The Irish Manufacturing and Service sector is at a critical point in its development. It has seen sustained growth in its development since the 1960 when the Irish Industrial revolution began. This development and growth continued into the late 1990’s and early 2000’s however we receive daily reminders from the many economic commentators that this period of growth and development has reached a plateau and in some Manufacturing sectors has regressed altogether. The following are some examples of what the commentators are saying:
“While 2006 saw a welcome improvement in the performance of Irish industry, our rising cost base has meant that we have lost market share in recent years”
IBEC Senior Economist, Fergal O’Brien
“With imports growing faster than exports, Ireland’s net exports are now a drag on economic growth, having driven Ireland’s Celtic Tiger boom during the 1990s. Ireland’s share of world trade peaked in 2002, and has been in decline since. World trade grew by an average of six percent per year between 2002 and 2005 in value terms, while the value of Ireland’s exports grew by an average of just two per cent per annum over the same period. This loss of market share was most pronounced in Manufacturing.”
“Productivity growth has slowed to its lowest rate since the early 1980s. Ireland’s strong productivity growth during the 1990s was driven by a narrow base of modern manufacturing industries, while NCC figures would suggest little productivity growth in the services sectors, which account for the majority of employment in the economy”
“National Competitiveness Council highlights threats to Irish economy from falling exports, declining productivity and growing balance of payments deficit as businesses and households spend more than they earn"
By Finfacts Team
It is clear from the above and from the rising Material, Labour, Energy & Transport costs, combined with Asian and European Competition presenting big challenges to the sector that something needs to be done to arrest the situation. Many companies have already taken the initiative and are involved in transforming their organisations to Lean Principles bringing about dramatic changes in their companies resulting in major improvements to their key performance indicators.
Lean Business Systems works with many companies in the Manufacturing and Services sector located both in Southern and Northern Ireland and internationally, enabling them to be truly competitive on the World stage. The road to Lean in Manufacturing and service companies begins with a complete review of the business. This will involve an analysis of the business model together with a review of each step taken to fulfill the customer’s needs, from the customer’s point of view. This is followed by developing a “Future state map” together with a list of actions necessary to move the organization from “Current state” to an agreed “Future state”. By repeating the above actions on a regular basis, continuous improvement actions are regularly identified laying the foundations for developing a continuous improvement culture across the organization.
There are many tried and trusted Lean tools that are being applied to Manufacturing and Service companies today depending on their strength and weaknesses which under the guidance of the experts at Lean Business Systems will result in bringing about an amazing return on investment over a very short period of time. The typical tools deployed in transforming such companies to Lean are as follows:
- Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
- Hoisin planning
- Kaizen events
- Eliminating waste (MUDA)
- Root cause analysis
- 5S workplace organisation
- Total productive Maintenance (TPM)
- Statistical process control
- Poka-Yoke
- Kanban Pull
- Visual techniques
- Design for Lean
- Lean Operations Game
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
Many other Lean tools are also available should the need arise to deploy them. There are many documented examples of successes at implementing Lean in Manufacturing and service companies, however it is important to understand that for a truly successful and sustainable outcome, the culture of the organisation may need to be reviewed and changed. This can take considerable effort, time and professional guidance to successfully implement in a sustainable way.
Typical improvements to performance under the guidance of Lean Business systems practitioners with little or no incremental capital investment are as follows:
- Productivity improvement of between 40 and 60%
- Manufacturing cycle time reductions of up to 80%
- Quadruple inventory turns
- Up to 50% of manufacturing space freed up
- Doubled the daily output of key manufacturing equipment
- Dramatic improvements to Customer service indices
Lean Business Systems has extensive experience in the Manufacturing and Services sector and can take you through the many successes already achieved as a result of Lean deployments. Lean Business Systems will provide you with a free assessment of your current state together with an assessment of what it will take to transform your organization to Lean using the many tools at its disposal.
For further information please CLICK HERE.
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