Canadian Manufacturers &
Exporters
Lean Consortia – What are they?
Presentation on Lean Consortia
October 27, 2010
Minister’s Workforce Forum
Brian McCready
Vice President Alberta & Saskatchewan
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
Overview of Presentation
• Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
• Definition of Lean
• What is a CME Lean Consortium
• What do Consortia Members Do
• Consortium Member Achievements
• Success of Lean Consortium
• Questions?
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
• CME is Canada’s leading business network
• It is the voice of, and information source for,
manufacturers and exporters across Canada
• National organization with offices in each Province
• History dating back 138 years
• Mission
– To continuously improve the competitiveness of
Canadian industry and expand export business
Consortia of Manufacturing Excellence
Definition of Lean:
Lean Thinking is a commitment to achieving a totally
waste-free operation that is focused on your
customer’s success, that is achieved by simplifying
and continually improving all processes &
relationships in an environment of trust, respect, and
full employee involvement.
Dave Hogg – Past Chair Toronto 2008 AME Conference & Senior
Consultant – HPM Inc.
What do you see?
“Optimist”: Glass is half full.
“Pessimist”: Glass is half empty.
“Lean Practitioner”: I have more glass than I
need.
Some Lean Facts
Of all manufacturers in N.A.
Only 15%
Have tried or are trying to implement Lean
85%
FAILED
Some Lean Facts
• Why is something that sounds so simple, so hard
to do?
• They learned how to use the tools - 5S, Kanban,
Value Stream Mapping, Poka Yoke, Visual
Controls.
• They focused there efforts on the shop floor.
• They got amazing results and thought they were
now …..
• LEAN
Some Lean Facts
• They didn’t get it !
• LEAN is a Culture.
• A fundamental change in how all the people in
your organization think and what they value, thus
transforming how they behave.
• It’s beliefs & behaviors, applicable beyond the
factory floor to encompass the entire Enterprise.
• It’s everyone focused on identifying and
eliminating sources of waste. They look at the
world through the eyes of the Customer and strive
for “Customer Success”.
Why Fly Solo?
Canadian Manufacturers don’t have to
face the challenges of Global
Competition and Increased Costs
alone.
Join a
Consortium!
Together, we can compete anywhere in the world and WIN!
The Challenges of Flying Solo
• Knowing where to start.?
• The cost of training?
• The drain on resources?
• Distractions?
• Where are the pitfalls that have stopped others?
• Where do I find examples of “best practice”?
What is a CME Lean Consortium?
• Non Competing Companies – Maximum Size 16
• Willing to learn from each other and share best
practices
• Understand that they are on a Journey to Excellence
that will never end
• Take Seminars on best practices with representation
from each company
• Work to empower employees and allow them to
make decisions that will eliminate waste in the
organizations.
What do CME Lean Consortia Do?
• Companies have taken Lean Training and improved;
• Members have made significant improvements in
their company efficiency that are measurable;
• Improvements are sustainable as the culture
strengthens;
• Allow companies to work together to become more
productive and use best practices.
• There are similar program provided in each of the
western Provinces, so they can look to other
experiences for solutions.
What do CME Lean Consortia Do?
• CME provides a yearly- Lean Assessment to each
member to target needs;
• Members meet in each others operation to see actual
areas where improvement is targeted;
• Special Interest Groups look at common problems;
• Other training is brought to the Province for the
Consortia members rather than traveling to training
outside of the Province;
• Lean Conference participation is provided to
members at lower fees than non members.
What do CME Lean Consortia Achieve?
• Consortia members have achieved some of the
Goals of Lean Enterprise
• They understand waste reduction and the use of 5S
are only tools used in the process
• They work to improve all areas of the Company.
• They invest in new equipment and processes to
improve competitiveness.
• More importantly, they understand that they are on a
Journey to be Globally Competitive and World Class
Successes of Lean Consortium
• The elimination of a culture of “fire fighting or
management by crisis”;
• The sharing of concepts, actions, and results with
other non competing companies takes company
performance to a level that is unattainable unless
expenditures, resources, and efforts are all at a
much higher level than required in the Consortium;
Successes of Lean Consortium
• By visiting each others facilities and bringing new
eyes to situations and problems, all members learn of
new ways to eliminate waste and non value added
activities in their organizations all companies improve
their standards of operation;
• As best practice and the lean culture becomes
engrained in the organization, the pursuit of
excellence and being the best the organization can
be rather than focusing on the competition .
Lean Consortia – What are they?
Questions ?
Brian McCready
Vice President – Alberta & Saskatchewan
For more information:
Brian.mccready@cme-mec.ca
• Acknowledge High Performance Solutions – Kitchener for some materials presented