News A selection of articles about general topics and companies with whom Change Management Associates works, or written or contributed to by Change Management Associates (most recent articles are presented first) Georgia Printer (July 2008) is a periodical geared for the Printing Industry, and in particular for those located in the Southeastern U.S..  Drew Locher wrote a brief article titled "Lean Thinking in the Office" that describes some of the concepts that can be applied to streamline the critical "pre-press" process and the information flows associated.  CMA has worked with numerous printers both in the office and in production to successfully apply lean and operational excellence concepts.  For a copy of this article click here. Creating Level Pull in the Office (June 2008). This yet to be published article provides an in-depth description of the application of pull concepts in an office environment. People have struggled mightily with the application of pull in non-production applications. That is because people still do not understand this important concept. This article breaks down the concept into its basic elements, and clearly describes the characteristics necessary for a successful pull implementation in an office environment. Various examples are also provided.  For a copy of this article click here. Stamping Journal (April – May 2008) is a periodical of the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA). In this two-part article, Drew Locher describes the typical approach to apply Lean concepts in a Stamping operation. Topics covered include: Standard Work, Quick Changeover, Total Productive Maintenance, Workplace Organization, and others. For a copy of this article click here. Retail Environments (March - April 2008): Is the periodical for the Association for Retail Environments (ARE).  In this issue, Drew Locher wrote article, "Lean Thinking in the Office": Organize Administrative and Office Processes by Value Stream Rather Than Function".  In this article, the author challenges traditional ways in which companies are organized that give rise to departmental or functional "silos".  Organizing by process or value stream can dramatically improve flow and improve lead time and quality.  For a copy of this article click here.  Quality Progress (October 2007): Is the periodical of the American Society for Quality (ASQ).  In this issue, Drew Locher wrote an article, "In the Office: Where Lean And Six Sigma Converge". The article describes how various lean concepts help to reduce variability in any office environment.  For more information go to the ASQ website www.asq.org.  For a copy of this article: click here. Lean Office Podcast (December 2006): Drew Locher of Change Management Associates participated in an approx. 10 minute podcast on this subject. During the podcast he discusses typical results as well as the most common obstacles encountered when Lean Thinking is extended to administrative and office processes. Click here for access to the podcast. Quality Progress (June 2006): Is the periodical of the American Society for Quality (ASQ).  In this issue, Anthony Manos wrote an article, "Value Stream Mapping - an Introduction" in which he cites "The Complete Lean Enterprise" as a reference on the subject.  The article provides a basic description of VSM and its use in improving business processes of all forms.  For more information go to the ASQ website www.asq.org.  A link to the article is provided here: http://www.asq.org/pub/qualityprogress/past/0606/index2.html Target (Third Issue 2006): In this issue of Target, the periodical of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), Steelcase Inc. is the subject of an article titled "Steelcase: Learning How to Implement Customer-Focused, Enterprise-Wide Lean.  The article describes their work to extend lean thinking to office areas.  Steelcase has seen significant reductions in lead time and cost, as well as increases in productivity and customer satisfaction by the application of lean concepts to various areas of its business such as "Solutions Fulfillment" or order to delivery.  The article covers the organizational and cultural issues that can be significant obstacles to the application of lean concepts to administrative and office processes.  Change Management Associates through its BND affiliate worked with Steelcase to initiate this effort, laying the foundation for understanding as well as the methodology that Steelcase follows today.  The article nicely describes this approach.  For more information go to the AME website www.ame.org. Plastics News (April 2004): Roger Renstrom writes an article, "It Takes Work to Keep Manufacturing Lean" in the 15th anniversary edition of Plastics News.  Drew Locher of Change Management Associates contributed to the article that points out that companies in the Plastics Industry have yet to scratch the surface in terms of successfully implementing lean.  Few companies invest what is necessary to achieve Quick Changeover of equipment or maintain highly reliable equipment via Total Productive Maintenance concepts.  For more information go to the Plastics News website www.plasticsnews.com. Assembly Magazine (January 2004): Austin Weber writes an article, "The Lean Side of Automation" to which Drew Locher contributed.  The article discusses the application of lean concepts in a highly automated manufacturing environment.  Lean concepts such as Quick Changeover, Total Productive Maintenance, are just a few of the techniques that become particularly important in such companies.  For more information see the Assembly Magazine website www.assemblymag.com and click on the article titled "The Lean Side of Automation. International Cast Polymer Alliance (Cast Polymer Connection May/June 2003):  Drew Locher of Change Management Associates contributed to an article, "Get Lean: Cut the Fat in You Shop with Lean Manufacturing".  The subject of the article was the application of lean concepts in a Job-Shop environment, such as that found in Cast Polymer and Composite Manufacturers.  The article describes the importance of establishing and maintaining First-in-First-Out (FIFO) flow throughout the operation, and regulating the quantity of work released to the shop.  Other areas covered included the critical importance of order information quality at the beginning of the process, back at the customer.  Change Management Associates has worked with Job-Shop (i.e. non repetitive) manufacturers to reduce lead time by as much as 75%, and to greatly simplify the scheduling and management of such operations. The Wall Street Journal (September 11, 2003, Page A1):  An article by Gabriel Kahn is about a Taiwanese company, TAL Apparel who is a supplier to J.C. Penney stores.  The article describes TAL Apparel's use of point-of-sale information to directly drive its production scheduling.  Such approaches reduce the impact of forecasting error through the supply chain which can result in high inventory levels throughout the distribution network, while still having problems with customer service.  Change Management Associates is working with several large suppliers to WalMart to implement similar systems.  One is a supplier of food products, while the other is a supplier of clothing.  Inventory levels can be reduced by greater than 50%, while achieving customer service at fill rates of approximately 98% by such approaches. Philadelphia Inquirer (November 8, 2003, Business Section):  An article appears describing the success of Amuneal Manufacturing in Philadelphia to improve its business performance.  Amuneal is a metal fabricator, with whom Change Management Associates has worked in the years 2000-2001 in support of a full lean transformation.  Amuneal successfully implemented flow concepts in a difficult "job shop" environment, reducing average lead time from 5 weeks to 1 week.  Sales increased by 100% in a two year period, and productivity as measured by Revenues divided by Full Time Equivalent (FTE) increased 200% during this time.  The article also describes how the owner was able to marry his interest in the arts (glass and metal working) to turning around his metal fabrication business.  For more information check out www.philly.com and search for Amuneal Manufacturing under "The Inquirer" heading . Wilmington News Journal (December 21, 2003, Business Section): A general interest article about the efforts of particular Delaware manufacturers to successfully implement lean concepts.  One company referenced is Associate Graphics Services, a printing and fulfillment company with whom Change Management Associates has worked to support its full lean transformation.  Quotes from the owner provide insight regarding the management commitment required to successfully implement lean.  For more information check out www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal. - 2005 Winner! Announcement:  Drew Locher of Change Management Associates, along with Beau Keyte of Branson Inc., have published a book, "The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping  for Administrative and Office Processes" through Productivity Press.  Go to www.productivitypress.com for more information.