The Bronze Division of Matthews International produces cast bronze plaques to commemorate people, places and events. The division has been working in partnership with H.B. Maynard and Company, Inc. to implement Lean concepts throughout the Pittsburgh, PA and Searcy, AR plants. The project work is known throughout the two plants as Operation Stream Line.

The Searcy plant produces bronze memorials in a variety of standard sizes and designs. Although most of the Bronze Division products are made-to-order by design, Searcy’s products are the most standardized of any plant in the division, making Searcy a true production facility. The plant was working overtime in order to meet the schedule requirements and satisfy their customers, particularly during the busy Spring and Summer months. In addition, company management believed that productivity and quality would continue to improve. This had been proven through previous work in the Pittsburgh plant in an earlier Matthews – Maynard project.

Setting the Goals

An assessment of the Searcy plant validated management’s belief that improvement was achievable. In particular, the pattern shop was suffering from excessive overtime costs and a variety of responsiveness, productivity, and quality issues. An improvement plan for the area was developed, and the following goals were set:

1. Reduce overtime costs by 15%
2. Reduce Production Response Time by 80%
3. Increase productivity and one-shift capacity by 5%
4. Improve working conditions and company culture

Building the Foundation

Sustainable improvement comes from the combination of culture change and the integration of new ideas. The culture change must happen first. In order for improvements to be successful and sustainable, behaviors and attitudes must change. An effective means of instilling this change is the 5-S technique. 5-S establishes the foundation for further improvements. Therefore, it is necessary to implement 5-S first and involve the workforce throughout the 5-S effort. At Matthews, everyone was involved in implementing the discipline of 5-S. Workplace cleanliness and organization increased dramatically and as a result, productivity improvements became a natural development.

Before	After

Changing the Rules

The momentum created by a culture change opens the door to many other improvements. In a short period of time, Matthews was able to implement a variety of improvements. Methods were improved and standardized. Operators were trained in the new techniques. The layout was improved, the flow of work was redesigned, and kanbans and line loading rules were introduced. The culture of change that now existed eliminated many of the typical barriers to improvement. The people were not afraid of change; instead they had come to expect it. Everyone’s ideas were considered and immediately evaluated. Based on the improvements suggested and implemented throughout the project, work in process inventory (WIP) was significantly reduced. As a result, product response time (PRT) was reduced over 90%, from over 500 minutes to less than one hour. This reduction allows Matthews to fulfill customer orders much more quickly and adapt to schedule changes rapidly.

Measuring Up

Engineered standards were developed to help determine staffing requirements and to establish productivity goals. The standards were introduced with very little resistance into an environment where formal standards had not been stressed before. Employees now recognize the importance of planning and goal setting, as the entire production process depends on each person meeting expectations. They work hard to achieve daily goals, which are set based on the standards that they helped to develop. Because of the involved, committed workforce, productivity has increased approximately 10%.

Sustaining the Change

While the workforce at Matthews was extremely receptive to Operation Stream Line, success could not be achieved without effectively managing performance. Plant management and area supervision received extensive training and hands-on guidance. A variety of tools were introduced to assist in planning and managing the work according to the rules established during the improvement project. One of the tools is a daily planning model that enables area supervisors to quickly identify how many people are needed and what tasks they should perform in order to meet customer demand and maintain the flow of work.

A Pattern for the Future

Achieving and sustaining real change is not easy. It begins with changing mindsets and culture, and this takes time. Matthews is on the journey toward Lean with Operation Stream Line, but the journey has only just begun. The work accomplished thus far sets a very good pattern for the future. According to JB Threat, Plant Manager at Searcy, “Today, Matthews has a new attitude”. It is that attitude that will keep Matthews on the successful journey toward profitable, Lean operations.