Valuable Information

as you begin the Lean transformation

4M MAKES BAGS OF MONEY

CASE STUDY: HIGH SPEED PRINTING PRESS
A call from a client stating their machine would not run to the stated capacity. They had tried everything
to increase the output. The machine was currently running less than 150ft/sec, which was a far cry from
the needed 300ft/s. This client didn’t have the luxury of excess capacity in other presses, so they were
hiding this problem with overtime. The amount of overtime was putting a strain on both the hourly
associates and management.
After a two week 4M Analysis and Correction exercise, we had the machine running at rate with near
perfect quality. This was 3yrs ago, and this client is still running this machine at that improved rate. A
direct quote from this client: “We have done nothing but make bags of money with the machine since
you guys fixed it.”
WHY 4M? (MAN, MACHINE, METHOD, MATERIAL)
We must get all we can out of our assets. We can’t afford to not improve what we currently have in
place. By extending the life of our equipment beyond the industry standard, we position ourselves
ahead of our competition. This cannot be done by relying on charts and graphs.
Machines are down for reasons we don’t understand. Our data tells us one thing, but the facts are
something entirely different. We are trying to solve problems that aren’t fully understood. We work
overtime to cover up the machine downtime.
• Do you know what your main downtime reasons are on your critical assets?
• Does your team know how to solve those downtime reasons?
If you answered ‘no’ to either of these questions, a 4M analysis can help you improve your equipment.
We understand how hard it is to go ask for more capital. We understand the desire to not want to show
another poor performing quarter to the board of directors.
You are in a position to make the decision to stop the bleeding. It is your responsibility to protect your
assets and the associates running those assets. You are probably wondering how things got so bad. You
see downtime charts daily with no explanation as to why. You are told different reasons for why
machines can’t perform. The Gemba holds the answer to most of our questions. Machines are
predictable and explainable. We just have to know how to interpret what they are telling us.
LMSPI can help you. We have years of experience helping companies in your position. We enjoy the
“shoulder to shoulder” approach to improving machines, processes, teams, and entire organizations. As
veterans in our field, we understand the inner workings of the process. We can diagnose all failure
modes. We average a 25% improvement in availability in the first two weeks. We have doubled the
output in some cases. In some cases, we have created barriers to market entry for our clients’
competitors by ensuring superior quality of product from their processes. Their competitors can’t begin
to compete with them based on the quality levels achieved.
We partner with you to ensure you get the initial step improvement plus the understanding of how to
continuously improve after we leave. If you need help with improving your asset capacity or capability,
go online to http://www.LMSPI.com to get started with a no-cost introduction. Page 1/1

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