Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics
Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics Achieves Superior Results with Lean Manufacturing "The change from batch to lean manufacturing was an eye-opening experience for us. It has been a great help for the company in order to stay competitive and meet our long-term goals… Baxter and Jim did an excellent job."
- David Buck, President -- Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics
Company Profile: Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics manufacturers hydraulic equipment and tubular handling equipment in Broussard, Louisiana. The company was founded in 1983. They employ 72 people within one facility in the Broussard area and sell their products in all 50 states, as well as distribute to an international customer base.
Situation: Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics had increased its marketing efforts internationally and the results were excellent. However, the company needed to position itself for the growth from its international marketing efforts. The company also wanted to increase its on-time delivery to customers from an estimated 28 percent. Additionally, the company was building another facility at its current location to bring in work that was being outsourced and needed assistance with the building's layout. David Buck. President of Superior Manufacturing & Hydraulics, wanted to intensify the company's implementation of lean manufacturing techniques throughout the organization to bring his company to the next level. Mr. Buck sought assistance through MEPOL Project Director Baxter Saucier and Lean Management Solutions consultant Jim Frischenmeyer.
Solution: After listening to the needs expressed by the company's management, MEPOL and Jim Frischenmeyer established a third-party consultant relationship that brought Jim to Superior Manufacturing and Hydraulics as the acting General Manager for two months to guide the company with its lean implementation. Jim began his work by helping the employees understand change in the workplace using the book Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson. And, although every employee had been exposed to some lean tools and techniques, several employees were asked to attend training through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership's Lean 101 training program, "Principles of Lean Manufacturing," held by MEPOL. Jim also conducted enterprise wide training on the proper implementation of 5S Systems, Waste Elimination, Set-up reduction, and Improved Flow.
As Jim was training the employees, he was also working to help Superior Manufacturing meet two goals established by David Buck and the management team - to increase revenues in three divisions (hydraulics, manufacturing and dies) by 5 percent, and to attain and maintain improved on-time delivery to its customers. Meanwhile, the company wanted to increase productivity enough to staff the new facility with existing employees as well as reallocate other employees to new job responsibilities. These improvements were scheduled to occur during the two-month period allotted to the project. A strategic plan was developed before the project began to help the company meet its goals and was revisited on a weekly basis by Jim, Baxter, and the management at Superior Manufacturing to ensure the company was moving in the right direction.
As part of the project, Jim and Baxter videotaped several existing cell layouts and reviewed them with the staff to determine areas where waste could be eliminated and productivity could be improved. New cell layouts were identified and implemented utilizing feedback from the staff and the layout of the facility was upgraded, including a layout for the new building. Every day was focused on meeting daily management expectations and radical improvement (kaikaku). In addition, several mini Kaizen events were conducted as well as completing new job descriptions for the majority of employees. As Superior Manufacturing was implementing these changes, the company was also introducing two unique prototypes to offer their customers which were to be manufactured and delivered during the same time frame - 14-inch tong/backup and hose reels.
Results: With the assistance of Jim Frischenmeyer and MEPOL, the following results were achieved at Superior Manufacturing: - Each of the three targeted divisions met and exceeded their goals for increases in revenue. The increases are as follows:
- Hydraulics division - 12% increase in revenue.
- Manufacturing division - 10% increase in revenue.
- Dies division - 8% increase in revenue.
- On-time delivery is now at 90%.
- The implementation of lean manufacturing techniques freed up three people who could work at the new building the company is currently building. The company did not have to expand beyond its current resources to staff the new building.
- The company has increased sales for their two new products, the 14-inch tong and hose reels.
- The company is pursuing a grant from the Incumbent Worker Training Program offered by the Louisiana Department of Labor to continuously train their employees.
Send this Page to a Friend!
|
