L&NW recently sat down with SPL Consulting's Brian Van de Water, where we discussed the implementation of Lean Manufacturing, as well as potential benefits and strategies for success.

Van de Water boasts extensive training and experience in Lean methodologies, with his first exposure coming in the mid 1980’s when Dr. Deming introduced Total Quality Management and Statistical Process Control Techniques. Van de Water volunteered to train in Dr. Deming’s Management Philosophy, SPC, FMEA and DOE’s, and he has worked with over 500 team members in these processes. 

Van de Water has applied these tools successfully in numerous industries and conducted seven turnarounds. His first SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) Kaizen took place in 1996, and he has been licensed in Kaizen through Shingijutsu of Japan.

Q: How did the pandemic emphasize the importance of Lean?
The pandemic forced businesses to do more with less through much of the last year, as we all know. In recent months, it has led to a national labor crisis and made it incredibly challenging to find new employees. Lean principles provide us with a methodology to work smarter, not harder. 

Let’s start the conversation with this. Do you feel capacity constraints anywhere in your business? In recent years, SPL Consulting, LLC has helped clients generate nearly 80,000 hours – or roughly 40 full time positions – of capacity utilizing Lean processes. Together, we identify “wastes” in your current processes as opportunities to re-engineer how work gets done. By doing this, we eliminate inefficiencies, thereby reducing the time it takes to complete the process. Every minute saved turns into capacity reducing the pressure on finding new employees.

As a practical example, during a recent Kaizen, we identified a step in the die change process that took 30 seconds. It was only 30 seconds, so no big deal right? Not so fast.  This process was completed thousands of times annually, and alone the improved process resulted in 130 hours of savings. When combined with other improvements, it resulted in nearly 3,000 hours of capacity creation in a single Kaizen.

Q: What should printing companies know about Lean Manufacturing and how it can help their business?
The biggest thing companies should know about Lean is it is not a magic wand. It is a phenomenal tool set to identify hidden ways to improve, but it takes commitment from leadership to make it stick. The Kaizen is the easy part. The hard part is managing change and creating new habits of following the new standard work. My goal at SPL Consulting is to help guide clients through remaining focused on key actions necessary for successful implementation and how to personally engage in the new efforts. When you combine Lean principles with leadership, results are soon to follow.

Q: How do I get started, and what questions should I ask?  
SPL Consulting recommends conducting an assessment to uncover the “hidden factory” of opportunity in your processes to get started. This is accomplished by meeting with a cross section of your team to get input on challenges they face in doing their jobs and achieving objectives. This provides the framework to identify and prioritize areas of focus that will deliver the greatest results. 

The most important thing leaders can do to begin your Lean journey is to take action. We all know the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing expecting different results. The sooner you decide to start, the sooner you will see results. 

Q: What are some of your success stories?  
A great example of how SPL helped an organization achieve unprecedented results is with a client that was versed in Lean processes. They asked me to review their processes to see if they were missing anything. They felt they were pretty strong and were skeptical SPL would find anything substantial. To their shock and amazement, one Kaizen created 5,200 hours of press capacity.

The CEO and other senior managers participated in the event. On the second day of the Kaizen, we identified inefficiencies in how stock was staged for upcoming jobs. It took on average 20 minutes for operators to locate stock for their next job. We went to work and all but eliminated the staging area, leaving only minimal stock identified on the ticket by location. The CEO and VP of operations were dismayed at how difficult the current process made it for the operators. 

SPL Consulting began work with new client in December. The president and owner recently shared with me that she resisted bringing me on board for a couple months while others were ready to go. We have since created over 8,000 hours of press capacity and she now says SPL Consulting “is the best thing we have ever done."

Q: What challenges must businesses overcome when transitioning to new ways of operating?
Change is difficult. You need to anticipate resistance, frustration and even anger when changes like Lean are introduced. By anticipating these emotions and behaviors, leaders can be prepared to answer questions and remove barriers that are bound to surface. 

Our coaches help explain how to manage change using LSW (Leader Standard Work). It provides a disciplined approach, similar to Standard Work created through a Kaizen, for how leaders can engage in support of Lean initiatives. When LSW is combined with sustainment efforts and a continuous improvement mindset, transformational improvement is within your grasp.

Q: What does the process involve when requesting your services?
It starts with an introductory conversation at no charge. We then decide upon the best path forward customized to your unique challenges.