The Situation
Felix Compounds, a manufacturer based in Saint-Hubert, Quebec, asked Tervene to help them implement a Gemba Walk system to improve the company’s performance.
This manufacturing company specializes in the fabrication of compounds such as rubber thermoplastic, elastomer thermoplastic olefin thermoplastics, thermoplastics reinforced with fiberglass, mica and other special materials. Felix Compounds is a leader in the production of high-performance fillings for synthetic turf surfaces.
The Solution : Gemba Walk and Continuous Improvement
Tervene integrators came to Felix 1-2 days per week for 2 months and trained team leaders and supervisors to use the Tervene App. Integrators also taught supervisors good management principles and trained them to use the right Gemba Walk techniques to kick-start continuous improvement.
Group training and individual coaching made the following changes possible:
- Implementation of proactive supervision;
- Execution of regular Gemba Walks by supervisors;
- Identification of improvement opportunities;
- Creation of improvement meetings;
- Applying action plans to opportunities to improve performance.
The Results
The integration of the Tervene App and the gemba walk coaching created the following benefits:
- 21% improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) within 1 and a half month;
- Decrease of setup times 35-40%;
- Better communication between departments and between levels of management;
- An increase in employee engagement towards performance and improvement;
- A greater sense of accountability and responsibility of managers towards Gemba Walks and the accomplishment of business objectives;
- The emergence of a continuous improvement culture.
You want similar results for your business?
The enthusiasm towards technology and the desire for improvement by every management level at Felix Compounds was a key factor in the success of this project. The Tervene team thanks everyone at Felix Compounds and wishes them success in their journey towards continuous improvement.
A conversation with Aude Giguère at Felix Compounds
T – Why did you ask for Tervene’s services? What did you want to improve?
A – Our operational performance was problematic. There were lots of inattention errors and delays occurring that could have been avoided. We had already invested a lot on equipment in order to increase our performance, our speed, our efficiency, but the results we were expecting did not materialize. We needed to act on the vigilance and the attitudes of our workforce, but more importantly on the supervision provided by our managers.
T – What benefits have you observed since Tervene was implemented in your business?
A – Leadership and supervision by our managers have really improved. Our OEE has improved by 21% and our setup times improved 35-40%. The communication is more interactive and the new individual and group meetings encourage communication, follow-up and engagement.
Our way of dealing with problems has evolved. When we discover an issue, we asked ourselves: “What could we have done, which question could we have asked to prevent this problem” is omnipresent now. We can see a proactive spark lighting in everyone’s eyes.
T – What is your overall appreciation of the project?
A – The software is easy to understand, but it will never bring better results than the use that is made of it. The hardest thing is to change our mental reflexes and our daily habits to become proactive. The coaching that was provided to all our managers by TERVENE was essential to practice proactiveness. At any moment we need to predict what would be needed for others and ourselves.
It the beginning, it was very difficult because in addition to learning how to act proactively we were responding to problems reactively. We needed to work twice as hard for a while.
During the implementation, we needed to be patient with all the personnel involved, we needed to be patient and learn to play this new game as a family. We wanted to adjust the rules of the game to our reality, but in order to do that, we needed to encourage everyone to open up about the challenges they faced every day so we could find solutions together. The only rule we gave ourselves was to never give up!
You have similar challenges in your business?
Learn more about Tervene
