About this Presentation
In some rare industries, improving set-up time per job does not only give you more throughput; it also reduces your material cost and the way you quote new jobs boosting your entire income statement and competitive position in the market. In 2016 MET Fine Printers (MET) was only utilizing 7.8% of their printing press capacity on average. But the constraint was not in the market as its presses were already running around the clock to meet demand. The real estate boom in the city of Vancouver had created an insatiable demand for ultra-high end books, brochures and floor plans to help developers sell more condominiums. The printing industry, which had been under intense financial pressure for decades due to the Internet, is dominated by lean manufacturing techniques, and the prime measurement for any printer today is the lean metric of OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). MET's management team knew they had to break the vicious cycle they were in; being forced to run their printing presses on three shifts around the clock despite the low utilization of only 7.8% OEE. Drum-buffer-rope was able to lift the OEE (utilization) to 12%, but still short of the industry average of 14%, and leading competitors at 30%. TOC metrics helped the team focus on lean tools such as SMED and standard work charts during Kaizen events to aim for reducing set-up times from 3 hours to less than one hour. Over an intense 6 week period of buffer management was addressed, the press operators managed to get to approved color in three pull attempts from 20+ before. This allowed MET to achieve 20% OEE (triple the throughput) with the industry leading goal of 30% OEE well within reach. The unexpected surprise: material usage dropped by 20% causing an unexpectedly large boost to their bottom line!
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Instructor(s)
Kobus van der Zel
Ms Alka Wadhwa
Alka Wadhwa is an experienced consultant and process improvement expert with over 24 years of expertise in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean Six Sigma, and organizational performance optimization. She has successfully led projects in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, driving significant improvements such as a 67% boost in hospital operations and a 140% increase in outpatient visits.
Previously, Alka Wadhwa spent 17+ years at GE Global Research Center, where she led initiatives to enhance various GE businesses through advanced technologies, process redesign, and system optimization. Founder of Better Solutions Consulting, LLC, she specializes in using TOC, Six Sigma, and data analytics to streamline operations and build high-performance teams.
Her work has earned her multiple accolades, including the Empire State Award of Excellence in healthcare.
Dr Gary Wadhwa
Dr. Gary Wadhwa is a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with extensive experience in the field. He completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training at Montefiore Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY, and has served as an Attending at prestigious institutions like St. Peters Hospitals, Ellis Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in NY. With a career spanning over two decades, he was the former CEO and President of a group specialty practice in NY from 1994 to 2015. Dr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from UT at Knoxville, TN, and has undergone additional training in System Dynamics at MIT, Health System Management at Harvard Business School, and Entrepreneurship and healthcare innovations at Columbia Business School. Committed to expanding access to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery care, he is currently engaged in a meaningful project to provide healthcare services to underserved populations in inner city and rural areas through non-profit Community Health Centers.