Success Story
Tempel Steel(350 employees)
Chicago, Illinois- Manufacturer of electrometallurgical formalloy products
"It's important for companies like ours to have resources available to enable us to compete and grow jobs in Illinois. Investing in organizations like IMEC is one way to do that."
Tim Taylor, President and COO
Situation
Tempel Steel had consolidated most of the equipment and operations from its Libertyville plant into its Chicago facility. To assist in reducing the amount of inventory used to manage the combined business operations and increase the throughput of the consolidated operations, the company initiated an internal Lean Transformation Initiative with one full time person providing training and implementation support to the Slitting Area. Supervisors and managers at the facility, however, were not trained in some of the tools needed in order for Tempel's Lean Transformation to succeed. Company leaders engaged IMEC to provide training and implementation support to accelerate success.
IMEC Solution
IMEC and Tempel developed a plan to address Tempel Steel's goals of improving inventory turns, throughput and development of a sustained continuous improvement culture. The Slitting, Stack Splitting, and Weld preparation areas were targeted for improvement. IMEC conducted Problem Solving Training for all supervisors and managers and the key operators in the Slitting area; Mistake Proofing and Standardized Work Training for the designated supervisors, managers and key operators in the Slitting area, Stack Splitting Team and Weld Preparation area; and Training Within Industry - Job Instruction for all supervisors and managers designated by Tempel Steel.
ResultsAs a result of the project, end-trip scrap was reduced, saving 14,000 lbs. of material in the first month. Overall, the company reported initial targeted annual savings of $67,200 in reduced material costs and a 30% reduction in set-up time. |
