LOWARA OPENS ITS DOORS TO INNOVATION: Six Sigma Combined With the KAIZEN® Method
03/07/2003
June 23rd to 27th, Lowara hosted the "PUBLIC GEMBAKAIZEN®" 2003, a unique event held only once a year by the Kaizen Institute at the premises of a client company.
Lowara, which is already implementing a KAIZEN® project, decided to organize a workshop in one of its production facilities in Montecchio Maggiore (VI), in partnership with the KAIZEN® Institute Italy.
Within Lowara, competitiveness is not regarded as a goal to be achieved once and for all; on the contrary, it represents a constantly evolving objective. Our organization has accepted this challenge, aiming at long-lasting and environmentally sustainable development.
The purpose of our training programs is to develop in our management-level personnel the know-how needed to meet the process of change with confidence and decisiveness, removing those long-consolidated negative feelings that effectively hinder the development of organizations. Lowara's internal structure, which is dedicated to continuous improvement, is also integrated on the global level with the ITT Industries group. Over the last two years, ITT Industries has been implementing an important project called "Value Based Six Sigma", based on the logic of the Six Sigma approach and suitably integrated with the methods of "Lean Manufacturing".
All this prompted us to organize this extraordinary event in collaboration with the KAIZEN Institute, opening our doors to managers from other companies, including a few of our suppliers, in order to experiment, in the course of a workweek, the process of redesigning and launching the activities of a production line.
Starting from the foundations of the KAIZEN® method, integrated within the wider context of the "VBSS" project, the VBSS group developed a system for detecting wastefulness (MUDA) within their department. After conducting the necessary analyses based on the model, the group proceeded to redefine the layout of the production line, while also establishing new process standards that enabled them to achieve the objectives (challenges) recommended by the Management and accepted by the group:
Line productivity + 30%
Occupied area - 25%
Process cycle time -50%
Scraps -50%
In actual fact, the final results were even more surprising:
Line productivity +40%
Area -40%
Process cycle time -70%
Scraps -25% (-50% projected by September 2003)
Lowara's dedication to continuous innovation and improvement has proved fruitful once again. Moreover, this incredible experience was shared with those who, seized the opportunity of personally experimenting the power of the new methods.
The comments of the participants in the Public GEMBAKAIZEN® confirm our impressions and strengthen our conviction that the only changes sought by organizations are those that produce concrete, immediate and tangible results.
ITT-Lowara (www.lowara.com), headquarters of "Residential and Commercial Water - EMEA" part of the ITT Corporation and located in Montecchio Maggiore, Vicenza - Italy, is a leader in the manufacture of hydraulic pumps and water handling and control systems. It has 1.348 employees in Europe, 771 operating in Italy. In 2007 its consolidated sales totalled about 284 million euro, or over 390 million dollars.
ITT Corporation (www.itt.com) is a diversified high-technology engineering and manufacturing company dedicated to creating more livable environments, enabling communications and providing protection and safety. The company plays an important role in vital markets including water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. ITT employs approximately 40,000 people serving customers in more than 50 countries. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated $9 billion in 2007 sales.