The introduction to a new way of thinking

Last week I attended my first business-wide address; an update on our Lean business improvement program. It got me thinking how does it benefit me?

When the Lean improvement program was introduced, it was hard to grasp what major effects it will have on me personally, but from listening to the address from Jon Collins, Operations Director at Secal and Simon Danks our Lean consultant, it made me put more thought into how the new Lean improvement programme will impact me and the marketing team.

So my obvious thought was that my marketing pitch will improve, as our business as a whole will see more improvements in efficiency and quality, this making our business more appealing to new and current customers. A figure stuck in my mind from Jon Collins, Secal already has achieved an 11% increase in efficiency over a shift! Now surely this will give our customers a much better service. The percentage will help to reduce waste, not only in material but in time spent on manufacturing. Simon Danks said “We are not here to make you work harder, we are here to make you think better” Which I totally understood. If your mind is set out to manufacture in the best way possible while eliminating waste, with the right training, it is definitely achievable “Think SMART to work better”. In the address, staff were clearly excited about the idea of a cleaner, efficient and a more organised workplace, creating an overall better working environment.

Secal as a business are increasing, and our in-house facilities are in constant use, meaning our capacity is becoming full. Our customers love that we have a very strong ‘One Source’ marketing pitch with all our facilities being under one roof. So this is where the managers at Secal got thinking, can we increase the capacity at Secal without expanding to another premises? Yes, and Lean is the answer. To improve our efficiency Simon Danks and Jon Collins will be spending time with each machine and each member of staff, taking away unnecessary equipment and having the relevant tools for the job to hand. The staff will be shown exactly how to increase their efficiency levels, saving time and still manufacturing with high quality. A quote springs to mind, “what if we train them and they leave” “What if you don’t and they stay”, all our staff will have time spent on them, with top end training on our new programme. This leading to improving our efficiency, which in turn will lead to more capacity. We will have more time to get orders through our quality driven production.  

So I am now seeing how Lean can make improvements over the shop floor, but what about other departments? The departments I deal with day-to-day, surely this will impact me directly? I spoke to Stefan Parkes, Quality Manager at Secal, he said Lean has Increased focus on reliable data collection and analysis, enabling the quality department and driving improvement. The Quality department are also able to capture all non-conforming products through simple data collection techniques that involve all personnel. This was a big step in discovering how it will affect me personally, as my role in the marketing department means regular communication with the Quality department, to make sure all work that my customers order is to the best of our ability, and having the quality spot on every time will make my job a lot easier, and most importantly leading to achieve the best service for our customers.

I spoke with Jon Collins and get his opinion on why he chose to go down the path of Lean Manufacturing. He said Â“The journey of lean implementation and training was a natural progression for Secal, as a business we are continually improving ourselves year-on-year. Over the last five years we have reinvested and restructured our business, with both investments in equipment and office developments to further bolster the support we offer to our customers. The implementation of Lean manufacturing philosophy and principles was the next step for us. We have an excellent manufacturing facility here at Secal, and as Secal’s Operations Director the changes that Lean will bring to the business really excite me. Lean enhances performance of the company through the efficiency, culture and process improvements. As with everything we do here, the Lean implementation programme is very much a team effort we are all proud to be part of. Working with a Lean manufacturing mentor of the calibre of Simon Danks is proving invaluable to myself and the whole team here at Secal.” I asked what are the reasons for implementing Lean Manufacturing? Â“To improve the overall service our customers receive…... It really is that simple!”This shows just how important and how dedicated people are about Lean implementation throughout the business. I know Jon will make sure we all see major changes during the course of Lean and I look forward to watching them take place.

But I still haven’t answered my own question. How does it benefit me?  The Lean programme is certainly going to improve my marketing pitch as mentioned before. I can use the work and developments we are currently working on to build customer relationships, and I can be positive that Secal will perform throughout the business, as Lean will be covering many working areas. Secal will be working as a team to use the Lean ideas to improve their own work or being inspired to improve and with great in-house communication at the top of the list, it will lead to better service, happy customers and a growing business. This leading to my job role expanding and becoming a very customer focused role. I mentioned in-house communication, keeping employees up to date is key. We want staff to understand what is new throughout the business, how we are Improving their environment or if something interesting has happened. Part of my inspiration from Lean will be to produce a Secal Newsletter. Regular up to date, easy accessible communication, this will help me and others to build relationships with the staff we may not see very often and generally keeping everyone in the loop.

It’s time to let the Lean business improvement program run its course and it will be interesting to see what else will affect me personally, maybe there are changes that will happen further along the line not just what I can see in front of me, but overall I am looking forward to talking to our current and future customers about our fantastic quality and efficiency improvements. Good luck Secal!