Material Kaizen Event!
3/14/2008
Current market trends absolutely demand change in how business is conducted: each element of the business, whether its business systems, processes or human capital, has to laser in on dominating the market as a winner.
What’s Important Now (W.I.N.) is the acronym created by Purchasing Manager Lynne Mimms during the report out for the Material Kaizen Event held February 19, 2008 through February 21, 2008. The new acronym captured the winning spirit of the Material Kaizen team.
The Material Kaizen event was planned and executed to achieve a major win. Downtime analysis indicated several challenging areas that impeded the team’s ability to perform at the expected high level of performance. This analysis focused the team in the key areas to achieve a major win. Some of those areas included visual management of stock, plan for every part and every part in its place, identification of waste in the shipping and receiving process, and heightened sense of awareness that downtime causes lack of customer joy. Who can afford not to give customer joy in a tight, competitive market?
The Material Kaizen team approached the planning phase of the event by requesting the leadership of the material handlers.
The material handlers’ expertise and knowledge was used to plan the event and execute What’s Important Now (WIN).
Those material handlers included: Latrisha Turner, Ronnie Alexander, Winston Dennis and Clement Duruaku. The entire team was supported by cross-functional staffers in operations, engineering, purchasing, quality, materials and finance. All participants were vested in creating solutions. Imagine salary associates painting lines for foot printing of incoming stock or intern students drawing diagrams of racking to re-position stock for easier access by material handlers!
Everyone on the Material Kaizen team had a job to do and they did it with zest and passion.
The event lasted three days with a formal report out and a plant tour for internal customers to view first hand the improvements. Target conditions and action plans with the almighty 30-day follow up audit were a part of the overall agenda.
A Material Kaizen event board was created and located in a common area affectionately called the Family Room to visually impact all associates on What’s Important Now (WIN).
Current state and future state pictures are on display to evaluate the Team’s permanence. Another key element of the event is visual metrics validating the success of the Material Kaizen Event. An audit will be performed 30 days after the event to report on sustainability. Watch this space for further developments.
The success of the Material Kaizen event has inspired the team to tackle additional opportunities. Some one on the team said, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” The next bite will use the same winning strategy of cross-functional involvement, subject matter experts and first hand knowledge of the associates doing the job, and the need to provide customer joy...
On Time, All the Time, Every Time.
Patricia Carson
Contact: Linda Ratliff, 313-571-2100 x 506, lratliff@detroitchassis.com