The company operates several machine workshops that handle both parts machining and maintenance. These workshops employ several hundred people in production, in addition to approximately one hundred employees working in sales, administration, and customer service.
The company’s supervisors were trained as Green Lean experts. As part of their training, they undertook development projects. To support internal expertise, an external Green Lean Project Manager from EGLA was hired. Additionally, project assignments were conducted as demonstration projects by employees undergoing Green Lean training.
As a result of the training and project work, the development goals were exceeded. Several areas for improvement were identified during the planning phase.
Problems and Challenges
Due to communication issues between sales, product design, and production, production operations were slow, resulting in significant waste.
Production control was not aligned with sales planning.
The use of production facilities was inefficient.
Daily production management was often reactive (“firefighting”) rather than following a systematic production process.
Significant waste was generated from searching for materials and tools and from moving workpieces between locations.
The project lasted a total of 16 months, during which numerous improvements were made.
Corrective and Development Actions
Communication between units was mapped, analyzed, and systematized.
The guidelines for sales, production planning, and production control were clarified, documented, and integrated into daily management.
The layout of the production facilities was analyzed and modified to create a more efficient production flow; production signage, visual management, and 5S practices were implemented.
The bottlenecks in production control were analyzed, and the balance of the entire production process was re-evaluated as facility layouts and processes were improved.
Through 5S implementation and systematizing storage locations, nearly 90% of wasted time was eliminated.
R.O.I
The project’s Return on Investment (R.O.I) was approximately 27:1.
