Advanced Web is a printing company located in Minneapolis. They specialize in flexographic printing and produce labels, magnets, stickers, and a variety of other printed products to meet different business needs.  In 2007, the company hosted an intern from the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) with the aim of reducing the company’s printing waste.

Before addressing waste reduction, Advanced Web was producing 50,000 pounds of solid waste each year, costing $1,200,000 annually. This amounted to roughly 7% of the company’s total expenses. Two sources of waste caused over half of Advanced Web’s total waste: overs and color matching. 

For each job, the press printed more than the order to ensure that the order quantity could be filled even after defective products were removed. These extra products are called overs. The overs accounted for 38% of waste generated at Advanced Web and cost $39,000 per month. Traditionally, the amount of overs per job was determined by the individual press operator. Using their experience, the operator would determine how many overs to run on a case by case basis. This method was inconsistent, and the company wanted to develop a regulated, scientific method for managing the process. An intern from the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program helped Advanced Web create a system to classify projects based on their level of difficulty and the potential for defective labels. This formula was based on the number of different inks required for the job, the width of the labels being printed and the complexity of the label’s design. Using these criteria, the intern evaluated completed projects and compared the waste generated to the project’s degree of difficulty.  These data were used to create a model for predicting the expected number of defective labels that would result from the given job. Ultimately the company was able to integrate the data into a table that reasonably predicts the number of defective labels based on the complexity and size of the job. By limiting the number of overs being produced, the company reduced its waste by 12,000 pounds and saved $144,000 annually.

The second area addressed was the production of labels where color didn’t match specification, the source of 12% of Advanced Web’s waste. This process was also performed by individual press operators on a trial and error basis. The operators would match the colors on the fly, and the number of wasted labels depended on how quickly they could complete this task. In order to remove the human judgment and trial and error portions of this process, the company decided to start using a spectrophotometer instead. A spectrophotometer produces quantitative data used to determine how much ink must be mixed to achieve the desired color. Advanced Web did pay for a new spectrophotometer, but the company is now saving 3,800 pounds of waste and $44,000 per year.  

To improve the setup and maintenance of their printing operation, the MnTAP intern made recommendations for improved practices. The first action taken was to operate the presses at lower speeds. As a result, any adjustments made during the printing process would result in fewer defective labels. Another adjustment was made to the way ink was applied. Ink used to relay on a manual fill process, but this was replaced with ink pumps. The change reduced static and missing print which saved an estimated 720 lbs of waste per year. Finally, the company decided to replace damaged gears more frequently. Since the damaged gears were increasing the rate of defective labels, lowering press speeds and maintaining the gears saved another 1,440 lbs of waste and $18,000 per year.

As a result of implementing recommendations from the MnTAP intern, Advanced Web was able to reduce their solid waste by over 17,000 lbs annually and save over $200,000.

MnTAP has a variety of technical assistance services available to help Minnesota businesses implement industry-tailored solutions that maximize resource efficiency, prevent pollution, increase energy efficiency, and reduce costs. Contact MnTAP at 612.624.1300 or mntap@umn.edu for more information.

Back to Top

Kara McPipe, Continuous Improvement Facilitator at Japs-Olson Company in St. Louis Park is the Lean Leader of the Month. Japs-Olson Company is a large commercial and direct mail printer, which offers a full spectrum of graphic services including: digital prepress, sheetfed and web printing, bindery, variable data imaging, mailing, and commingling. 

Where did you receive your Lean training?

Most of my Lean training and experience has been through hands-on experience with our consulting group. My Kaizen training has also been very hands-on.  After I received initial facilitator training, I threw myself into leading several Kaizen events, so that I could make mistakes and then fix them as I went along.  I have now facilitated over 50 + Kaizen events in the last 2 years.  I also conduct our new employee Lean training and all Lean training for the plant.

What were the lessons learned from leading or training your team on a Lean project?

I have learned many lessons in the last few years, but the biggest has been the importance of taking the time to provide good Lean training for all employees, especially during Kaizen event weeks. We want all employees to put their Lean hats on and go looking for waste during a Kaizen event and when they are doing their every day jobs.  The training cannot stop, it has to be constant and consistent to really get people to start to understand.

One story that I can remember specifically that reminded me how important it is to provide constant training was with a Team Leader I had on a Kaizen event.  I had assumed he knew and understood the 7 forms of waste (the most basic and fundamental principle of Lean).  When I actually had him on the event and started going through the 7 forms of waste training, I discovered that he had totally forgotten what these wastes were and how to identify them.  As a matter of fact, he made it a point to say to me that the training was a nice refresher because he had forgotten what the 7 wastes were, since he had not been on a Kaizen event in almost 2 ½ years.  This was a big lesson learn for me because I had just assumed that if an employee receives the training once, they would know and understand it, but that is entirely not true.  Since that day, I have been working towards changing how we train and deliver a constant and consistent message at Japs-Olson.

How has your membership in the Manufacturers Alliance Lean Enterprise Peer Group made an impact on your Lean training at Japs-Olson?

The Leaders Alliance has allowed me to meet different people from different types of companies and see what they are doing.  There has been several things that I have been able to take back to Japs-Olson as a result of visiting other companies - like Policy Deployment, auditing practices, the Tier 3 meeting model, etc.

What lessons learned have you had from your peers regarding implementing Lean related tools?

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned is how important it is to have a clear and consistent message from the top to the bottom.  I have also learned effective ways to communicate that clear and consistent message.  One being the tier 3 meetings and others being continued Lean training for employees at all levels.  It is all about everybody, every day.

Kara McPipe is the Continuous Improvement Facilitator for Japs-Olson Company and has been employed with them since 2003. Kara is also responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining all Continuous Improvement activities and projects.

Back to Top

Too often, Lean “programs” become more focused on tools than achieving any meaningful change in the organization. The point of this book can be summed up in the following quote:

“The basic insight to the motivational aspect of  kaizen  is that it’s relatively easy to get anyone to do anything if you’ve got authority and push hard enough, but you can’t force interest” (page 452)

A lean manager’s approach to changing the culture of an organization is critical to the creation of a world class enterprise. Unless everyone is engaged and involved in the process, the results will never reach the desired level. It is difficult to find a book that can provide the kind of insight needed that doesn’t sound like a psychology text mixed with a sermon. The Lean Manager succeeds in part because it is a well written novel rather than a dry informational textbook. The authors, Michael and Freddy Balle, also wrote The Gold Mine, another successful novel focused on the more procedural aspects of Lean.

The setting is at once familiar: a plant is threatened with closure and the new plant manager is on the hook to save it. There are five main themes stressed throughout the novel: go and see, kaizen, clear direction, teamwork, and mutual trust. These themes, essential elements of the improvement process, are woven throughout the story as the plant turnaround unfolds. Go and see refers to the importance of watching a process for enough time to understand how it works and to see the intrinsic problems which, as we all know, are not always clear cut and easy to discern. Kaizen, in its simplest definition means “improvement.” In the context of this book, it refers to the emphasis on continuous process improvement. This improvement activity must be targeted to specific problems and the text stresses the importance of following all the steps of the PDCA (plan, do, check, act) cycle. Clear direction is another essential element of successful management. Organizations have a habit of lurching from one crisis to another while never really improving. Clear direction requires everyone to be focused on the high priority issues. Teamwork is a simple concept, but in a plant with different personalities and conflicting priorities it can be hard to achieve. Finally, mutual trust is essential before anyone will feel comfortable suggesting even the simplest idea.

The authors do an excellent job of portraying human struggle inherent in implementing changes in a large organization. Emotions such as anger, frustration, and self-doubt are clear themes throughout the story line. The book also illustrates the amount of time required to truly effect change. Long lasting, permanent change may take years. At 455 pages, the book is long, but it reads well and is worth the time. This book would be an excellent read for anyone in a leadership role.

* Balle, Michael & Balle, Freddy: The Lean Manager: a novel of lean transformation. Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2009

John Hehre is a business advisor and member of Platinum Group in Eden Prairie: 952.829.5700; john@pllc.com; www.theplatinumgrp.com.

Back to Top

For the month of October 2009, reported November 2, 2009. The state’s leading economic indicator continues to point to improving economic conditions in the months ahead. 

The Business Conditions Index, based on a survey of supply managers, expanded to 55.9 from September’s 55.4. Components of the overall index for October were new orders at 64.9, production, or sales, at 60.9, delivery lead time at 59.5, inventories at 52.1, and employment at 42.2. Since the national recession began in December 2007, Minnesota has lost 4.8 percent of its jobs with 4.2 percent of the loss occurring since October of 2008.  “Even though Minnesota’s unemployment rate has recently declined, based on our surveys over the past several months, I expect the state’s jobless rate to increase by another 0.6 percent by the end of the year,” said Goss.

Dr. Ernest Goss of Creighton University, used the same methodology as The National Association of Purchasing Management to compile this information. An index number greater than 50 percent indicates an expansionary economy, and an index under 50 percent forecast a sluggish economy, for the next three to six months.

Back to Top