Lean Management Consulting

What is Lean Management / Production?

Lean manufacturing was originally derived from the Toyota Production System. The main goal of lean manufacturing is to avoid waste. This design principle aims to eliminate all non-value-adding activities within the production system. Value-adding activities are defined as actions that increase the value of the product for the customer. Non-value-adding activities are therefore considered waste.

There are the following types of waste, called Muda in Japanese:

• Material movements
• Inventory
• Motion
• Waiting times
• Rework
• Overproduction
• Corrections due to errors / defects

Examples include search times for material or tools, unused waiting times in production, excessive setup times, avoidable internal transport movements or rework due to lack of process stability / quality.

Tools and Methods Used in Lean Manufacturing to Increase Productivity

Our experts have decades of industrial experience, among others, from the automotive supply industry and are familiar with the Danaher Business System.

We apply the following proven methods / tools for process optimization and continuous improvement to increase productivity:

• Strategic plan / X-Matrix
• Value Stream Mapping and Design (VSM)
• Standardized work
• 5S organization & cleanliness
• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
• Setup time reduction (SMED)
• Supply Chain Management (KANBAN)
• Problem-solving methods
• Visual management
• Optimization of administrative processes as well

In addition to Lean Management / Production consulting, we also offer training and workshops in lean manufacturing and the above-mentioned methods. We analyze the processes in your company together with you and your employees and identify improvement potentials. In addition to training materials, further proven practical work tools related to the methods are provided. The goal is to identify and reduce waste in order to systematically increase productivity and thus the company's results. To ensure that the initiated changes have a sustainable effect and that the lean mindset becomes part of the company DNA/culture, we develop an individually custom KPI reporting (Key Performance Indicator) and accompany our clients monthly over a longer period.

Supplier Management in Case of Quality Problems and Delivery Difficulties

Another field of application is supplier management especially in cases of quality problems and delivery difficulties. We work closely and trustfully with your suppliers to analyze the root causes of quality issues or delivery delays and then operationally stabilize and continuously improve the (manufacturing) processes.

Lean Consulting for SMEs, also for Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands

The target group is specifically medium-sized industrial companies with serial production. In addition to Germany, we also offer our consulting services in Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands.

Related article: "Switzerland is top – except in productivity: How can Switzerland increase its productivity?": "Swiss labor productivity is – compared to many other industrialized countries – only in the middle range. Recipes for improvement are urgently needed. Digitization based on lean processes is part of that." (René Brugger, President of the Central Board swissT.net) "Especially with Lean Manufacturing, a significant increase in productivity can be achieved with minimal financial expense."

Industry 4.0 / Quality Management Solutions for Significantly Increased Productivity and Improved Quality

Besides consulting in lean manufacturing, we also offer in our Industry 4.0 Shops ® digital solutions for increasing quality and quality management.

We provide a unique solution that automatically integrates with all your manufacturing data (worldwide if required) and generates a comprehensive diagnostic analysis for you:

"Maintaining our existing data structures but significantly shortening the manufacturing time of products and achieving complete end-to-end transparency over the entire manufacturing cycle. Our production capacity increased by 22% within the first year of use." (Quality Manager)

Benefit from our extensive experience to significantly increase quality and productivity in your company.