Back in September 2006 Hartzell Fan had high hopes of transforming our work place in to a lean facility that would position us for the future. When we entered the process we were somewhat guarded in our expectations of what we could realistically expect the outcome to be in our first year.
We kicked off our training program by requiring every employee to attend the Lean 101 training program. We felt it was important to have everyone in the company understand what Lean Manufacturing is and what it is not. The Lean 101 program was spread over 5 days, two sessions per day. Following the training we spent the next few days talking to some of the employees about what they thought of the program. Most of those we talked to were excited about the opportunity to participate in the program. Of course there was a few that saw it as a program of the month or that the company would not support it in the long term. In addition to completing the Lean 101 program we have also completed 4 additional modules and 4 week long Kaizen events. Today over 15 months later, the program is still going and growing. Our success comes in part from the support of our company president George Atkinson. George has taken time at least weekly to walk through the plants and speak of the benefits of the lean program. George has also set an example by being an active participant in each program and the associated shop floor events. The areas of the plants where the Kaizen events and projects have taken place have resulted in outstanding results both from a morale and financial point of view. The morale has changed considerably. The employees now are expecting sustained 5S activity and are leading their own mini events in their work areas.
Financially we set three goals for measuring the improvement from these activities. Over the course of the training we have achieved marked improvement in each.
Goal #1 – Increase productivity by 3% from a previous 12-month average. The current average as of November 2007 is 8%.
Goal #2 – Reduce lead time by 3% - Our current lead time is 4.91 weeks down from 5.23 weeks. This is a reduction of 6.5%.
Goal #3 – Improve on-time delivery by 3%. As of November 2007 our on-time shipping performance due to Kaizen increased by better than 10% improvement.
We are only just beginning to get started here at Hartzell Fan. We are planning for the coming months and are including each employee in this endeavor. Our people are beginning to see Lean as a way of doing business and are building upon it everyday.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Harwood
Lean Project Manager
Hartzell Fan, Inc.
910 S. Downing St.
Piqua, OH 45356
P. 937-615-3024
F. 937-615-3025
mharwood@hartzellfan.com
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