Construction Equipment Manufacturer Measurably Improves Productivity, Safety, Quality, Customer Service & Cost
Challenge
At its 52 manufacturing locations and 30 distribution yards, this construction equipment manufacturer essentially operated with a “hero culture.” It was an organization that was run by a group of hard-working, highly talented “heroes” on sheer strength, will, and knowledge. “Every location did things differently,” said the Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Operations. “Due to the lack of standard business processes, there was a lot of variation and waste in our systems.”
Opportunity
We knew that a hero culture held up by only a handful of Driven Leaders would only take the company so far. So, we began focusing on establishing and integrating the two other foundational elements needed for a lasting, high-performance culture: Guiding Principles & Proven Systems.
Our Response
We began by developing a strategy deployment process and conducting training at seven focus sites, which have since been labeled “Centers of Excellence.” The training covered topics that included problem-solving, value stream mapping, and daily management. We also conducted targeted Kaizen activity, such as setup reduction on the company’s critical machines to increase capacity. Another Kaizen concentrated on 3P (Production Preparation Process) to improve the packaging methods of the company’s bulk product handling, storage, and retrieval processes. Our Talent Solutions team also performed targeted recruitment and helped the company source plant managers and continuous improvement managers.
Results
Year over year, the company’s customer service levels improved by 76%. The company also saw an increase in productivity by 16% improvement year over year. If that weren’t enough, the company’s “pounds manufactured per head” has improved by over 10%, and their production rate has improved by more than 15%. On the operations side of things, the company realized a 12.5% improvement in scrap rate.
Key Outcomes
