“We should have done it much earlier” - Empl in the Lean Lab

Empl has been producing customized truck bodies and trailers in Austria and Germany since 1948. In the face of increased demand, lean management is to optimize existing processes. The goal is to increase production capacity, reduce inventory, and ensure shorter delivery times.

MANAGEMENT AWARENESS AS A SUCCESS FACTOR

The success of any initiative depends to a large extent on management support. For this reason, Empl's management invited the management of the Austrian and German production sites to an intensive training session at the LEAN Lab of the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol. The aim was to create a sound understanding of lean management, to sensitize employees to the topic and to enable them to develop their own ideas for optimizing processes.

The LEAN Lab offers a practical learning environment because some of the machines, containers and shelving systems are the same as those used in real production. The flexible arrangement of the workstations makes it possible to visualize the workflow, while the compact design of the room ensures clarity and transparency.

In the first two days, under the direction of Prof (FH) Dr. Martin Adam and Guido von Rohr, the techniques from the Toyota production system were presented, which in many companies under the term “Lean Management” are part of the standard in a production. The realistic environment of the LEAN Lab made it possible to quickly recognize a transfer between what has been learned and the potential in the applications at Empl.

HIGH-LEVEL MOTIVATION

On the third day of the training, improvement potential was identified in a so-called “Gemba Walk” at the Empl plant in Zillertal. In small groups, the participants analyzed how waste can be reduced, overburdening and underburdening of the workforce can be alleviated, and  downtimes and errors can be avoided. Motivated by the know-how imparted and the efficiency potential discovered, a lean representative was appointed to support the implementation of the ideas. The entire workforce is actively involved in the lean process. To this end, an idea management and a company suggestion scheme were introduced to give employees the opportunity to contribute their ideas for improvement.

Empl's management team agreed that the training in the LEAN Lab provided valuable insights for process optimization. “We should have done this much earlier,” one team member aptly noted. With a clear timeline for next steps, Empl is well equipped to achieve its goals.

Links:

• Lean Lab research laboratory at the Kufstein Uni
• Empl Website
• Master's degree program ERP Systems & Business Process Management