Mantec helped giant to improve production management at one production unit. The project resulted in huge improvements and brought upon a positive attitude change among the client personnel.
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.
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!
