A Machine Builder

The situation on arrival

The call came less than a week after his shoulder surgery. Sanjeev had badly torn a rotator cuff in a fall and was convalescing when the managing director of a machine building company rang: “I am sinking. I need you to come and help immediately.”

There was desperation in his voice. The recovery did not matter to him, and against medical advice Sanjeev went. The business was building machines to order, and was just unable to make money over the past few years. Long supply chain lead times, processes inbuilt with wastes, imbalanced supply of parts, indiscipline and poor planning in handling finance, long build times, inventory everywhere that made the plant look busy while the company lost money.

What we did on the floor

No theory classes. No PowerPoint presentations. Lean was taught on the shop floor through practical, active change exercises, built around the work this company actually needed to do. People learned by changing their own process, doing things differently, and seeing the changed results. The improved results motivated them to pursue higher levels of excellence.

While people intellectually understand the theory, many times resistance shows up in a spectrum of arguments or non-linear discussions. Lean is a human process that needs to be automated for continuity. So by simply guiding them through a different way of doing things at the Gemba, practically encounters very little resistance. The simplification and improved results are motivating and self-propelling towards even better results.

What changed

Within a few months:

• The company was operationally profitable in few months.
• Supply chain lead times down 84–92%
• Build times down 66%
• Throughput times down 92%
• Many other measures improved alongside them