A metalworking company had grown on the owner’s entrepreneurship and energy, with little attention to processes and organisation. Delivery reliability was falling, quality was wobbling, customers were unhappy and the margin was shrinking. In an engagement with Axisto, Production, Work Preparation and S&OP were aligned with one another. Delivery reliability rose from 51% to 92%, and customer confidence returned.
Duration: six months
The situation
The owner had run the business with plenty of entrepreneurship and energy, but with little attention to processes and organisational structure. At first glance the company looked successful, but it lacked solid foundations.
Delivery reliability was declining, there were problems with product quality, customers were unhappy and the profit margin was falling. A new management team was already working on improving the plant layout, for better flow through the plant, and on bringing 5S up to standard. Axisto was asked to improve production control, and to develop a more professional middle management.
What was really wrong
Production, Work Preparation and S&OP weren’t sufficiently aligned, communication between the departments fell short, and there was no daily or weekly management against performance targets.
What we did together
Aligned the departments with one another. Working closely with the middle managers of Production, Work Preparation and S&OP, we aligned the departments more closely, and improved performance management across them as a whole.
Introduced short-interval control.Through more effective short-interval control, daily and weekly performance was steered towards the KPI targets.
A focus on right first time. Management and team leaders paid more attention to First Time Right quality, and communication between departments improved.
The right people in the right places.One team leader was replaced by a talented employee and another by an external hire. At the owner’s request, one of our people filled the COO role on an interim basis until an external successor was found.
What it delivered
- Delivery reliability: 51% → 92%
- Regaining the trust of their clients.
- Multiple improvements in the production scheduling process.
- Improved ‘short interval control’, internal communications and internal logistics.
- Strong local ownership of changes and a solid ongoing improvement process and drive.
What happened afterwards
The company had reached calmer waters, and was on its way to improving its relationships with customers.
