SETUP KAIZEN: CASE 3M
About 3M
3M is primarily a science-based company. It makes thousands of products and is a global leader in a large number markets, as diverse as healthcare and traffic safety products to office supplies and optical films for LCD screens. 3M’s success stems from its ability to apply new technologies – often in combination – to meet a virtually infinite variety of costumer needs.Scenario
The company’s objective was to increase the turnover of its inventory, which would eventually reduce stock and shorten delivery times. To accomplish this, the company would need to downsize its production lots. But making smaller production lots requires larger numbers of production cycles and, therefore, more setup operations for the same production period.
Our Approach
Our approach, as proposed to 3M, was to hold successive setup Kaizens about the process, because this would provide consistent and sustainable results as a culture of continuous improvement was implemented on the factory floor.
Specific training was to be given to the area’s operators and supervisors, who would learn the concepts and their application in their own work environment.
Two operators would perform the setup operations. Their coworkers, based on the concepts and techniques taught them during their training, would measure, analyze, and record any improvements.
Our Results