Canadian Region
Multilin Workshop May 14-15:
Change, Choice, and Continuous Improvement
Tom Bechtel and Dan McDonnell
Are you and your employees ready for change?
If you're interested in hearing how an electronics company successfully implemented the
change to production work cells, the Multilin
workshop planned May 14-15 in Toronto,
Ontario will provide a close look at positive
means to prepare for - and implement significant work place organizational changes.
What you'll learn:
32
Target
• How to simplify processes to begin and
sustain your manufacturing excellence
journey
• Steps to get your managers and employees
ready for change
• How process changes can bring
improvements in cycle time, WIP reduction,
on-time delivery, and other areas.
Focus on World·Class Manufacturing
Multilin, a division of Derlan Industries,
began what they call the "path to empowerment" in its continuous improvement journey
starling in early 1991. After seven years of
growth, management saw few problems on the
horizon, except for an outside firm's assessment
that manufacturing processes didn't match
world-class standards. They focused on one
product (a "269 motor protection relay"),
About Multilin
implementing alIT work cell approach. With.Multilin designs and manufactures electronic motor and feeder riYl,YifJI,M(Ql,k
in a few months, they achieved dramatic cycle
i1dustrial markets in North America, England, Australia, Mexico, and Asia. The Derlan
time, WIP reduction, etc. improvements (see
'industries subsidiary won an award of merit in the 1989 Canada awards, and in 19~Q,
the following box "About Multilin").
'~eceived the supreme award for the best new product at the Electrex show in Englan~
What accounted for their early success? A ", After starting a pilot work cell using JIT concepts in early 1991, Multilin achie@
brief account of the path to empowerment as
fast results by the end of the year:
,,,practiced at Multilin follows.
Manufacturing cycle time (from receipt of kit to product ship) decreased from llill\:
1. Awareness Is the Beginning
weeks to four d a y s . '
The first step in generating mterest in
• Customer-quoted leadtime (from order receipt to ship date) declined from fi\l~
change is becoming aware of your current staweeks to less than one week.
,.,
tus and other possibilities. Awareness may be
• WIP decreased 75 percent
of opportunities or issues. Multilin's manageFloor space dropped 40 percent
" .,
ment, for example, sought higher marks in
On-time deliveries, at 95 percent in early 1990 with make-to-stock production,
world-class manufacturing.
dropped to 55 percent when orders increased in late 1990 and early 1991; then tIlll'
rate rose to 96 percent in late 1991, even with the transition to make-to-ordtf'
2. Enlighttlnmtmt
production.
Effectively done, a study, survey, or other
.,
Teamwork
improved.
form of documentation will help to turn the
," Multilin continually sets even higher performance targets. The scope of work cell
haze of awareness into the glow of enlighten~perations continues to evolve. Come to the May 14-15 workshop to hear about
ment. Multilin found that its delivery perfor.~cesses
- and some
the way.
mance crashed when sales escalated, signaling
the need for change.
3. VIsIon
Multilin management had to figure out
how to get through its positive crisis (coping
with sales increases) to become a stronger
organization. The secret was that top management accepted the challenge, with the company president, Norris Woodroff, as champion.
4. Commitment
search for seriousness - that most precious trait that phil Crosby warns us is critical
to success. Calion an internal or external professional resource or your customers - to
confirm your vision. Multilin used the services
of an outside consultant.
5. Focus
With limited resources, a company's
strategy must be selective. Multilin chose its
top-selling product line for a lIT pilot. The
only mistake: starting at the point of kit receipt
for assembly. Soon after the project started,
materials people were brought into the pilot
team.
6. Inro/lftHlllllJI
Choose team leaders and members who
share your improvement dreams. Multilin
selected a pilot team leader for her interpersonal skills, and 12 other team members from
the shop floor assembly and test areas.
Flowcharting, facilitated by an outside consultant, helped team members understand Multilin production flow and how to simplify processes.
7. Underslanding
Formal training demonstrates the company's investment in the change process and
builds understanding of change. During halfday training sessions on lIT, TQC, planning,
and teamwork, Multilin's pilot team members
shut down their production process. Senior
management joined the class.
8. Planning
Goals should be consensus-derived, specific, measurable, and achievable. The Multilin pilot team hammered out a new layout and
process improvement goals through a series of
discussions - a tough job.
g. I'tIIftmnBncs
Performance can only be effectively
measured if fence posts have been put in the
ground. 1\vo key issues: What to measure?
What is good performance? Within the first two
weeks, the Multilin pilot team changed its layout three times. Within four months, signifi-
cant, measurable improvements were recorded
(see the accompanying box).
10. Communicalion
Talk and listen with respect, suggested
Multilin managers; clarify, challenge, provide
feedback, decide, and think with openness and
fairness. Employees at Multilin work to
improve communication skills every day.
Registration information for tbe MIlY
14-15 Multilin lIJorllsbop (II reception
lIJill be Wednesdlly evening, May 13) is
IIvlIl1l1ble by CII/Ilng AIlE lit 70815203282.
Tom Bechtel is president of Next Step Business
Education Ltd., a Toronto area training and
consulting firm focusing on DRP, MRP, ]ff!T{JC, and
continuous improvement techniques. Formerly of
Nortbern Telecom Canada, Mltel, GE Canada, and
General Electric, he has 18 years' experience in
manufaduring management and human resources
development and training. He is a graduate electrical
engineer and is certified by APICS (American
Production and Inventory Control Society) at the
fellow level. Dan McDonnell is vice president of
manufaduring at Multilin.
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March/April 1992