ABnote Achieves 150% Increase in Throughput with Lean
ABnote has completed several VSM exercises and they have targeted 12/30/11 as the date to have their future state implemented. To date significant ID Value Stream improvements have resulted in a 50 percent reduction in lead time, a 95 percent on-time delivery rate, an 80 percent reduction in WIP inventory, a 45 percent increase in yields, a 90 percent reduction in steps to produce, an 80 percent reduction in manufacturing square footage, a 150 percent increase in through-put, and a 75 percent increase in cash flow!
ABnote has also put a unique spin on their educational journey. They have formalized their continuous improvement initiative, known as "PEP." PEP is the acronym for the Performance Enhancement Program and it stands for "Pride in all we do," "Efficiency through education," and "Profitability from customer dedication and accountability." They have created PEP University and issue diplomas designed and printed in their own facility that are given to all employees who complete GBMP's training. ABnote has also gone one step further and issues quarterly "PEP Dividends" to all employees based on the results of sustainable CI efforts.
"ABnote is serious about thinking differently," according to GBMP CI manager Bruce McGill. "They recognize that lean is good for employees AND for customers. And, they understand that sustainable change must come from their people, by allowing them to quickly apply what is learned through education and training in their own processes. I expect them to continue to make good gains as they use lean methods such as Value Stream Mapping to uncover more opportunities to strip non-value-added activities from their daily work."