Standex International (NYSE:SXI), based in Salem, NH, manufactures a variety of products and services for diverse market segments.

The Company has 12 operating units, organized into five reporting segments: Food Service Equipment Group, Engraving Group, Engineering Technologies Group, Electronics Group and Hydraulics Group.

 

What the Company Do

 Since 1950, our precision, handcrafted pumps have served as the benchmark for performance and value in the industries we serve.  We manufacture many different styles of pumps with flow rates ranging from 8 to 660 gallons per hour.  Available in either brass or stainless-steel configurations, Standex pumps are suitable for a variety of applications: carbonation and carbonation circulation for soft-drink dispensing, espresso coffee machines, beer-chilling systems, reverse osmosis and ultra-filtration systems, laser-cooling circulation, constant temperature control, misting systems, and more.

Company Name
Standex

Address

Irishtown, Mountmellick, Co. Laois

Website
www.standex.com

Consultant
Lean 2 Innovate Thinking

Quote –

“The Lean Plus journey has greatly improved cooperation between departments.  The daily stand-up meetings have created a formal two-way communication forum where employees are actively encouraged and supported by management to initiate changes that remove daily hassles to getting the work done in an easier way”

Rotor Product Builder – CNC Machining Department.

Lean Plus Project Objectives
  1. Improve the product lead time by 33%
  2. Improve productivity by 10%
  3. Improve employee engagement in continuous improvment
  4. Implement cellular assembly
  5. Improve quality of parts from suppliers
  6. Reduce supply chain costs by €250k
Key Challenges

Releasing machining capacity to meet increased market demand.

Development of metrics that can drive continuous improvement.

Rollout of A3 problem solving.

Employee engagement – Not all staff engaged with the process initially.

Releasing time to perform true root cause analysis.

Key Changes
  1. Reduce lead time from 52 days to 35 days.
  2. Improve productivity by 10% per year – 5S workplace organisation deployed across both plants and daily stand-up meetings, resulting in daily production problem surfacing & resolution.
  3. Employee “Everyday Lean” visual idea boards across all operations.
  4. Implement cellular assembly process to double process flow velocity.
  5. Reduce the cost of poor supplier quality using A3 problem solving process.
  6. Reduce the cost of purchased parts using Lean Supply Chain practices.
Results
  1. End to end product lead time reduced by 20 days.
  2. 5S workplace organisation deployed across both plants and daily stand-up meetings have improved productivity up to 10% in targeted departments.
  3. 500 implemented “quick-win” employee ideas in 2017.
  4. Productivity improved by 33% in Gear Pump Cell – €50k yearly cost savings per year from Cell 1 implementation.
  5. A3 project on gear pump quality has resulted in improvement of the cost of poor quality by €110k over 2017.
  6. Reduced the cost of purchased parts by €170k in 2017.