Gibson Guitar Plays It Lean for Gains
Contact
Deborah Nash, MMEC staff writer
406-994-3812
Tuning in to the "value added" focus
on Lean Manufacturing has empowered the famed Gibson
Guitar's Montana Division in its continuing tradition of hand-building
Gibson Acoustic Guitars with the vibrant sound, high quality, and
creativity that have earned it a place in the hearts and hands of
America's greatest artists for over a century. The company, located
in Bozeman, Montana, employs about 140 people and is the sole acoustic
guitar division for Gibson Musical Instruments out of Nashville.
Gibson Montana decided to play it Lean last year
at the recommendation
of Lori Rydberg, current Director of Operations. She had attended
the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center's Lean production strategy
workshop and live simulation, "Play the Lean Game." With
her CPA background, she immediately recognized the cash power of
one-piece flow and eliminating wastes and convinced General Manager
Eric Klotz to try implementing it using guidance from MMEC and the
University Technical
Assistance Program (UTAP). These two program offer assistance
to manufacturers across the state from the Montana State University
College of Engineering and other locations in Montana.
Sixteen months into its Lean transformation,
Gibson's production has nearly doubled without a $1-2 million dollar
facility expansion that had been in the works. Inventory turns have
doubled, and factory order-to-delivery time has been cut in half.
"Our facility expansion had been planned
in order to exceed what was considered production capacity of 50
guitars per day. We're now producing more than 70 per day in the
current facility and working toward corporate's even higher goal
of 100. I think we'll get there," Rydberg predicts.
Refocus Perspective
Using value stream mapping, Gibson initially
tackled Lean transformation in the back plant where raw wood is
transformed into the body, neck, and fretboard components. Gains
there were not translating significantly to the delivery side. Undaunted,
the innovative company changed its perspective, becoming customer
focused. Letting customer demand dictate what adds value (a basic
tenet of Lean) and working that back through production was the
turning point when measurable impacts began to be realized.
Custom design is what Gibson sells, so
the value-added focus made sense but created some challenges. With
five basic guitar body styles, 30 models and then combinations of
color and accents, it will take time to get 100 part numbers all
into one-piece flow or get that number down, Rydberg said. "We've
already made a lot of progress, and we've only scratched the surface
without any real process changes or reaching true single piece,
continuous flow, just by eliminating high-end wastes. We still have
a long way to go."
As transformation began, MMEC/UTAP engineers
attended management
meetings and helped Gibson examine the issues. They asked important
questions; now Lean is helping Gibson ask the right questions as
they work toward one-piece flow, a production ideal in lean manufacturing.
"Play
the Lean Game" training was provided for all key production
staff. "The course was essential. It is excellent hands-on
training and provides the understanding of where we are trying to
go with all of these changes," Rydberg says.
The Lean tool, value
stream mapping, helped to visualize non-value-added activities
like overproduction, excess motion, defects, excess inventory, underutilized
people, etc., and to evaluate changes. A thinking/planning tool,
it will help continue to move the lean transformation forward.
Klotz calls Rydberg the company Lean Champion.
She calls herself cheerleader and credits the production managers
and supervisors, most notably Tod Christensen, for actually getting
the job done. Christensen was recently promoted to Plant Manager,
largely for his hard work on the lean program.
"The enthusiasm and dedication of the production
team in handling the difficulty of ramping up production so dramatically
while implementing significant changes in flow related to Lean must
be mentioned," Rydberg said.
Lean Impacts So Far
- Process flow time cut from 6-8 weeks to just 15 days (approximately
8 days of required rest times, leaving yet more improvement potential
in lead times.)
- Unit production time cut from 15 hours to 11.5.
- Production increased from 35 units per day to 70-plus with minimal
increases in the labor pool.
- $500,000 freed up by doubling inventory turns.
- Achieved a much smoother, balanced flow, especially in neck
work where the most intricate, complicated steps in the back plant
take place
- Added a professional look in the administrative offices and
break area, plus a general plant clean up to improve image for
staff and visitors.
- Cut materials handling time and effort by adopting point of
use storage (POUS) and some "supermarket" storage where
variation is too great for POUS. This also freed up floor space
previously used for raw materials.
- Scrap costs cut by at least half
- A quarterly bonus plan for employees put in
place tied to lean objectives.
Today, the lean journey continues for Gibson,
striving to reach or exceed 100 units per day and ultimately on
to one-piece flow. Essential to the journey have been upper management
buy-in, a willingness to risk mistakes, and not letting constraints
stop you, Rydberg said. She compares lean implementation to life,
"You don't always have everything you know you need, as an
ideal, to move ahead, but we're always moving ahead. Maybe a jig
here and a jog there, but always ahead."
For more about Gibson MasterBuilt Acoustic guitars
see Web site http://montana.gibson.com
.
Contact
Deborah Nash, MMEC
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