Improving Customer Service
Profile
For over 30 years, Emerson’s world-leading Micro Motion Coriolis flow and density measurement devices have set the standard for reliable, repeatable, high performance measurement. With industry-leading technology, the widest breadth of products, and unparalleled application expertise and support, Micro Motion products deliver unbeatable performance and value for customers across a variety of process industries.
“The Certified Lean Master program provided valuable tools to help me round out my consulting skills. I leveraged what I learned in the course to lead Kaizen Blitz events, which have developed into an important Lean initiative for Micro Motion. The company is now in the process of improving key quality assurance processes that will yield significant improvements across the enterprise.”
– Matt Sanders, Certified Lean Master, M Sanders and Associates
Challenge
Customers expect Micro Motion products to be high quality and extremely reliable. Due to mission critical or regulatory requirements associated with many product applications, customers may request “evidence” that products meet certain quality standards in the form of a Quality Assurance Certification (QAC). Unlike the very sophisticated Micro Motion manufacturing processes, producing QAC documents is a manual process, with significant variation across the global enterprise.
A key strategic objective of the company is to reduce customer lead times and improve response times. The Quality Assurance team recognized that one way to streamline the allocation to delivery process would be more timely delivery of QAC documents. Identifying and implementing improvements to the process of generating QAC documents for all product families presented a perfect opportunity for a Lean project.
Engagement
To address the challenge, Matt enrolled in the Certified Lean Master (CLM) program to learn the tools and develop the skills needed to lead Kaizen Blitz events with the Micro Motion team. The multi-session CLM program provided a complete package of education and coaching on the creation of sustainable organizations.
During the course, Matt’s project included three separate sessions with the Micro Motion team. The first was a Kaizen Blitz event to document the current state value stream map. Next was a future state value stream mapping exercise to identify opportunities for improvement and design process changes to capture time and cost benefits and eliminate waste in the process. Finally, a project planning meeting and feasibility discussion was held in which the team identified recommended changes, documented benefits to the company, and developed a formal recommendation to launch a Lean Transformation program.
Results
The results of the project have been impressive. The Kaizen Blitz event identified substantial opportunities to drive waste out of the current processes, and led to the establishment of a Lean project which will automate the creation and delivery of QAC documents. The time savings from the reduction in manual effort and redeployment of resources to more value-added activities is expected to exceed $100,000 annually. Even more important, the customer experience will be enhanced through more effective an efficient delivery of products requiring QAC.
“Matt did an excellent job in leveraging the Certified Lean Master program to learn the details on the five principles of Lean and the systematic elimination of waste. He then immediately applied this knowledge to his Lean project and included all employees in the improvement process. The team at Micro Motion is now in a great position to continue the cultural transformation required for crafting a sustainable organization.”
– Mike Loughrin, CEO, Transformance Advisors.
Lean Transformation Program
A Lean Transformation program is one of the best investments any organization can make. The return on investment (ROI) is better than many other strategic initiatives. Eliminating waste will improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue (or impact), and reduce costs.
The best Lean programs will contain three critical components:
- Lean Projects: Our research and experience has revealed the key to success is executing well-defined Lean projects. These projects must engage employees to eliminate waste and deliver significant improvements.
- Continuous Improvement: Lean projects will provide you better and stable processes. This is the time to leverage continuous improvement to keep getting better and respond to the constant change swirling around you.
- Program Management: Maintaining a portfolio of improvement projects, communicating the exciting accomplishments, dealing with change management, and providing educational events for everyone are just some of the requirements for a successful Lean Transformation. You need a champion focused on your Lean Transformation program.
Learn more about the program, from Transformance Advisors, at: Lean Transformation Program.
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