In an overview of lean, Fox News notes that General Electric estimates it has saved up to four direct labor hours, worth about $60, off every refrigerator the company manufactures. The story - with video - also cited Herman Miller, a furniture company based in Zeeland, MI, for reportedly quadrupling productivity by tailoring the Toyota method to its own system.

To dig deeper, read the LEI lean case study about how Herman Miller weathered the recession with its lean business system: http://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=1126

On his first day as Vermont Castings new general manager, Fred Howe said an employee walked up to him and announced, "I have this idea to shorten the time it takes for this job.” An eight-hour process became a 25-minute one. Such employee involvement is a big reason why Castings' lean effort is winning work back from China.

Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, Columbus, IN, has focused on involving more associates in maintenance. “Right now we have 19 maintenance associates and nearly 4,000 pieces of equipment to maintain. The only way you can maintain that high a number of equipment is to have maintenance part of everyone’s responsibility,” a company official told Plant Engineering, which named the facility its 2010 Top Plant.

 

Need evidence linking lean improvements to the bottom line? Then read this analysis of Solectron's lean efforts by an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The report does a very good job of connecting elements of a lean transformation to the business case for lean. Reprinted with permission. See the end of the report for disclosure statements.

Jamie Swan, production manager at Duraweld Ltd. in Scarborough, England, explains how the plant launched a lean effort in 2006 and reports on the results.  The company makes specialty plastic stationery-protection products. (The Binding Edge)

Doug Grose, senior vice president of manufacturing, described AMD's lean manufacturing strategy at its Dresden, Germany, chipmaking operations during a keynote speech at the 2008 Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC) in Cambridge, MA. Among the benefits that Grose listed for the past three years were: 31% increased capacity, 72% hike in labor productivity, 26% reduced monthly wafer cost, and 23% reduced cycle times/mask layer. Reducing steps and improving capacity has helped AMD work in a more predictable way. Lean manufacturing also has helped AMD dramatically reduce costs in its Singapore back-end assembly, packaging, and test operations. (Published by Solid State Technology, May 6, 2008.)

Having problems implementing pull systems, continuous flow, or more advanced lean tools? It's probably time to get back to basics -- the basic stability of your equipment.

Higher overseas costs and domestic demand for custom products delivered quickly have led manufacturers to apply lean principles to keep production in the U.S. In fact, producers of complicated industrial goods may shift out-sourced production back to the U.S. However, the production of simple, high-volume consumer products probably won't return. One example of this trend is the Epson plant in Hillsboro, OR.  After losing the printer business to China and Indonesia, plant management applied lean principles to offset the lower labor costs in Asia. The plant's defect rate plunged to 300 per million and cartridges produced per employee increased about 40%.  Production is up 200% percent from 2001 levels. Another example is Hayward Pool products of Elizabeth, NJ, which adopted lean and six sigma methods to keep most of its production in the U.S. even though a competitor from China entered its market. The story cites six factors causing a reversal in off-shoring manufacturing. (Published online by Manufacturing.net.)

In a clip from April 2012, CBS News reports on Buck Knives bringing jobs back to the U.S.

Read a lean management case study of the company’s lean transformation, Knife Company Hones Competitiveness by Bucking the Status Quo: http://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=811

Read an lean leadership series interview with company CEO C.J. Buck on the challenges that a transformation brings to senior managers. http://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=480

A group of 35 local business representatives toured three successful Lethbridge, Saskatchewan, Canada, firms, including Pratt and Whitney’s Plant 32, which manufactures the world-famous PT6 turbo-prop aircraft engine. Plant general manager Katherine O'Flaherty projects growth in production this year of 45% to 1,200 engines. The company continues to implement lean principles to identify ways to cut costs. (Published in Prairie Post West, Oct. 16, 2008.)