Advanced technology meets operational efficiency
Pictures #1, 3 & 4 courtesy of LaserBond
Reducing the wear rates, maintenance and operating costs of production-vital components for its industrial customers is LaserBond’s mission. Then success and their plans to grow called for some operational changes.
During a site visit hosted by Matthew Twist and Wayne Hooper, members of the Performance Drivers Consortium found the combination of LaserBond’s use of advanced technologies and Lean practices offered them many new ideas.
LaserBond’s Smeaton Grange facility is a manufacturing and an R & D facility. Research, development and implementation of advanced surface-engineering techniques drives LaserBond’s ability to deliver great products. However, to improve the growth of the business they embarked on a Lean transformation in 2014 with assistance from Performance Drivers.
Realising that increasing staffing and providing more space was not automatically creating greater efficiency or maximising growth. Guidance and facilitation from Performance Drivers saw them challenge their thinking, identify what needed to change, and implement a proven methodology to deliver workable, practical, and sustainable solutions.
Mentoring is helping the LaserBond team continue improving their processes. Optimising the capacity and capability of their staff and facilities, improving efficiency, and creating greater growth. The visiting Consortium members saw the Lean practices they have put in place, including various applications of the 5S methodology. And the LaserBond team’s pride, passion, and desire to succeed was very apparent to them too.
Consortium site visits provide the host with the opportunity to get feedback from site visitors. As one participant said, it’s a great process as many eyes find significant opportunities the host can consider. During this site visit the Consortium members told us they got great value too. From learning about laser welding and other interesting uses of technology to the consensus view that seeing LaserBond’s operation and use of Lean with these technologies gave them food for thought and was an excellent use of their time.
Find out more about the benefits of joining the Performance Drivers Consortium
