Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit 2019, we spoke with Competitive Solutions to discuss their Process Based Leadership model. This Q&A e-book explores the challenges manufacturers face when implementing transformation, what steps manufacturers need to take in order to implement transformation, and the benefits of leveraging Competitive Solutions’ Process Based Leadership model. This is an excerpt from the interview we did with Competitive Solutions: “What challenges do companies face in implementing transformation? The number one challenge companies face in implementing change is transformation is not starting with the leadership team. CSI prefers to work first with the leadership of an organization to ensure they have the skills necessary to “lead by example” and mentor the general population of employees. Our deployment approach is a “Level Based” and pragmatic process. Launching with the Site Leadership Team and building both ownership and capability within the team, validating team progress and proficiency, and then migrating the deployment to the next level within the organization has been the hallmark of CSI’s success. Keeping the implementation simple, succinct, and sustainable have proven to be the keys to CSI’s organizational transformation success.” Click through to access the full e-book here.
Read More →Workforce Management Manufacturing: Interview with SchedulePro
Sachin Agrawal is the CEO of SchedulePro, a leading workforce management solution provider for the manufacturing, petroleum and corrections industries, whose customers include Procter & Gamble, a Big 3 auto manufacturer and Shell Oil. As an expert on workforce efficiency and labor cost reduction, Sachin has a track record of significantly increasing productivity and reducing costs for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to SchedulePro, Sachin was a product leader at Microsoft where he developed enterprise-scale products for Windows, MSN and Windows Server. Prior to the American Manufacturing Summit, we spoke with SchedulePro to discuss workforce management in the manufacturing industry. This is an excerpt from the interview with SchedulePro: “Why should manufacturers choose automated employee scheduling over manual scheduling? Increased productivity and the ability to quickly improve their bottom line are two of SchedulePro’s most significant benefits for manufacturers looking to reduce labor costs and improve employee working conditions. An automated solution will also produce staff schedules that are more compliant than manual scheduling solutions, helping manufacturers avoid issues with regulatory and union bodies.”
Read More →Achieving Exceptional Manufacturing Performance & Quality: System-Based Performance Solutions
Q&A with Performance Solutions by Milliken Any improvement methodology is only as effective as its execution. Many manufacturers fail to support their improvement initiatives with a performance management system to provide guidelines and oversight. These companies typically struggle just to stabilize their operations, much less improve. To institute success and drive organizations towards increased safety, productivity and efficiency, Performance Solutions by Milliken utilizes the Milliken Performance System. This system is built upon a foundation of strategic clarity and safety and is focused on engaging all associates in the uncompromising pursuit of zero safety incidents, creating alignment between operations and businesses and resulting in lean enterprise.
Read More →Sustaining a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Implementing lean initiatives can be a challenge, but sustaining them is even harder. As Mark Reich, COO of the Lean Enterprise Institute, told the crowd at the American Manufacturing Summit, “to be sustainable, it has to be more than a program. As long as it’s a program, it’s not going to be sustainable. Because as soon as whoever’s program it is leaves, it’s not going to sustain. So it has to be built into the company’s fundamental way of doing business.” In other words, it needs to become part of the culture. Once you have made the case for change and built the concept of continuous improvement into the culture of your organization, it is leadership’s responsibility to continue to nurture this culture. In his presentation, “Culture: The Definitive Piece in your CI Journey,” at the American Manufacturing Summit, Mark Gooch, GVP, Operations & Lean Enterprise at Pentair, gave the following tips to the audience on sustaining a culture of continuous improvement.
Read More →Lean Implementation throughout the Supply Chain
So you’ve been successful at implementing your own lean initiative, but now you’re being squeezed by your customers, who want lower prices and higher quality, and your shareholders who want higher profits. How do you satisfy both stakeholders? Generis thought leaders from Navistar, Under Armour, Toyota, the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Wabash Corporation share how they have worked with their suppliers to implement lean throughout the supply chain to decrease cost and improve product quality.
Read More →Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement: The Case for Change
A lot has been written about how to truly implement continuous improvement processes and lean initiatives, you need to embed it in the culture of the organization. “Every company in manufacturing has to develop an operating philosophy, a standard methodology, and a language that creates a culture that focuses on continuous improvement,” Byron Greene, former VP & Head of Vehicle Assembly at FCA, explains. But how does an organization go about doing this? Michele Calbi, former VP, Lean Transformation at Navistar, told the audience at the 2016 American Manufacturing Summit, “You have to create a case for change. It is extremely powerful. If you can drive that passion into the employees, you will see amazing things.” She shared a few stories of companies that have pulled themselves out of dire situations by creating a powerful case for change.
Read More →Why your lean initiative may not be working
At the 2016 American Manufacturing Summit, Byron Greene, former VP Manufacturing at FCA (now VP Manufacturing at Whirlpool), told us: “Over the last 20 years at Chrysler, we’ve had at least four versions of the Toyota Production System. Each started with fanfare, great enthusiasm, and intent, and they failed. The focus was on the tools, the technical side, without understanding the essence of the method as a whole.” He says that where many organizations go wrong is that they emphasize the technical aspects of TPS, “which totally misses the cultural change that is necessary to make it work over time.” To really implement lean properly, and bring about cultural change, you need to first understand the culture, then go slow, and build trust. Learn from our thought leaders about how they have done this in their organizations.
Read More →Performance Behavior: the Lean Methodology for Continuously Improving Performance Behavior
The book ‘Performance Behavior’ (by Neil Webers) describes how an organization can link performance to behavior to minimize waste and optimize performance behavior. 8 FORMS OF HUMAN-WASTE are outlined which obstruct continuous improvement: Leadership-waste the result from too much push-management (based on authority) Comfort-waste the result of targets that aren’t enough stretching Communication-waste the result of misunderstandings that usually originate from meetings Discipline-waste the result when people are not being held accountable for not adhering to standards Goal-waste the result of employees having no idea of what is expected of them Engagement-waste the result of asking people to take responsibility for events or results which they cannot influence themselves Solving-waste the waste of capacity to solve problems when people work on solving problems without focusing on the root-cause of a problem Tuning-waste is the waste where people talk about different problems or solutions Find out more below!
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