Success Highlights
Workforce Development
SwRI staff work closely with manufacturers to increase their competitiveness through process improvements.
Civilian Repair Depot for Military Aircraft
Lean Manufacturing Transformation
Challenge:
Unique civilian / military workforce collaboration. Service repair environment obscured identification of repeated tasks. Intense war-time performance pressure. Multiple facilities with large site workforce. Full jet-size unit being repaired.
Solutions:
- Direct leadership of small groups via focused kaizen events.
- Classroom training that emphasized small pilot group success and motivated full-scale deployment.
- Cycle time reductions of 30 to 50% in specific operational areas.
- Significant reduction of operating expense, per-unit labor and floor space.
SwRI staff work closely with manufacturers to increase their competitiveness through process improvements.
Aerospace Proprietary Materials Fabrication: Lean Manufacturing Classroom Introduction
Challenge:
SwRI's proven methodologies help decrease lead times, increase throughput, reduce cost and improve quality.
Unique industry requirements.
Solutions:
- Instructor with FAA certification in composites and specific industry experience leading Lean Manufacturing projects.
- Modified introductory curriculum to include specific industry terms, relevant case examples (with photos), and the firm's current status for planned deployment.
Metal Plating Chemistry: Software Implementation
Challenge:
No downtime transition from paper logs to full use of software reporting.
Typical results include productivity increases of 25 percent, work-in-process reductions of 75 percent, inventory level reductions of 50 percent, and floor space reductions of 50 percent.
Typical results include productivity increases of 25 percent, work-in-process reductions of 75 percent, inventory level reductions of 50 percent, and floor space reductions of 50 percent.
Solutions:
- Developed exercises to enable practice with software data entry and reporting.
- Developed standardized format for trainees to write group "reminder guides" for those tasks performed infrequently.
Electro-Mechanical Instrumentation Manufacturer: ISO 9001:2000 System Development
Challenge:
Using the lean-manufacturing approach, experienced SwRI engineers apply tools and methods that enable client personnel to remove waste.
Using the lean-manufacturing approach, experienced SwRI engineers apply tools and methods that enable client personnel to remove waste.
Previous attempts to integrate a continuous improvement culture have floundered among the established firm's high percentage of long seniority personnel. President's strength is in sales and development of outside strategic alliances.
Solutions:
- Improved trainee relevance through elimination of "exercises" – instead trainees produced actual documented work products for use in their functional area.
- Limited training session participants to 1-3 persons from each functional area, with direct feedback on their implementation progress to improve accountability.
- Developed executive coaching for President to identify improvement opportunities through his systematic and direct internal auditing of specific operations.
Related Terminology
increased throughput • shorter cycle times • reduced operating costs • improve employee retention • employee satisfaction • office productivity • employee training • staff development • lean transformation • ERP • enterprise resources planning • environmental • quality • kaizen • ISO 9000 • industrial engineering • healthcare administration improvement • manufacturing process improvement • six sigma • ISO internal auditing • training effectiveness
