Join us at I.C. Group for our quarterly Lean Pop Up Event. The Lean Pop-Up is an informal discussion with a group of professionals ranging in background from manufacturing to office settings and ranging in experience from novice to expert. We meet quarterly at varying locations in Utah with different topics of discussion and take a tour of the facility to see lean in action.
Topic: 8 Wastes: Engaging Every Person.
Bring examples of how you use 8 wastes in your workplace, as well as questions or ideas.
Looking for a way to cut costs and increase profits for your business? The principles of CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT and LEAN MANUFACTURING can help, even if you’re not a manufacturer.
November’s outdoor industry breakfast and business discussion brings together experts for a panel discussion on ways YOUR business can use Lean principles for continuous improvements within your business to gain a competitive advantage.
This event is sponsored by the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) and Snowsports Industries America (SIA)
What is LEAN? Lean manufacturing is the process of identifying work that doesn’t add value (a.k.a. “waste”) and removing that waste. In a competitive global environment, lean manufacturing can improve productivity, lower production costs and help even small businesses to compete.
Note about parking: Park in the City Creek Mall parking area and take the elevator to the Food Court. From there, take the escalator up to the street level where the elevators are. We are on the third floor of the World Trade Center Building at City Creek. Parking is free for the first 2 hours, but we can validate if needed
NAMMO is an AS9100 certified engineering and composite manufacturing company with more than 20 years of experience. They specialize in producing canisters and military-grade rocket launchers for the Department of Defense. They also have a diverse range of advanced composite experience with clients in aerospace, oil, industrial, commercial, and recreational markets.
Project Scope
NAMMO wanted to increase their output in order to support the increasing needs of their DoD customer.
Solution
NAMMO recognized they needed to identify and eliminate waste in their manufacturing process. With the help of the University of Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (UUMEP) Center, a Value Stream Mapping Event was implemented to help address these issues.
UUMEP Center staff worked with their TOW Missile cell’s cross-functional team to establish SMART goals, document current state, identify improvement ideas to support SMART goals, design a future state, and prioritize improvement ideas based on impact and complexity. UUMEP Center staff also trained and coached their teams on lean principles and waste identification.
Results
Increased throughput capability to support customer requirements by 40%
Increased visual management of inventory from 6 process steps to 10 steps, with dedicated inventory staging
Reduced part travel by 30% by co-locating process steps
Impacts
Increased annual sales by $3,640,000
Cost avoidance: Staff is trained to lead future VSM events, saving up to $10,000 (assuming three events per year)
Client testimonial
Andrew Christensen, NAMMO Program Manager
“The UUMEP Center helped us understand that we didn’t need major facility changes to increase flow. We simply needed a systematic approach to eliminate the waste and to fully implement some basic process flow rules. They respected that we had a facility to run and were flexible when hot issues came up. It was clear they were interested in training us to meet our needs rather than ensuring we follow their exact process.”
Founded in 1982, IC Group has grown to become one of the largest and most dynamic privately-owned providers of marketing solutions in the intermountain west, currently employing 150 team members at their 55,000 square foot facility in Salt Lake City.
Project Scope
IC Group wanted to improve their overall quality, delivery and costs by utilizing Lean concepts.
Solution
With the assistance of the University of Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (UUMEP) Center, lean coaching was implemented to address these issues.
Results
Through lean coaching on root cause analysis tools, IC Group was able to address a quality issue related to their press maintenance. This included improvements to their press maintenance procedures, standard operating procedures, quality inspection and visual instructions, thereby eliminating the causes of inferior print quality.
Impact
Ensuring their training, procedures and instructions were up-to-date and standardized will save IC Group $46,646 in future cost-avoidance related to this specific quality issue. Implementing these changes also helped them retain $1.9 million in sales. Additionally, applying the lean concepts of 5S resulted in 356 square feet of usable space on the shop floor.
Client Testimonial
“We were looking to implement a culture change within the company and needed a leader to help drive that change through lean. For the past five months, I have been working with the UUMEP Center, and through their mentorship, we have seen a dramatic change within the company. We have opened up space and implemented Kaizen events that reduced waste and inventory. We have also happily noted changes in our company culture; improved employee attitudes and a complete buy-in with the changes that have been put in place.”
Whether your organization has been on the Lean journey for many years or just beginning, the Operational Excellence (OE) Conference will equip you with fresh thinking to help transform your culture into one of continuous improvement. Join us and the Shingo Institute this fall for the 43rd Operational Excellence Conference from partners in business to inspire and recharge your efforts in continuous process improvement.
The University of Utah MEP Center director, Theresa Drulard will be giving a session on the Will and Skill of Transformational Change. You will also find our booth at the conference.
These sessions will give insight into PROED’s offerings, UMA, the UUMEP Center and how it is a resource for small to mid-size manufacturers in Utah, and also include a condensed Lean principles training.
Each session will have the same information presented, so feel free to sign up for the time that best fits your schedule. Light refreshments will be provided during each session.
Where:
The Graduate Center at St. George, 1071 East 100 South Suite A100 St. George, Utah 84770
Before moving into my current role, I had no idea what lean was. Lean meant being thin. A green belt and a black belt were visual representations of your skill level in the martial art of Karate. Six Sigma was possibly a fraternity? I knew nothing about the world of lean before jumping in, but I’ve learned a lot these past four years and have loved it. Below are some of the things I wish I’d have known when I started:
Changing culture is hard and takes time. There are moments when you are going to feel like you haven’t made a difference, and you don’t know what to do next. Find support. Go to conferences. Find a mentor. Inside or outside of your company, finding support will help you get through those down times. The lean community is full of people who are very willing to share and teach what they have learned.
Customize the tools to fit your company. Not every lean tool will be applicable to your company. Find the tools that fit, and systematically make them part of your company’s culture. As I’ve toured many companies, I’ve learned that no two tools are exactly alike. What works for one company, may not work for another, but the principles are the same. Learn from others, and adapt the tools to fit your needs.
Don’t try to learn everything all at once. One of the first things I did after starting as the lean specialist, was to try to train everyone in the company on the list of lean tools and principles we had determined we needed in our organization. In the end, it was too much to train on and too much to learn all at once. Learn and train others as you take the incremental steps to improve your understanding.
The best way to learn is to try. You can watch webinars, read books, attend training, but there is no substitute for experimenting and trying things out yourself. Holding events was scary at first, but now it’s one of the best parts of my job. I love learning about and facilitating improvement on all the processes that make my company operate, and getting to know all the people who help my company be successful. When I use the tools in an event or within my own work processes, I am able to draw from my experiences and increased understanding to use when training others.
It’s OK to make mistakes. There is a saying one of the lean leaders use, and I use it, especially when I am second-guessing the results of an event: “An improvement is an improvement.” We learn through making mistakes. Every event I hold, every training I give, and every time I deploy a new tool in the company, I learn something new. It’s not about getting it right every time. It’s about trying new things, learning, and improving.
Don’t give up! It won’t always be easy to get upper management, middle management, and front-line employees on board. John Maxwell says, “The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.” Lean is a constant journey in continuous improvement. Don’t give up!
Mostly what I’ve learned is that change is hard, it takes time to learn, and you’ll make mistakes along the way, but in the end the results are worth it; not only for your organization, but for yourself.
Brittany Garza is a Professional Engineer and Lean Specialist with WesTech Engineering Inc. Her passion for continuous improvement, problem solving, and connecting with others drove her to start the Salt Lake City Lean Pop Up group. Brittany hopes to create a local Lean community that can connect others no matter where they are at on their Lean journey.
