Background

The company, a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of garden tooling, acquired a factory in China with a staff of 1800. It was clear that a great deal of work was required to perform structural changes in many areas, not least cultural. Management turned to Mantec for assistance, and the resulting project lasted just over a year.

Implementation

ManTec and the client jointly identified clear potential for improvement within operations, by mapping the present state and comparing it with best demonstrated performance. A key part of the project involved developing the processes and also the control mechanisms that were linked into the management system. Another key focus area during the implementation phase was achieving a bridge between cultural differences between a Nordic company and Chinese culture. Key words were “continuous coaching” and “follow-up”: these helped to put in place the changes and adaptive actions required to form a common understanding within the company. The project included the following activities:

• new layout design for warehouse and assembly areas;
• reduction of lead time by eliminating buffering and streamlining the processes;
• development of KPIs and variance reports;
• development of operational overall organisation and management systems;
• improved internal logistic and materials management;
• balancing of assembly lines, significantly reducing waste;
• using best demonstrated performance for line utilisation and balancing;
• development of a production management system to focus on productivity and losses;
• implementing standard operating procedures and instructions; and
• coaching of managers.

Results

The main benefits to the client of project implementation were:

• assembly output increased by 58 %, almost eliminating overtime;
• work-in-progress decreased: throughput time dropped from 1 day to 40 minutes;
• alteration of management system parameters from hourly to weekly; 
• implementing a daily management system that reacted to deviations immediately; and
• the machining of crankshafts greatly improved.

Staff were positively engaged and took ownership of the improvements made. This meant that changes could be readily maintained; further improvements were also accomplished which were still working well almost two years after the project was completed.

BACKGROUND

Established in 1973, the company is a major Indonesian textile manufacturer with a combined throughput of 3.3 million metres per month. ManTec was invited to help turn around the looming downturn threatened by massive increases in operational costs and market saturation due to the increased surplus of Chinese textile exports.

ManTec undertook an initial analysis, looking into the overall business algorithms – systemic, operational, and behavioural – and identified potentially considerable improvements in the areas of productivity, quality and logistical efficiency.

IMPLEMENTATION

The project approach was primarily centred on increasing throughput and quality. This was achieved by fulfilling the installed capacity, reducing downtime, improving quality and reducing levels of rework. Major factors included fine-tuning support systems, from sales, planning, and purchasing to shipment.

The focus on support departments was centred on reinforcing departmental and interdepartmental communication. Comprehensive training of forecasting within Marketing was also conducted. Tools for better control at the point of execution were installed. Manloading was also developed and installed, looking into the effective utilisation of labour resources per section and department. Planning accuracy, based on realistic material availability and production lead time, was improved.

Other key achievements of the project were:

• strategic and operational goals were carefully broken down into sets of activities in such a way that everyone understood what they were responsible for;
• a control system was introduced to enable accurate forecasting, effective planning, proper and realistic allocation of resources, and timely and accurate feedback and reporting;
• behavioural profiles were transformed into measurable activities for specific accountability. This included development of effective supervisory behaviours; and
• a culture of continuous improvement was embedded, because instead of providing inflexible, rigid solutions, ManTec created, trained and reinforced teams geared towards continuous and sustainable quality improvements.

RESULTS

Overall, results have surpassed original expectations, particularly as the teams trained by ManTec continue to find new and refine existing improvements. Most improvements have been generated through increased throughput and quality, measured by a newly developed productivity measurement scheme that relates output to production hours.

Additional monetary improvement was generated by:

· eliminating 28.75% of set-up time; and

· reducing the coal-fired boiler overhaul time, thereby reducing the fuel consumption of oil boilers.

A total of US $1.1M US annualised savings was achieved. The project has already generated an equivalent of 388% ROI in its first year of implementation.

Background

The company, part of a global corporation producing and retailing furniture and home appliances, possesses a unique state-of-the-art competence in industrialising craftsmanship-like methods. Its future is secure. But although the company is profitable, the level of profit is not acceptable.

Accordingly, Mantec was brought in to conduct an extensive analysis of the operations, and a number of potentially substantial improvement areas were identified which could have a profound influence on profit. Main areas identified were:

• management and leadership – lack of follow-up and variation control;
• high level of rework and reject;
• low efficiency in carrying out decisions and follow-up;
• results deviated from plan, with little preventative action taken;
• work in progress too high and wrongly prioritised;
• delivery precision insufficient, internally as well as externally to customers; and
• lack of coordination between departments and co-workers, resulting in dissatisfaction and high levels of absenteeism.

Project Implementation

Based on the analysis, Mantec and the client formed a common view of necessary actions and created a customised project which mainly comprised:

• teambuilding and management awareness training with the Management Group – to help improve organisational development;
• management training at all levels – to help improve the skills required to work with people through training and coaching;
• realigning the focus of the company to centre on production – with all other operating processes working as support. In particular, clear responsibilities between planning and production were established, and the work of the maintenance department, by increasing levels of preventive maintenance, was focused on supporting the production process;
• developing master-planning – so that analysis and subsequent scenarios could be evaluated and the consequences assessed;
• improving detailed planning – which helped to balance production flow. and
• improving tidiness and order throughout the business – workplaces, routines and behaviours of all involved.

According to the client CEO, the key factors that led to a successful project were:

• the very strong involvement of all managers, employees and workers;
• the creation of common views and subsequent goals as a result of the initial analysis;
• the ability of Mantec to adjust and customise the project to suit the demands and needs of the company; and
• the effective internal marketing of the project to all collaborators within the company, creating a strong commitment from all parties to carry it out.

Results

Specific, measurable results of the project were:

• Productivity increased by 19% 
• Rework decreased by 80% 
• Quality improved by 24%
• Operating Profit increased by 24% 
• Earnings before interest and tax increased by 450%
• Project ROI was 300%.

In general the project created improved status for production management. The company also gained a greater focus on customer values and gained a greater understanding of what really creates customer satisfaction. Last but not least, it became more fun to go to work with a highly motivated workforce!

Background

A European leader, this supplier of injection-moulded packaging needed help to transform the UK factory. Loss-making for many years, there was concern local management lacked the depth to turn their business around.

Implementation

Detailed analysis revealed low levels of productivity caused by: poor planning (too many changeovers, lack of cooperation with other departments and scheduling clashes); ineffective shop-floor supervision and insufficient attention to changeover times. Underlying these problems was a management group lacking the skills o vision to change.

• Discipline was introduced into the planning process with a formal weekly cycle of meetings and activities
• Performance monitorng was developed and installed to identify and make public any variations from plan
• Carefully structured inter-departmental meetings were established to force communication and cooperation
• A SMED (single minute exchange of die) programme was instituted—this reduced average changeover times by more than 60%

Behind the day-to-day activities, there was a programme of management development—devised in close collaboration with the group CEO and headquarters HR function—to build an effective, local team of managers.

• Workshops were held where theoretical concepts could be intimately linked to the practical demands of the business
• Intensive one-on-one coaching was conducted with all members of the team
• Group HR leadership initiatives were incorporated into the development programme

Results

The anticipated financial results were delivered through improved productivity (+12% in moulding +22% in printing) and material yield (15% reduction in scrap).

More important for the long-term success and growth of the group, the UK platform was stabilised with a management team that could justify further investment in the UK market.