Thinking Lean to get Tuff Again
4 July 2007
Tuff Tonneau's Managing Director, Nick Arthur, and Executive Director, David Wilson, with Kangan Batman TAFEĀ's trainer, Nick Viney
Nation-wide aftermarket supplier, Tuff Tonneau, has experienced a recent sales boom after undertaking Lean training with Kangan Batman TAFE.
Twelve months ago, the Ringwood-based manufacturer was experiencing a decrease in efficiency and profits due to a lack of workplace organisation, proper stock control and visual management.
But thanks to the Lean strategies being implemented by Kangan Batman TAFE and subcontractor Vative, Tuff Tonneau's orders have now increased to unprecedented levels. The company is currently planning a second working shift to cope with the demand. One of their clients, Nissan, was so impressed with Tuff Tonneau that it plans to name it a 'Benchmark Supplier.'
Inspired by the Lean principles which has led to Toyota's success, Tuff Tonneau Executive Director David Wilson engaged Kangan Batman TAFE training to assist in the implementation of competitive manufacturing principles.
'I wanted to learn from the best, so it made sense to follow the practices of such a successful company as Toyota,' said Mr Wilson.
Before commencing training, Kangan Batman TAFE developed a Current State Map and a Value Stream Design based on current and historical order quantities. The Map identified a massive amount of inventory due to batching and queuing. Starting with 5S, Kangan Batman TAFE customised a training program. After only five weeks, there was a dramatic transformation of the appearance and organisation of materials and associated tooling.
Half of Tuff Tonneau's staff, including the executive management, are undergoing nationally accredited training in Competitive Manufacturing. Kangan Batman TAFE's unique approach has trainers firstly conducting a detailed assessment of how the business operates and then relates the training program back to that workplace. Once the trainers provide the Lean theory, they then guide the team to implement these strategies through project based work which forms part of the assessment criteria. All projects revolve around Lean Values and Behaviors and the continual elimination of waste.
'Kangan Batman TAFE staff were fantastic,' said Mr Wilson. 'Their staff are so proactive, even helping us obtain government grants to implement Lean training.'
'Kanban is definitely the way to go,' he said. 'I can see how this could be used as a strategy for not only reducing inventory costs and improving flow, but also for winning more business. When Kanban has gone through all product variants, it will reduce our inventory requirements by an estimated 50 per cent. As an example on one product variant, a Work In Progress inventory was reduced by approximately 23 per cent.'
Asked if he'd recommend Kangan Batman TAFE's Lean training to other manufacturing businesses, Mr Wilson said 'they'd be mad if they didn't take it up!'
Competitive Manufacturing teacher, Nick Viney, credits 'the supportive leadership' within Tuff Tonneau for their recent sales successes.
'The key to success was our cooperative approach in developing training with Tuff Tonneau and Vative, who've been an invaluable resource for both companies.'
Apart from Tuff Tonneau, organisations like Iveco Trucks, Heslop Contract Casters, Volgren Buses, Bostik Australia, Bosch Australia have already benefited from Lean training at Kangan Batman TAFE.
For more information on Competitive Manufacturing at Kangan Batman TAFE, please contact Joseph Patuto by phoning 9094 6102 or email on jpatuto@kangan.edu.au
