Supporting Lean with a multinational car industry production company with ~120 employees

STARTING POINT; CLIENT NEEDS:

A Budapest-based production company wanted a local partner helping them build their Lean introduction concept.

The main selection criteria by the CEO and the production leader were the following:

trainer and consultant background were essential for them, since both types of activities were in need
the consultant to be Budapest-based so that even a half-day cooperation could become economically feasible

Requirements for us to deliver:

Establishment of internal Lean knowledge:
- Training all members of the leadership and engineer group on Lean approach and tools in 5 days. Further support on Lean projects in another 5 days.
- Training of blue-collar workers in groups of 15 participants in 2-day trainings on Lean approach
Supporting CEO and European leaders’ goals through Lean projects
- Lead time reduction on the main production line. Value stream mapping, defining development processes at a workshop.
- Workshop on: ‘On Time Delivery’ development and consultation work follow-up.
- 5S development through consultation occasions
- Bottleneck process steps; introduction and development of machine utilization index; product changeover time reduction via SMED technic; supporting engineers responsible for process optimization through consultation possibilities.

On time delivery increased from ~60% to ~100% within ~6 months
Lead time on the core production line reduced to 1 day from 6-10 days. This lead to WIP and area reduction too. The production line became more flexible, hence could react to changing customer needs more easily
Blue collar workers became committed to supporting Lean developments with their ideas.