THE CHALLENGE

To gain a better understanding of Lean and acquire some hands-on experience, Braun sent a cross-functional team to a local Lean User Group. This group, organized by MAGNET was partially funded through a grant from Wright State University. The Lean User Group included employees from Braun Industries and several other local, non-competing companies.

THE APPROACH

Joining several other companies in the Lean User Group, the Braun team received approximately 16 hours of training, followed by company-specific project work at the Braun facility.This work included two three-day Lean Office Events examining Process Flow for Order Entry, Engineering and Design, and Installation of Harness.

Working with Braun’s cross-functional team, MAGNET consultants developed current-state maps to chart the process flow of each activity. The maps helped identify value-added versus non-value-added processes associated with each activity. From here, the team worked to develop an action register and sort and prioritize projects, placing the project with the shortest payback first on the list of priorities. The Braun team then began implementing many of the new projects.

By identifying the wastes in their office processes and attacking those non-value added items, the team was able to free up 42 days of lead time enabling the company to build approximately 15 more ambulances a year.

CUSTOMER QUOTE

“We enjoyed working with MAGNET. They were very informed and always willing to help. And our people received a lot of hands-on experience that was very beneficial.”
Jeff Farmer - Braun Industries

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