The Xplor View - October 2008 - (Page 7)

Implementing a lean working environment All printers face a huge squeeze on profit margins. The supply chain demands ever more in terms of quality, service, and delivery at ever lower prices. Despite heavy investment in new technology, few printers can be satisfied with current performance or future prospects. Yet there are printers who buck the trend. They find ways to continuously improve their performance both on the shop floor and in the office and deliver substantial savings, while gaining greater commitment and enthusiasm of their staff. How? They achieve this improvement by implementing a culture of continuous improvement using lean manufacturing techniques. For Vision in Print (ViP) this transformation starts by conducting a 'premier snapshot' diagnostic to review your company's current operating practices and comparing them to best practice both in the industry and across industries. Then the company selects a specific process, e.g. sales order processing that needs radical improvement. Staff are trained in lean process techniques and the staff then devise for themselves better ways of working. Hence, a strong buy-in from your staff and real sustainability for the improvements is achieved. These changes are radical and sometimes difficult to believe but they are real as demonstrated in the following examples: • Press make-ready times reduced by 40 percent • Estimating lead-times reduced by 65 percent • Cutting and creasing labour costs reduced by 40 percent Maintaining profitability is increasingly difficult for printers of all disciplines. To succeed, companies need to respond by streamlining their processes and enhance productivity. ViP has a strong reputation for quality shop-floor process improvement programmes on press utilization, reducing make-ready times and waste levels; however improving the entire job workflow from enquiry to delivery is also essential so they developed Office and Prepress Change Cycle (OPCC). OPCC focuses on streamlining the information flow for every aspect of customer service, from the initial request for quote through estimating, ordering, planning, artwork, delivery, and invoicing. OPCC is suitable for any company, irrespective of size, delivering substantial benefits through the application of smarter working and best practice. The commitment of only five days is required for the OPCC programme across three phases. The company selects a four to six person inter-departmental team and on the first day this group focuses on the need for change, highlights problem areas, and sets its own objectives for improvement. The role of ViP is simply to steer proceedings, help establish baseline measurements, and introduce best practice theory. Next, a three-day workshop uses the team’s new tools and techniques to carry out process mapping of the current state of the information workflow throughout the business. This is followed by the creation of the ideal future state map that will eliminate communication problems, inconsistencies, bottlenecks, and inaccuracies. The ViP engineer guides the team, through the use of visual aids, to create tangible objectives as well as realistic timescales for change. The outcome is a visual change plan that eliminates wasteful processes and standardizes procedures, plus an action log giving each team member ownership of tasks to be implemented. On the final day, the team reviews changes with management and colleagues, cementing the new processes in place using RACI techniques (Responsibility/Accountability/Consultation/Inform). OPCC can deliver such benefits as: • 50 percent reduction in estimating lead times • 35 percent increased production capacity with no additional capital outlay • 20 percent increase in ‘on time in full’ delivery A key part of the success is that most of the decision making is left to the team, thus breeding enthusiasm for the process and clear ownership of the results. It helps people to understand the value of their role to the business and coaches them in how to pass on their newly acquired skills to others. OPCC also illustrates that improving working practices is not just the responsibility of senior management. Oxuniprint discovers the realities of lean management Oxuniprint is the commercial printing division of Oxford University Press. Founded in 1989, the company employs 24 people and provides printing services to the group and a growing list of blue-chip clients and local authorities. It aims to double its £2 million turnover through expanding commercial work, while retaining and developing the high standards of quality, delivery, and service that it has established. To achieve this growth, Oxuniprint realised it needed to overcome a major bottleneck in customer service capacity as well as raising service standards, so they signed up for the OPCC course with a view to improve the customer service division. George Thomas, Director of Printing Services, recalls “The five people we chose to take part were already aware that our current processes were not working as well as they could have been. They were all enthusiastic about learning new skills in order to implement sustainable change and could see how it would remove bottlenecks and standardise processes, which would not only drive efficiencies across the company, but make their jobs easier.” George elaborates, “Our management team is keen to empower staff to take charge of their working environments, and it’s crucial that we back them in their efforts, so that they have the confidence to make these changes. You can already see the positive effect it has had on morale right across the company.” 7 Issue 6 October 2008 The VIEW Journal Xplor European Edition

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Xplor View - October 2008

The Xplor View -� October 2008 Contents TPE Master Class: Three Ways to Tame your Print-to-Mail Workflow Right Now Mission Impossible: Embracing Environmental Concerns TPE Master Class: Implementing a Lean Working Environment Improving Business Processes Yields Award-Winning Business Performance How Do� You Effectively Win New Business Writing a Marketing Plan to Win New Printing Clients How Buying Strategies Have Affected How the Industry Sells Let's Talk About Integrated Customer Communications Management:�Transpromo...It Takes a Village! Knowledge Management Part 3 XDU: Leading the Education Revolution Kodak plus Xplor equals XDU Around the World Xplor Europe News:�Short News Items for the Xplor UK�Programme and Europe News

The Xplor View - October 2008

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