Case Studies

Goal: Grow sales of small business

Client: Apparel Distributor (10 employees)

Problem / Situation

• Company’s sales were flat for the prior three years.
• Key staff person was leaving
• The president was overwhelmed working day-to-day in the business, rather than working on strategy and sales to grow the business.

Approach

Coaching the president, we found ways to improve his daily effectiveness, which freed time to focus on new and major sales efforts. Best practice sales techniques were used to reduce “chasing” prospects that weren’t buying and improve quote hit rates. The work processes of the person resigning were captured before he left, and we supported the recruitment/hiring process by defining the job skills and experience needed and screening candidates for the client.

Results

This coaching engagement improved personal effectiveness and company productivity:

• Increase sales to strategic accounts
• Processes put in place and standardized to streamline workflow and reduce labor costs
• Improved daily communication among staff reduces problem solving and rework of orders, further improving worker productivity

Estimated Investment and Savings

Investment of $20,000. Estimated payback of $ 300,000

Goal: Improve Uptime, Efficiency and Productivity of Operations

Client: Metal Processor (80 employees)

Problem / Situation

• Increased customer demand
• Constraints on capital spending
• Increasing costs and little excess capacity preventing them from obtaining new business.

Approach

Utilizing the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) philosophy, we conducted a two-month project working three to four days per week. We first observed how work was performed, analyzed baseline metrics and identified major barriers to best possible productivity. Lineside assessments were conducted, with focus on the job set-up process. Numerous conversations with operators and staff supporting the line provided insights into the culture of the area, issues impeding productivity as well as ideas for improvement.

Key components of this engagement were workshops to develop equipment-specific Layered Process Audits and reduce job set-up cycle time, along with bi-weekly progress reviews with top management.

Results

This project was successful in launching a systematic approach to achieve significantly higher productivity in the area of study. Modifications were made in tooling, process flow, maintenance practices and workplace organization (5S). Steady improvements in the following metrics have been observed post-project:

• Productive uptime
• Set-up time (average time reduced and variation reduced)
• Efficiency (as measured by pieces per run time hour)
• Output (total pieces per month)

Estimated Investment and Savings

Investment of $40,000. Estimated payback of $ 250,000 annually

Plans were put in place for this approach to be replicated by internal resources to other areas of the plant.

Goal: Eliminate Recurring Quality Problems

Client: Tier 1 Powertrain Supplier (270 employees)

Problem / Situation

• New product launch
• 12 PRRs (quality rejects) over six months
• 278 ppm over 6 months after launch
• Their efforts to improve outbound quality weren’t effective fast enough and their OEM customer placed them on new business hold.

Approach

Our approach was to deploy a multi-dimensional team (quality engineering, lean manufacturing and organizational development) to address systemic problems rather than just treating the symptoms. Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (P-FMEA) was a key tool in this engagement.

Through a multi-pronged approach, we addressed problems simultaneously to produce immediate results:

• Stopped the bleeding (quickly found root causes to current problems and put in robust corrective actions)
• Analyzed organizational effectiveness and recommended improvements in methods of communicating
• Moved the organization from the mentality of assuming things would work to questioning what could go wrong
• Identified weaknesses in error proofing and recommended more robust error proofing to focus on prevention rather than detection
• Provided understanding of GM’s quality practices and tools

Results

The results of this engagement were immediate and long-lasting. The supplier achieved the following:

• Off “new business hold” status
• No repeat and no new PRRs six months after project, twelve-month ppm reduced from 278 to 16
• Reduced scrap and rework. First-time-quality increased from 92% to 97%
• Moved organization from assuming things would work to questioning what could go wrong
• Increasing productivity by reducing scrap and rework

Estimated Investment and Savings

Investment of $100,000. Estimated payback of $ 1,500,000 annually

Goal: Error Proof Job Set-Up

Client: Fortune 100 Manufacturer (125 employees)

Problem / Situation

• Repeat customer complaints
• Economic penalties assessed by their customer for late/defective shipments
• Changes to manufacturing process had caused unintended quality risks.

Approach

We worked with a cross-functional client team, including strong multi-shift operator involvement, to examine best practices and, as appropriate, create improvement action items. Additionally, we worked with the management team and workshop participants to maintain urgency and subsequently close out action items.

Results

The results of this engagement were substantial and included:

• Reduced set-up time from 30 minutes to 18 minutes (40% reduction)
• Corrective actions satisfied customer’s requirement for error proofing
• Best practices implemented via the workshop are now being applied across the facility

Lessons Learned

Through the unique structure and design of this workshop, our client found that focusing improvement activities with an outside facilitator could produce results beyond their expectations. Operator involvement was a key component in understanding the process and finding low cost, quickly implemented solutions. Furthermore, they found significant untapped opportunities for cycle time savings throughout their business.

Estimated Investment and Savings

Investment of $8,000. Estimated payback of $ 750,000 annually

Goal: Manage company projects in a consistent fashion

Client: Medical Device Manufacturer (175 employees)

Problem / Situation

• Launching a team to address a high impact strategic project for the corporation.
• Project timeline was highly dependent on the results of their initial analysis with a firm deadline from headquarters.
• They decided to put their team through an intensive one-day Project Management workshop to start the project on the right path.

Approach

We held a pre-meeting with the team sponsor to gain a deeper understanding of the requirements for the project team and obtain background on the individuals’ experience with project management tools and techniques. Outcomes and work product developed during the workshop were documented for the team. Post-workshop we followed up with the team members and the team sponsor to assure work was not derailed.

Results

The workshop gave the team with a rapid start-up and helped to develop a team identity. Additionally, this approach resulted in:

• Focus and urgency resulting in team consensus on plan
• Risks were identified, evaluated and counter-measures appropriately defined
• Established process to monitor and evaluate progress on a weekly basis

Estimated Investment and Savings

Investment of $2,000. Estimated payback of $ 150,000 ++

The customer found that it was very beneficial to have a project kick-off workshop. The customized approach produced high value to a high priority strategic project.