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Solectron Goes Lean The company was founded in 1993 and employs almost 500 at its plant in Dunfermline. It started to adopt Lean Six Sigma – based on the world-renowned Toyota Production System – almost two years ago. Lean was pioneered by Toyota to successfully streamline its production process and supply chain. It works by examining the supply chain to identify where value is added and where waste – known as "muda" – can be removed. Muda can include over processing; over production; unnecessary motion; unnecessary inventory; waiting; defects or transporting. Lean is an ongoing business transformation journey involving repeated "kaizens", or events, which strive for continuing improvement. Solectron Scotland managing director, Mark Cumming, said: "Businesses sometimes need a crisis to embark on Lean. Ours included factors like the end of the telecoms and internet bubble; customers driving to lower cost geographies and the end of one-size fits all production processes." "We basically had two options – face the prospect of the site not having a viable future in Scotland or to embark on Lean." A team was brought in from the Shingijitsu Consulting Group to help introduce Lean philosophy to the management team. A road map was set-up to track progress along the Lean journey and implement and measure the effectiveness of kaizens that are regularly carried out. Improvements are driven through identifying what is of value to a customer, using Value Stream Mapping, to a customer and what is waste. Waste is then eliminated and value is enhanced for the customer through kaizen. One practical example of Lean in operation for Solectron was reviewing the manufacturing process for small batches of products. This was "kaizened" to cut changeover time from 42 minutes to 10 minutes and the aim is to reach 99 seconds. Despite not even being half way through the five-year Lean programme, Solectron is already seeing a difference. Cumming added: "The maximum score on our internal spider diagram that measures success is five and we have already reached 3.5." Douglas Kent, a director of consultancy firm, eKNOWtion is the Scottish Enterprise appointed counsellor for Solectron. Kent said: "In order to obtain full value from the Lean progress made in Solectron’s manufacturing area, it has taken its journey into other areas of the supply chain. This will undoubtedly yield a very competitive supply chain optimisation and delight the customers who have chosen Solectron as their partner." Last month Solectron and eKNOWtion organised a tour of the plant to showcase the methodology it has employed and successes achieved to date. But it does not stop here and the company is committed to Lean on an ongoing basis. Cumming said: "We’ll never see our industry getting less competitive so we have to make sure we constantly improve our quality and delivery. We are aware of the pressures of being in Scotland that have caused the demise of other Scottish manufacturers." For more information go to: www.solectron.com |
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