Lean Initiatives at CCT - Commitment & Focus

By focusing on Lean initiatives at Cold Chain Technologies (CCT), we're improving the efficiency of our operation, optimizing quality levels, and lowering costs for our customers. We're pleased to have launched a successful company-wide effort to implement Lean core values throughout our business. CCT's Lean Core Team, a cross-functional group representing all business areas, is led by internal managers with significant experience implementing Lean principles. Team members have been formally trained by leading experts in Lean fundamentals. As a result, we've implemented Lean Core practices and tools, including:

  • Identification of the 7 Wastes
  • Morning Market
  • 5S
  • Visual Workplace
  • Value Stream Mapping
  • Kaizen

Building on the success of our Lean Core Team, CCT has established a Lean Implementation Team whose charter is to make real and sustainable improvements to our operation by using Lean tools and principles. As we continue to implement Lean practices at CCT, we'll be expanding our toolbox to include: kanban, JIT, set-up and change-over reduction, standard work, poka yoke (mistake proofing), and jidoka (building in quality).

More Details

The 7 Wastes - Elimination of Waste is the Core Tenet of Lean

The 7 Wastes are: rework, motion, overproduction, conveyance, inventory, over processing, and waiting. This Lean activity is focused on minimizing or eliminating activities that add cost, but not value. At CCT, we post a list of the 7 Wastes throughout our plant to remind employees to be constantly vigilant about waste elimination. In addition, this results in a greener operation.

Morning Market

Every morning, typically on the shop floor, a 15 minute Morning Market meeting is held to identify problems, document corrective actions, assign responsibilities, and set expected due dates. Led by a team leader or area supervisor, attendees are cross-functional, representing quality, engineering, materials and management. This problem solving meeting has become one of the main methods of communication in our plant. Building on its success, the Morning Market has been adopted by non-manufacturing areas of our business.

5S - Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize and Sustain

Another foundation of our Lean program, 5S, is a disciplined method for workplace organization and housekeeping. Each individual at CCT is required to take ownership of his or her own area, and ensure that their space contains only required material. By maintaining a high 5S standard, operational problems are obvious. For instance, if an area is completely clean and free of debris, it is easy to see a leak from a pump. When a leak is seen early and addressed quickly, major equipment downtime can be avoided.

Visual Workplace

In a Visual Workplace, the current operation can be understood by viewing the facility. This requires establishing a clear layout and labeling of the work process, detecting abnormalities through the presence of Andon lights or alarms, posting business performance through metrics, and monitoring "ahead/behind" conformance status relative to plan. At CCT, we have undertaken a major labeling program in which all doors have clearly identified signage, all work cells are labeled as to their purpose, and all tanks and lines are labeled as to contents and direction of flow.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

VSM involves assembling a group of knowledgeable individuals whose mission is to document on paper the current flow of people and materials in any process. Overlaid on this flow chart is each step's cycle time. This process allows the group to step back and review with the intent to identify opportunities to improve the process, and to eliminate waste. As a result of VSM, the team may eliminate redundant steps, rearrange work cells, and eliminate excessive inventory.

At CCT, we have applied VSM to Order Entry, a non-traditional manufacturing process. Through this effort, we were able to simplify the order entry process, and eliminate a number of non-value added steps. Improvements included acquiring blue-tooth headsets to "untie" our team from their desks, raising the height of the cubicle partitions to prevent disruptions, and eliminating the need to hand-write phone orders. We have also successfully used VSM to identify improvement opportunities in our urethane and refrigerant manufacturing. VSM is never complete. It is an iterative process that should be done every six months to map the current state and create a "future" state.

Kaizen

Kaizen means continuous improvement, which is at the heart of Lean. Kaizen events can be as short as four hours or as long as five days depending on the improvement opportunity that is being addressed. CCT recently held a first Kaizen Event in the refrigerant manufacturing area. Our team consisted of a cross-functional group of 12 individuals. The purpose was to improve the layout of the area to establish a better workflow. Our team performed 5S, removing items from the area that were not needed, and repositioned equipment and materials. We also identified future activities to improve flow, including the installation of a gel recovery system and of a straight-line conveyer system for bricks.