| Download pdf (906k) of ProEdge brochure QMI Solutions has developed a new four-day workshop for SMEs that will provide the tools for Manufacturing Excellence. Why is that important? As competition increases, companies are finding that there are still huge opportunities to turn their manufacturing operations into a competitive advantage by consistently delivering quality, cost, flexibility and lead time benefits to their customers.
What are the benefits of Lean Manufacturing?
- increased throughput
- reduced operating expenses
- reduced inventories
- improved cultural change
- improved quality and reduced scrap/rework
- reduced lead times and greater supply chain responsiveness
- improved participation, communication and collaboration across the supply chain
- improved fulfillment of your order winning criteria of your customers - cost, quality, lead time, flexibility and information.
What is Lean Manufacturing?Lean describes a system of eliminating waste through continuous improvement methodologies. Specifically, lean analyses and improves the flow of material and information resulting in increased work efficiency, staff involvement and customer satisfaction. By eliminating waste through lean principles, you are able to provide a product or service at the right time and and appropriate price as defined by the customer.
How is the ProEdge Lean Program structured?The four day workshop is flexible to your requirements. You can attend programs specific industry to sectors, mixed business or tailor your own in-house program. Your company should enrol participants from both management and operational functions. A minimum of two participants per company is preferred but not essential.
A team of experts from QMI Solutions and other firms will facilitate the training which includes presentations, interactive discussions, a simulation game and over 30 practical exercises to maximise the learning.
The number of participating companies is set between 8 and 12 to allow networking, cross-pollination of ideas and peer evaluation whilst maximising effectiveness.
How mature is your organisation?The ProEdge Program helps you focus on best practices that drive your performance and provides a system to track your 'practices maturity'.
The stages of 'practice maturity' look like this:
Stage 1 - No best practices used and the company revolves around crisis management and ad hoc responses.
Stage 2 - Clearer understanding of company direction, imparted effectively by management.
Stage 3 - There is an ownership of practices at shop floor, middle management and senior management levels.
Stage 4 - Practices are constantly being honed and refined. Management is consultative and the company is utilising technologies to improve performance throughout the entire supply chain.
Stage 5 - Best practices are a 'way of life'. Management has adopted a mentoring style with the company and its supply chain business partners.
 This radar chart illustrates an effective way to capture your organisation's maturity across all these practices.
So what are the best practices?Leading and Managing ChangeRather than just hoping you're armed to handle change we make sure of it with concepts and tools from the world's leading change experts. This includes Kotter's eight points for successful change, stages of change, dealing with resistance and other people issues.
TeamworkTeamwork centres around the empowerment and involvement of frontline workers on a common set of targets to drive continuous improvement.
Focused ImprovementUnderstanding the practice of making continuous improvements in the workplace by focusing on eliminating major losses and waste through structured problem solving.
5S5S is a system for housekeeping and organising your facility. The world's best manufacturers suggest that if you cannot excel at 5S you cannot expect to excel at anything in manufacturing.
Visual Performance MeasurementLearn the importance of visual performance measures in driving changes in behaviour and the benefits of displaying visual measures to your workforce. The whole organisation is able to see exactly what is being measured.
Effective MaintenanceEffective maintenance focuses on prevention of breakdowns and deterioration of equipment through a preventative maintenance program. Learn how to eliminate problems before they occur through operator-based maintenance and condition monitoring.
Waste ReductionLearn how to identify and eliminate the seven wastes in production and the six major machine losses. Waste is anything that uses resources but does not add real value as determined by the customer. Be able to practically apply techniques to reduce or eliminate the losses and wastes.
Process & Material FlowWorld class manufacturing deploys pull systems to control the flow of product from one process to another. Upstream processes will only transfer products when the downstream process requires it. Learn the "Theory of Constraints" on how to detect and protect your throughput potential.
Value Stream MappingVSM serves to clarify complex systems, allows identification of problem areas and provides a tool for effective planning of solutions and their implementation. Value stream maps are live documents which should be refined and updated as the system changes or additional information is collected.
Supply Chain ManagementLearn how to develop relationships and strategic alliances, and collaborate with supply chain business partners with a common focus on end customer needs.
Product Development & Life Cycle ManagementLearn how to develop better products faster through formalising your product development process with an emphasis on managing products throughout life cycle.
Set-up Time ReductionUnderstand the need to reduce set-up times in terms of your organisation's quest for flexibility, competitiveness and contribution to your overall equipment effectiveness.
Testimonials"All of us found the ProEdge course to be very informative and extremely well presented. We have already taken some of the information from the course and implemented the ideas in various departments from within our company. It is our intention to conitnue to drive these ideas through all areas of production. We would highly recommend the course to other businesses wanting to improve their manufacturing processes."
Chris Gilfoyle - Factory Operations Manager, The Riviera Group
"From day one, the full cost of the course was recovered through the subsequent operational improvements, introduced by our attendees. There is no doubt that we will continue to benefit from our investment in this course as we now have key staff members operating on the same 'wave length' in a coordinated drive towards the successful implementation of lean manufacturing."
Kevin Feldman - Director, Dyman Foam & Image Furniture
"ProEdge is an excellent consolidation of best practice manufacturing principles, together with a gauge for measuring you own organisation's development. It is a great refresher for the experienced and introduction for up and coming manufacturing professionals. We will involve more people in this training."
David Blight - Manager Components, Sealy of Australia
"After visiting other Cascade plants around the world I was looking for a structured way to implement the array of World Class Manufacturing techniques that were being used. When I found the ProEdge Manufacturing Excellence Program, I knew it would solve my problem.
Having attended QMI's ProEdge with 7 other people from Cascade, I can highly recommend the workshop series for other manufacturers. We found the five days packed with practical information covering all aspects of Lean Manufacturing and how they can be applied in the workplace.
In a short space of time we have already made significant inroads to improving the culture and processes in our operation, both in the plant and in the office. In the factory we have been able to sustain a 50% growth in volume with only a modest increase in resources. We have also achieved major reductions in inventory and space required. In the office we found 6 skips of rubbish during our 5S Clear Up Exercise.
QMI delivers the workshop in a professional and knowledgeable way and has been instrumental in helping us to refocus our attention on the important "Best Practices". ProEdge is an invaluable source of information for manufacturers."
Graham Strowe - Manufacturing Manager, Cascade Pty Ltd
"ProEdge has highlighted to myself and my staff where and how we can improve our business in very practical and tangible ways. It has been a great experience to join with other companies and find they have similar issues. I would thoroughly recommend it for any company that wishes to grow their business."
Mark Ceh - Managing Director, Ergofurn
To register for ProEdge or view upcoming dates and locations by visiting our Calendar of Events
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