12 March 2012, AkzoNobel

After a short drive from Utrech with Alexander Pols from the Lean Management Institute (LMI) we arrive at AkzoNobel, the worlds largest paint manufacturer, with a presence in over 10 countries. The LMI team have been coaching lean/CI principals for 4 years and have developed some very impressive and sustainable practices. We 5S walked the paint R&D department, which are very proud of producing the paint for the McLaren F1 racing team. Their sustainable 5S has been developed over 4 years and represents the model for the site, all new employees spend 6 weeks just in this area being trained in 5S. The site operations director completes a 2 hour daily gemba (go see, ask why, with respect) walk, before entering his office. All sections conduct a 15 minute DSM ( daily standup meeting) known as a tier 1 DSM. Tier 2 DSM occurs at 9am daily, with the last team rep to arrive chairing the conversation. Tier 3 DSM occurs at 10 am daily, with a Obea (problem solving) focus occuing each week. Key observations: Very visual senior mgmt involvement in CI principals All staff trained in 5S and the importance of its role in the business Very disciplined time management in DSM, 15 minutes max Obea meeting needed shining, with more preparation in issue knowledge and controls, great idea tho! Recruited CI lead from shop floor, tenure lasts 6 months, required to identify, control & report on 4 PR/mth Great use of flip charts to show history and journey of changed work practices Just introduced CI home & away team Gemba walks, involving team travelling to OS sites and walking the process. This was a fantastic day to see how CI was being introduced to a global company and discussing the trials and tribulations of the journey. Thank you Alexander, Stefan and AkzoNobel.