How These Four Businesses Plumped Up By Going Lean

Doing more with less and increasing profits while maintaining high-quality product and service standards  is what today's competitive business world is all about. In fact, businesses that don't implement efficiency and waste reduction procedures run the risk of failure because they simply cannot compete in the global marketplace. If your business is struggling with the concept of improving efficiency and reducing waste, consider the following case studies to get a grasp on proven methods that work and how to put them in practice in your business.

The YMCA: How a Nonprofit Organization Improved Services With Better Efficiency

There are more than 2,700 YMCA branches in the United States. The YMCA provides services for 13 million adults and 9 million youths that cover healthy living, social responsibility and youth development. It provides summer day camps, child care for working parents, food programs and leadership and academic enrichments.

As the branch executive director of the YMCA in Dallas, Jorge Perez noticed how unfocused and scattered project management efforts were. In an effort to improve procedures, he signed up for a quality improvement course that focused on Six Sigma. Six Sigma, or Lean Six Sigma, which is a hybrid methodology, is a process efficiency initiative that's been used as a successful business model since 1986. A quality management tool, Six Sigma identifies and removes defective processes using statistical methods. Six Sigma is most commonly used in the manufacturing sector, but Perez saw no reason that the same principles would not work at the YMCA. Although his position in Dallas was not the right environment to put forth changes, he was right.

In 2013, Perez began working at the YMCA's national resource office in Chicago. It was here that he was able to initiate Six Sigma and encourage staff training in the process. As a result, a new method of tracking and managing programs began. Six Sigma efficiency tools pointed leaders to ways to improve the summer day camp culture, overall project work became more data-driven and organized and services vastly improved.

Corning: How a Company Founded in 1851 Stays in the Game

Corning was founded in 1851 and is well-known for its glass and ceramic products. Since its founding, Corning has manufactured its inventions, placing emphasis on innovation. In the past, quality control meant product quality. As the reality of a global economy set in, it became clear that there was more to quality than products. Corning redefined quality to cover not only products, but all business practices, from invention to manufacturing. Using  the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) data-driven method for stabilizing and improving business practices specifically customized for the Corning Company, each step in the manufacturing process was tracked and analyzed. Bottlenecks were discovered and eradicated and more streamlined processes became the norm. The result? The company  now maintains the highest Corning standards, but manufactures its products at a much lower cost.

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals' Path to Success

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals develops, manufactures, markets and distributes medical imaging agents and specialty pharmaceutical products. A global business, the pharmaceutical segment includes the manufacture of specialty generic and branded drugs. The company employs approximately 5,550 people worldwide. Revenues were $2.2 billion in 2013.

The problem? The Mallinckrodt St. Louis facility was not producing efficiently. In fact, production backorders were over a year old and getting older by the minute. There were significant bottlenecks in the manufacturing process, but the real culprit was the fill, boil and drain method used to clean the 2,000-gallon production tanks. It was highly inefficient, reduced capacity and resulted in hundreds of hours of rework. Company leaders realized that a clean-out failure rate of over 50 percent and three day changeover time between products was unacceptable. What did they do?

They began with a Lean Six Sigma project aimed to find and eradicate problems with the equipment cleaning process. Brainstorming, root-cause analysis and process mapping resulted in a creative new cleaning procedure that was more efficient and rarely required rework. Successful implementation of the efficiency plan led to significant annual cost savings.

Boston Scientific , Heredia, Costa Rica, Reengineers Quality

Boston Scientific designs and manufactures less invasive medical devices. The company's products are used in heart, digestive, urological, vascular and pulmonary treatments. The Heredia, Costa Rica, location manufactures guidewires used in many of the company’s devices. In a routine metrics review in 2012, company core team members came up with several ways to improve the manufacturing process in all phases of production, including inspections, space utilization, idle time and reduced waste. Company leaders devised a plan to address the issues in the next year. Using a DMAIC roadmap and with core team members and product builders working together, the company came up with a re-engineered packaging line that was not only stronger, but proved more efficient, increased safety and saved money. Efficiency tools also pointed out the need for a work line rebalance which resulted in a one-piece flow that put the manufacturing process on a faster track and eliminated bottlenecks.