Level Loading Your Factory Can Dramatically Improve Performance Most factories are driven to perform by some internally focused deadline — get all of your production out by the end of the year, or by the end of the quarter, by the end of the month (this is what we see the most), or even by the end of each week. Level loading your factory is exactly the opposite of this mentality — … [Read more...]
Flow Blog
Setup Reduction – A Simple Way to Increase Profits (Key Concepts)
Setup is the activity that takes place between your process steps, that white space between the blocks in your process map, the completely non-productive time while changing a production line from one product to another. So, should Setup Reduction be important to you (and your company)? Calculate the burn-rate including overhead for your operations in dollars per minute. Do those expenses stop … [Read more...]
The Kaizen Blitz: Make Your Processes Work Again
Organizations of all types and sizes execute work-through processes. Whether simple or complex, processes degrade in effectiveness over time. What was once fit for purpose becomes ineffective, inefficient, and a barrier to success. Needs change and customers, employees, and suppliers require better ways of doing things. Growth itself drives a need for change. When an organization expands by 20% or … [Read more...]
Distribution Center Consolidation Results in $1.350M in Annual Savings
One of our clients recently asked us to project-manage a distribution center consolidation after they had made an acquisition that netted in maxing out their one distribution center and adding another distribution center. Flow Consulting helped them select the new location, facilitate a lean layout of the new distribution center, and project-manage the consolidation into the one new distribution … [Read more...]
+3.5% EBITA for Grand Format Print Co.
Flow Consulting recently completed a three-day business process assessment of a high-end printer supporting the trade show industry that had recently been purchased by a private equity client and was experiencing less than expected results. Five major initiatives were identified and agreed upon by the company leadership. The first will be a leadership alignment project, setting the stage for the … [Read more...]
Lean Business Process Thinking
Recently one of our private equity clients asked us to apply our lean business process thinking to improve the effectiveness and cycle time of one of their portfolio company’s customer project estimating process. A Flow Consulting partner facilitated a team approach that focused on the following principles:
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Eliminating the non-value added time
Eliminating all redundant … [Read more...]