Case Study Number
2
The
purpose of this project was to reduce cost and throughput time as well
as improve accuracy of the product. The major customer was complaining
about the length of time it took to get their product, and the backlog
of work was large and growing. Over the course of this project, an
assessment was conducted that guided the improvement efforts and several
workshops to implement work in the organization. The result was a
dramatic increase in throughput time and a resulting decrease in the backlog.
The
client is a technical publishing company that has been in business since
1969. They produce an Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC). The IPC provides
airlines, repair agencies, truck operators, and oil exploration companies
with information that facilitates repair and maintenance of complex and
expensive equipment. Each IPC is customized for the specific user.
There were 1,600 employees in the company with approximately half of those
in the operation where these improvements took place.
This
was a fairly comprehensive project consisting of:
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• |
Executive
engagement and education |
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• |
Employee
education on lean principles |
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• |
An
Assessment to understand the entire value stream and prioritize opportunities
for improvement based on data |
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• |
Four
Improvement Workshops to introduce flow into the system and to refine and
replicate that flow across the organization. |
The
project team consisted of the Director of Quality, two improvement specialists,
a plant manager and three of his direct reports.
We
used our Lean Assessment and Service Improvement methodologies. The Lean
Assessment is a process that allows for a broad look across the entire
value stream and takes into consideration data from various constituencies
such as: Customers, Management, Employees, Competition and Strategic direction.
A team of employees led by a consultant mapped the key processes (Level
One and Level Two) in the value streams and collected data on process performance.
Current and anticipated future strategic direction of the company, competitive
threats, employee satisfaction and barriers to performance and customer
priorities were documented for each process. There were fourteen
processes assessed: Engineering Parts Listing, Illustration, Training,
Computer processing, Catalog Assembly, Provisioning, Order Processing,
Customer Support, Computer Programming, Shipping, Micrographics, Reprographics,
Production Control and Billing. This was done over a five-day period across
four plants. The data was analyzed to determine opportunities for
improvement and prioritization. From this Lean Assessment the team made
a recommendation to management regarding where to focus cost reduction
efforts and an estimate of magnitude. The recommendations were accepted
and the improvement effort was launched. For each of the chosen areas,
further definition was documented through the use of a five-day Improvement
Workshop. This five-day event focused on a particular process and involved
subject matter experts working in the process. Each assigned team
documented detail process steps (Level Three and Four), developed a “to-be”
process map, determined changes needed and implemented those changes over
the course of the workshop or shortly thereafter.
Workshop
#1 focused on the elimination of waste and the flow of work through the
parts compiling, quality control and illustration processes. The workshop
team established a “work cell.” The results were dramatic and can
be seen in the Results section. Having achieved success with the
first workshop, management got ready to replicate the work across the entire
operation of 800 employees. Prior to this, the employees in the initial
work cell, conducted a second workshop which refined the processes further
and achieved an additional 25% reduction in throughput time.
Management
reorganized the entire operation into work cells. Additional workshops
established and implemented a roll-out plan. Over one weekend, 600 employees
in two of three buildings were rearranged into work cells. Two weeks later
a smaller group of people was also rearranged. Overall throughput time
was reduced from 110 days to 8 days.
| The
following table displays the results in direct labor hours reduction after
implementation. There was an 85% reduction in average direct labor
hours used per unit of raw material consumed. |
|
All
layers of the company must feel ownership of final plan for it to have
lasting success. Specifically, top leadership needs to participate
in the improvement effort in visible ways and needs to and remove obstacles
as they arise. Follow-up is critical to document and
adapt
new activities.
Rowney
Consulting
10910
S. Bremer Road
Canby,
OR 97013-6705
Phone:
503-266-5492
Fax:
503-266-3610
Cell:
503-989-1897
Email:
mike@rowneyconsulting.com
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