I recently interviewed Lean expert Karl Wadensten, president of VIBCO Vibrators for my radio show Business Genies of KBZNZ.
Lean is a process that I personally believe every company in America should be implementing. When done correctly, it can result in ultimately saving American jobs from being outsourced. With that said, the only reason for any business to invest time and effort into Lean is to gain real, measurable results. However, while Lean can work for any company, many struggle to implement it and ultimately fail in the attempt. The fault lies not in the Lean process, but in the implementation. Lack of success usually can be attributed to not clearly defining the purpose for going Lean, not stipulating processes and not fully engaging employees. But, when fully committed to by management and employees alike; when it becomes a natural part of both the operational side as well as the corporate culture, and when implemented properly, Lean can result in improving the way work is performed at every level of the company.
As president of VIBCO Vibrators, Karl Wadensten exemplifies today’s successful business owner and staunch Lean advocate. VIBCO manufactures a full range of vibrators for industrial and construction use to aid material flow and for concrete consolidation. Under Karl’s leadership, VIBCO has undergone a remarkable transformation. The most profound aspect of the transformation is a revolutionary change in VIBCO’s organizational culture. At VIBCO, Lean is not something that individual employees “do”, it is how the entire organization “lives and breathes”. VIBCO’s True North is Same Day – Next Day, Quality, Throughput, Innovation and 100% Employee Engagement. It is because of the commitment of its entire workforce that VIBCO has achieved stunning operational gains including:
Setup time on CNC equipment reduced from 2.5 hours to 8 minutes
On time delivery is now 99% same day, next day shipping
Quality improved by 80%
Productivity increase in selected work cells as much as 300%
Inventory reduced by 40% (over $1,000,000) over 2 years
Work in Progress (WIP) inventory turning 88 times per year
Be sure to listen to my interview with Karl on KBZNZ on Wednesday, January 20 at 2 p.m. (PST); 5 p.m. (EST) and Thursday at 10 a.m. (PST); 1 p.m. (EST).
Max Gregorich
Tags: business consultant, Business Genies, business radio, CEO1Stop, CFO Genie, KBZNZ, lean manufacturing, small business