CONSULTING SERVICES :: Lean Product Development

Speed, efficiency, and customer value are critical concerns in driving results in business. They are just as important in the development and launch of new products. Lean methodology has helped companies throughout the world achieve huge economic benefits while improving quality, costs and cycle time. Forward-thinking companies apply these same principles to improve product development while building on operating strengths and capabilities.

Lean methods accelerate product launches and improve business results by:

• Bringing new products to market faster
• Consistently completing new products on-time
• Developing new products with existing resources
• Eliminating development errors and rework

Lean Product Development is a proven approach to improving how new products come to market – from final design concept to customer launch – with sustainable results by:

• Focusing on the information flow and decision process in product development
• Identifying/eliminating waste (unnecessary delays, tasks, costs, and errors)
• Implementing/monitoring an improved process for sustainability

Lean product development can reduce your new product development timeframe by as much as 30% to 50%

A LEAN APPROACH

Our consultants implement Lean Product Development by facilitating Kaizen events for our clients. Kaizen (which means literally: change [kai] to become good [zen]) events are typically five days long and are held at the client’s facility. Participants of the event form a cross-functional team which includes your key owners of the new process (such as Project Manager and representatives from Marketing, Sales, Design, Manufacturing, Quality, etc.). Your Kaizen event will include:

• Preparation: the sponsor forms the team, drafts team charter outlining scope and deliverables
• Team Event: the team leader drives team to achieve the deliverables
• Follow-up: the team leader manages implementation and monitors sustaining metrics

The engine driving the results in the Kaizen event is the 5-Step Lean Improvement Method. This method provides a proven structure to your event, drives data decisions, and ensures team buy-in as you:

1. Document the current product development process (Value Stream Map)
   • Map information flow
   • Collect process data
2. Analyze the current product development process (Value Stream Map)
   • Use Lean Project Management tools
   • Identify wastes, non-value added activities, people, quality, quantity (including - hand-offs, delays, rework, errors, etc.)
3. Develop improved product development process (Value Stream Map)
4. Implement action plan
5. Sustain the improvement results through managing key metrics and scorecards

Lean Product Development: Our Results Tell The Story

Client # 1: U.S. Defense Contractor

Situation: The client was developing a new product with more than 200 new parts. They determined that a major bottleneck in the development of new products was the result of a process they used to develop and deliver manufacturing processes from the model environment to manufacturing (drawings, op-sheets, standards, etc.):

• The process took too long and was inefficient
• Multiple downloads of the model (Pro E) and distribution
• Redundancy of decisions/tasks, and multiple handoff of approval for changes
• Lack of configuration control

Result: Using Lean Product Development, a new process flow was developed which significantly improved the process:

• 71% reduction in lead-time (from 31 days to 9 days)
• Communicate through centrally located bulletin board on the web
• Cross-functional team with work cells, elimination of redundancy
• Plant-wide team empowerment (Pull vs. Push)

Removed 22 days from the process

Client # 2: Consumer Products Manufacturing & Distribution

Situation: The client developed over 1,000 new ideas into new products annually. They had determined that their idea evaluation process and business case analysis were severe bottlenecks:

• Large queue of ideas that were not acted on
• Process was not standardized
• Not meeting new product launch targets, and not growing the business

Result: Using Lean Product Development, a new process flow was developed which significantly improved the process in the following ways:

• The number of products approved by brand managers were significantly higher
• Improved business case analysis criterion
• Optimized roles and responsibilities, and reduced hand-offs (team and brand manager)
• Improved process structure, documentation, and real-time feed-back

Eliminated stalled new product ideas in the process

For more information, contact our inside sales department:
Linda Barita, 216-391-7766
Bob Sichau, 216-426-2050

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