The results were remarkable: an increase of almost 40% in revenue and a 15% reduction in conversion costs. In the beginning, not all were convinced. Some opposed the initiative, but resistance to change decreased with the significant results.

The expansion built upon the large victories from the previous stage and focused on increasing capacity in other business lines and integrating lean into other functions like sales, logistics and product development. Continuous improvement never ends; therefore Verde Valle is always executing improvement cycles with value to the customer, company and employee always in mind.

Takeaway:  Time to Reimagine Lean

Rapid deployment offers a revitalized lean methodology, aligned with today’s fast-paced business landscape.  To unlock its full potential, it is crucial to reimagine lean as an approach for swift sustained gains in productivity, profitability and  competitiveness. Isn’t it time you gave lean a fresh look?