People, machines, 5S: ingredients for innovation
Situation
Leading company in it’s sector with production technologies in sheet metal working, assembly, mechanical engineering and plant engineering. The company had already embarked on a major modernization of production technologies with some kanban cells. There was a need to implement more fully Lean thinking in the company to increase production efficiency and link this to engineering functions and the supply chain. Always with people at the core.
Challenge and actions
To increase production efficiency, a program of well targeted 5S interventions in key shopfloor areas was conducted and made continuous. Thanks to this, new physical flows/layouts, as well as existing Kanban fine-tuning, came into actionable focus. With important interventions regarding the ERP/MES/OPS information systems, data collection and transmission points were refined in a 4.0 “data factory” perspective and linked to operationally relevant performance indicators. Enabling factors for middle management and operators. Helpful instead of imposed control procedures. By conducting well-focused Kaizen-Shopfloor- Workshops, engineering and technical department have been engaged to enhance daily work in the perspective ‘design for assembly, design for cost’. New balance between standard/custom components production and standardized technology modules were proactively established.
Results
Better workflows and significant increase of efficiency with motivated workforce. Controlled digitisation with paper reduction. Culture change: establishing the pursuit of excellence as a permanent integrated element in operations. Higher level of readyness for harvesting additional opportunities of the Industry 5.0 model.