With varying levels of operational
performance across sites, the Precision
Engineering division set improvement
targets focused on culture, visual
management and standard work.
Collaboration and sharing of best
practice were also seen as vital tools
to accelerate improvement.
Our Brno facility has already been
identified as a show-case site, to be used
as a reference point for other locations.
In six months, the team improved their
assessment score from 53% to 62%,
due to a continuous improvement culture,
enhanced material flow and the further
development of customer relationships.
Objectives that have been set for 2015
include the integration of quality and lean
to reduce scrap, raise quality standards,
improve sales and operations planning
to better link our customer requirements
to our manufacturing footprint, reduce
complexity, increase efficiency and
productivity and responsiveness to
market demand.
The extensive portfolio and variety of
products adds significant complexity
to Precision Engineering’s supply chain
and operations. An ambitious plan to
rationalise the portfolio using established
lean tools will be a priority for completion
in 2015.
Our new Precision Engineering facility at Fradley Park,
UK has their lean journey – a 150 square foot collage in
the employee canteen area – on display for all to see.
Precision Engineering’s European Distribution Centre
in Germany held an event to look at the end-to-end
process from customer quotation and sales order receipt
through to customer invoice payment.
Case study
IMI Precision Engineering in Alpen,
Germany used Value Stream
Mapping to improve the efficiency
of their Quick Response Cell for
actuator orders, which has reduced
the order lead time for customers
by 25%. This improvement initiative
was led by a cross business unit
team who are now taking the
process to other sites.
Summary
Before After
Saving
Number of
non-value
adding steps
76
38
50%
Flow time
(minutes)
1307 608
53%
Manual time
(minutes)
61
48
22%
Hands off
19
11
42%
Distance
travelled
398 360
10%
18
IMI plc
1
Site Key:
1 IMI Norgren Brno
2 IMI FAS Switzerland
3 IMI Norgren Seattle
4 IMI Webber
5 IMI EDC warehouse
Alpen
6 IMI Norgren
Queretaro
7 IMI Norgren India
8 IMI Watson Smith
9 IMI Norgren China
10 IMI Norgren
Farmington
11 IMI Buschjost
12 IMI Norgren
Germany Fellbach
13 IMI Norgren Kloehn
14 IMI Norgren
Germany Alpen
15 IMI Norgren
Littleton
16 IMI Norgren
Singapore
17 IMI Norgren Brazil
18 IMI Norgren
Brookville
19 IMI Norgren
Switzerland
20 IMI Norgren
Australia
21 IMI Herion
Systemtechnik
22 IMI Thompson
Valves
23 IMI Norgren Detroit
24 IMI IMF
25 IMI Norgren
Denmark
26 IMI Norgren Fradley
27 IMI Norgren
warehouse
Louisville
28 IMI Norgren
Belgium
7
13
19
25
2
8
14
20
26
3
9
15
21
27
4
10
16
22
28
5
11
17
23
6
12
18
24
62
48
46
47
36
58
44
46
40
44
52
44
48
42
50
52
42
46
43
23
54
43
48
40
52
52
51
37
62
52
42
34
36
61
49
50
50
39
52
50
45
39
38
52
48
50
44
24
53
44
40
39
53
50
33
33
Site
% score
Lean assessments
During 2014, our Precision Engineering sites were benchmarked against
the ten areas of lean and the average score of the division’s first round of
assessments was 32%. Improvement targets were set and plants have now been
benchmarked for a second time, this time scoring an average of 46%. Plans are
in place to improve this score to an average of 54% in the first half of 2015.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
1
st
assessment score
Next improvement
target
2
nd
assessment score
1
st
improvement
target
1
st
improvement
target%
2
nd
assessment
score%
