Does Industry 4.0 Mean the End of Lean?

Does Industry 4.0 Mean the End of Lean? In the last couple of years I have been asked a surprising question. “Does Industry 4.0 mean the end of Lean?” So should you be parking your Lean initiatives and bringing in Industry 4.0 experts to assess your readiness for the next wave of manufacturing? What is …

Overcoming Four Big Barriers to a Lean Culture Part 4: Stopping Passive Acceptance

Creating a Lean culture, or for that matter creating any positive change, seems very difficult in some organisations. They seem to have a form of entropy where all improvement regresses quickly back to the mediocre normal. Observing these companies, we often find four big cultural barriers – complacency, low expectations, learned helplessness, and passive acceptance. …

TXM Lean Case Study – DMG Mori China

The Challenge DMG Mori is one of the largest machine tools builders in the world. Like many manufacturers in China, DMG Mori was facing rapid rising costs. This was making it difficult for the Shanghai factory to compete with other DMG Mori plants, particularly those in Eastern Europe. This led to a fall in export …

Our Top 5 Practical 5S Workplace Organisation Videos

Practical 5S is one of the easiest Lean techniques to implement but one of the hardest to sustain. View a selection of 5S Lean Minute Videos from the TXM Lean Solutions archive and learn how to sustain 5S in your organisation.

Four Simple Tips for a Successful Kanban System

4 Simple Steps for an Effective Kanban System Kanban Systems or Pull Systems of various types are now common across many industries. They are cheap, simple to operate and can lead to large cost and inventory reductions. Here are some guidelines to help make your pull system work effectively: 1. Keep the Lead Time Short …

Overcoming Four Big Barriers to a Lean Culture Part 2: Beating Low Expectations

Creating a Lean culture, or for that matter creating any positive change, seems very difficult in some organisations. They seem to have a form of entropy where all improvement regresses quickly back to the mediocre normal. What are the Big Barriers to a Lean Culture? Observing these companies, we often find four big cultural barriers …

Lean Inventory Management — Understand it Before You Try to Slash it!

Inventory management is one of the biggest costs in a business and often the largest commitment of cash is inventory. In Lean thinking, all inventory is also waste. So what is the right level of inventory for your business? Find out More about Inventory from Tim McLean’s New Book Inventory is an Outcome A common …

Overcoming The Four Big Barriers To A Lean Culture Part 1: Breaking Through Complacency

How Do You Create a Lean Culture? Creating a Lean culture, or for that matter creating any positive change, seems very difficult in some organisations. They seem to have a form of entropy where all improvement regresses quickly back to the mediocre normal. Observing these companies, we often find four big cultural barriers: Complacency – …

TXM Lean Minute – Finding the Root Cause to Fix Problems Permanently

TXM Lean Minute – Finding the Root Cause to Fix Problems Permanently Teach your people to find permanent solutions to every day problems. This Lean minute video explains the basics of how to use simple root cause analysis to find the root cause of problems and develop and implement a permanent fix. Learn How to …

TXM Lean Case Study – Due Diligence for Private Equity Firm

The Challenge Our client was a leading Private Equity firm looking to acquire a manufacturer of capital equipment. The target company had two substantial manufacturing operations in Australia, one in the Middle East and key suppliers in China and India. TXM were engaged to assist with technical due diligence including assessing risks and opportunities in …

TXM Lean Case Study – Reduced Lead Time & Increased Competitiveness

The Challenge Our client is a leading precision engineering company focused on the defence and aerospace sectors. Their customer was operating an advanced helicopter in a demanding marine environment. This environment was causing corrosion of key operating components in the helicopter, leading to frequent repairs and low service availability of the aircraft. Lead times for overhaul of …

TXM Lean Case Study – Lean Transformation in Oil Production

TXM Lean Case Study – Lean Transformation in Oil Production The Challenge Our client is an oil industry joint venture between a leading oil production state and a global oil major. We were engaged to assist in deployment of a continuous improvement system developed by the global oil company. Our engagement co-coincided with a historic …

TXM Lean Case Study – Reduction of Inventory and Cost for Mining Equipment Overhaul

Reduction of Inventory and Cost for Mining Equipment Overhaul Long Wall Mining is a highly mechanised and effective method of underground mining. The Challenge Our client was a long established precision engineering company engaged in the maintenance repair and equipment overhaul (MRO) of key components used in long wall coal mining. The company was well …

Waste in Lean Manufacturing: Find the Hidden Waste in your Business

When you walk through your workplace do you find it hard to see waste? Maybe you have implemented 5S so the workplace looks well organized and have a solid order backlog so that everyone seems really busy. In this environment, you may look at your operation and think that the opportunity to improve is now …

Supporting Good Communication with Technology

Good communication is central to having a prospering organisation and technology solutions may be able to help take your communication to the next level. Here we will outline the basic needs for good communication and a few software solutions that may help your team to further improve their communications.

How to Recruit a Great Operations Manager

How do you recruit a great Operations Manager i? We talked to an experienced manufacturing recruiter and came up with some simple steps that will hopefully enable you to fit the right person for your business.

TXM Lean Minute – Containing A Problem With An Interim Fix

When something goes wrong you usually need to take action to ensure that work can be continued and customers supplied. We call this the interim fix or containment action. Learn how to develop an effective interim fix when things go wrong in your business.

TXM Lean Case Study – Production Outsourcing Project Management

The Challenge Our client was a major global high technology manufacturer. Their operation was highly vertically integrated with in-house sheet metal fabrication and machining. The sheet-metal operation was highly efficient, but needed major new investment to remain viable and support the growth of the business. The client had decided not to invest further in this …

TXM Lean Case Study – Regional Lean Supply Chain Development

The Challenge Our client’s plant in China produces a limited range of products in high volumes for the Chinese market. The consolidation of regional capacity meant that the China plant was to be established as a regional manufacturing hub. This greatly increased the complexity of the China operation from a supplier of a few dozen …

TXM Lean Case Study – Multi Site Packaging Supplier Lean Transformation

TXM Lean Case Study – Multi Site Packaging Supplier Lean Transformation The Challenge Our client is the leading supplier of packaging to global electronics manufacturers and subcontractors who demand “Just In Time” supply at short lead times. Our client’s businesses were struggling to meet the demanding quality and supply requirements of their customers leading to …

TXM Lean Case Study – Reducing Lead Time by 60%

TXM Lean Case Study – Reducing Lead Time by 60% The Challenge Our client is a global coatings manufacturer. Their Guangzhou operation produces a range of high-quality colour matched coatings for consumer electronics, primarily mobile phones. Mobile phones are an extremely dynamic market. Model lives are extremely short and colours and designs change constantly. The …

TXM Lean Case Study – Value Stream Mapping to Drive Transformation

The Challenge Sony Chemicals is a leading manufacturer of LCD touch screens displays for mobile phones, cameras and other devices. Sony has decades of experience in implementing process improvement through Kaizen while Sony Suzhou factory has a highly skilled and experienced lean experts team. The improvements made were mainly in points level, not in whole …

Green Manufacturing Case Study in Lean Manufacturing: Automotive Green Plant

The Challenge This case study on Lean Manufacturing focuses on a new green plant. The client, Futuris is a global leading manufacturer of automotive components, providing seating and interior systems. Futuris had established a new green plant in Wuxi to provide high-quality seating systems to SAIC, GMC and Tesla. The management team in Wuxi wanted …

TXM Lean Case Study – Implementing Lean to Meet the Challenge of Sales Surge

The Challenge Taizhou Henry Technologies is a leading manufacturer of industrial refrigeration components. Its sales grew from 50,000 units in 2012 to 360,000 in 2013. In the following few years, the sales were expected to increase to 750,000 units per year. Meeting this large increase in volume was a significant challenge for Taizhou Henry Technologies. …

TXM Lean Case Study – Funwick Manufacturing Lean Improvements

The Challenge Funwick Manufacturing is a successful private company focused on manufacturing high quality products for global leading companies, including fire extinguishers, automotive components and metal parts. Like other Chinese private companies, Funwick was experiencing more pressure from clients and competitors in terms of lead time and cost. Funwick’s chairman recognised that Lean could work …

TXM Lean Case Study – Global Pneumatic Manufacturer

The Challenge Our client is a worldwide leader in automation technology, its Jinan plant located in north of China, includes die casting, machining, assembly and distribution. The lead time and cost to Europe was worse than Poland, thus German headquarters were planning to shift all orders of die casting to Poland. Our Client expected TXM …

TXM Lean Case Study – Improve IT help desk support processes through Lean Implementation

The Challenge Our client is a world leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. A core team in China with IT professionals are divided in care teams (such as hardware, network, telecoms and applications). …

TXM Lean Case Study – Implementation of TPM for a PVC Floor Manufacturer

The Challenge Our client is a global leading indoor PVC floor manufacturer. The reliability of the equipment is critical in the process industry. Our client had established a good foundation for maintenance, however, the Changshu plant realised that it was not enough to achieve high reliability as dust in the production area was a critical …

TXM Lean Case Study – Lean Supplier Development

The Challenge Our client is a leading supplier of everyday brands in Oceania, with products ranging from footwear, home wear, underwear to hosiery and work wear. Facing fierce competition, our client aimed to reduce the costs and the lead time through the implementation of the Lean management of their suppliers. Jiangyin Harvest was a key …

TXM Lean Case Study – Business Process Optimisation

The Challenge Our client is a world-leading solution provider of steel belts and processing systems. Our client success focused on meeting rapidly growing product demand while maintaining the highest standards of product quality. The business supplied its global customers on a make to order basis. Senior management identified unacceptable long lead times as a result …

Avoiding a “Bad” Improvement Project

We’ve all seen those improvement projects that look out of place and not aligned with the company direction. So, how do you ensure your improvement project doesn’t look like something that’s been tacked on? Let’s look at starting with a clear roadmap, getting the basics in place, then keep moving with more advanced lean tools.

Branach Manufacturing Case Study – Increasing Sales Growth by 100% for SME

Branach Manufacturing Case Study: How to Stay One Step Ahead of the Competition Branach Manufacturing is perhaps the best Lean Transformation we have seen in a Small or Medium Sized Enterprise (SME). Branach have driven rapid growth through outstanding customer service and value delivered through a world class Lean production system. In this TXM video, …

OEE Improvement in Pharmaceuticals Case Study

THE CHALLENGE Our client is a leading global pharmaceutical manufacturer. A key line produces a terminally sterilised liquid pharmaceutical for global markets. This line was expecting over 20% sales growth. However the expiry of patents meant that the cost of production needed to be substantially reduced. To achieve this cost reduction the business had decided …

What Makes a Great Operations Manager?

So what are the signs that you have hired a really effective Operations Manager or General Manager in your business?The challenge is that some of these seem counter-intuitive and you might not recognise them as positive behaviours, or worse, see them as negatives. Here are 10 things that will show that your Operations Manager is a top performer.