Denver Machine Shop Starts Their Lean Journey with 5S

“I extend thanks to Rich Mittan for leading our efforts to get workplace organization going at Denver Machine Shop. We are seeing tremendous benefits! Our team is poised to continue with this initial effort at implementing lean.” – Eric White, President, Denver Machine Shop

Client Profile:

Denver Machine is a family owned job shop that specializes in high mix, low volume machining, fabrication, and repair work. The company offers many services including drilling and welding, steel fabrication, and custom metal fabrication. They cater to emergency related issues and require no appointment for service. Denver Machine’s facility is approximately 6,000 square feet that holds most of their equipment.

The Challenge:

The facility is very cramped and it leaves very little floor space for movement and optimal organization. The work space at Denver Machine combined with the size of their labor force and the way that their job scheduling is done, makes it very improbable that all the necessary equipment is running at the same time. Poor workplace organization led to excessive changeover times, misplacement of materials, and wasted time searching for tools and materials. This resulted in a variety of quality issues and a poor on-time delivery. Eric White brought in Richard Mittan and tasked him with guiding their team to improve workplace organization.

The Engagement:

To address the challenge, Rich Mittan, a former Operations Manager with Denver Machine Shop, offered to help. Rich enrolled in a Certified Lean Master (CLM) course being taught by Transformance Advisors and funded through the Workforce Investment Act. This multi-session program provided a complete package of education and coaching on the creation of sustainable lean supply chains. From the knowledge gained in this course, Rich was able to craft a lean project that addressed the workplace organization issues. He targeted one section of the shop that was used as a staging area for incoming materials, work in process, and finished parts. Rich worked with Eric White, President of Denver Machine to develop a business case that leveraged an education program for all employees in the concepts and benefits of the 5S System.

The Results:

By following the systematic approach of the 5S System, the team at Denver Machine was able to create an organized and dedicated staging area. This new layout allows for more efficiency and is bringing an extensive range of benefits. The new layout is projected to save $50,000 in labor during the first year. By freeing up labor resources, these savings will allow Denver Machine to grow revenue with the additional capacity that has been created.

“Rich 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 Denver Machine is now in a great position to continue the cultural transformation required for crafting a sustainable lean supply chain.” – Paul Gleditsch, VP of Lean Programs, Transformance Advisors.

Additional Information:

Contact the team at Transformance Advisors for information on how you can leverage the Certified Lean Master or one of our other educational events to improve service and reduce costs. Please send an email to lean@emailta.com