accelerating your lean journey · 2016-10-31 · accelerating your lean journey learning how to go...

Accelerating Your Lean

Journey Learning How to go from Excess to Success in a Lean Transformation

Stephen Russo

Director Operational Excellence & Quality

Scott Kenyon

Business Analyst

Who is AstroNova?

• Founded in 1969

• Three distinct brands, Test & Measurement, Aerospace and QuickLabel

• Annual sales over $95 Million

• Publicly traded [NASDAQ: ALOT]

• 325 employees

• World Headquarters located in West Warwick, RI USA

• European Headquarters in Rodgau, Germany

The Beginning of Excess

• New CEO with Focus on Lean – Prior Danaher Exec

• Use Consultants

• Drive By Kaizen

• Tool Based implementation

• Strategy Deployment Process (SDP) Launched

What We Caused as a Result

• Although training everyone in Lean 101, only select few participated

in the Kaizen process

• Kaizen events were selected in an ad hoc fashion – not scientific

• The difference between being on a Kaizen and being Kaizened

• Just because the CEO is on board doesn’t mean that the rest of the

Leadership Team is

• Consultants were pro’s at Kaizen Math

• We created islands of success surrounded by a sea of waste

• Confused tools usage with transformation

• SDP without accountability is a waste of everyone’s time

The Re-Start

• Hired internal Lean talent

• Developed our Corporate Vision

• Created a scientific approach to Kaizen

• Talked about our Lean Vision at every Team meeting and outside

correspondence

• Invigorated the SDP monthly review process with Countermeasures

and accountability

• Eliminated Kaizen Math – No longer calculating hard savings, rather

are we doing what is right for the business

• Realized that Tools Do Not Define an Operating System

• CEO engagement with the entire Leadership Team Worldwide

AstroNova Operating System

Down the Path

• Change the Culture

• Employee Involvement

• Lean Daily Management

• Change Management

Change the Culture Change the Environment

Change the Culture Change the Environment

Change the Culture Change the Environment

Change the Culture Change the Environment

Employee Involvement

• Implementation of Lean Daily Management (LDM) Tiered approach

• Employee Engagement Survey

• Kaizen Process

Initial LDM

• Leadership Gemba Walk – Observation by Walking Around

• No actions taken

• A simple report out of prior day results

• Metrics not actionable by the LDM owners

Initial LDM

Initial LDM

Initial LDM

LDM Tier I

At the Start of each shift – a 5 minute update on yesterday and what’s on the agenda for today

LDM Tier II

Management Gemba Walk - Sr. Leadership Team to Manager and LDM board Owner

LDM Tier III

• Stand-up meeting

• Sr. Leadership Team Weekly review of Key Business Metrics and

Countermeasures

• Actions assigned

• Assists in SDP performance

Successes

• Small bite approach – event selection is key

• Eliminate the Math

• Make the place look different

• Learn how not to fight an Emotional battle with Logic

Less Than Successful

• LDM Tiered approach – want to measure too much

• Accountability – knowing when to show you’re displeased and how

• Projects (Kaizen Newspapers) don’t manage themselves

Continuing Down the Path

• Even today – two years later – The entire Leadership team is not on-

board

• With Top down implementation, not everyone is willing to give up the

old tried and true

• Many successful Kaizen events and scores of people involved

• My favorite comment – I actually enjoyed this event, it wasn’t what I was told…

Key Takeaways

• There’s a reason it’s called Continuous Improvement

• Like SDP, Keep moving forward toward the goal

• Lean is a philosophy and not a tool

• Don’t let perfect get in the way of better

• We sell what we do, e.g. QuickLabel Printers

• The Soft stuff is the Hard stuff – Need to focus on Change Management

Where We’ll be in 3 Years

• Double in size

• Manufacturing sites around the world

Thank You!

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Session: TP/11

Accelerating Your Lean Journey

Stephen Russo

AstroNova

srusso@astronovainc.com