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Jayson Myers
1. Constraints on performance improvement
Every year, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters conducts its Management Issues Survey in conjunction with Plant, Canada's Industry Newspaper. This year, 986 manufacturers responded to the survey, pinpointing the top issues affecting their businesses. In the face of considerable competitive challenges, the survey shows many companies are facing constraints in achieving measurable improvements in business performance. The top constraints are limited resources, cost, lack of qualified personnel, lack of time and organizational culture.
2. Overcoming constraints on performance improvement
Manufacturers are taking a number of steps to overcome the constraints they face in improving performance. More than 30% of respondents are upgrading employee skill sets, improving operating efficiencies, strengthening the teamwork capabilities of their workforce and changing organizational culture.
3. Stage of lean implementation
Nearly half of the companies report they are implementing improvements based on lean principles; however, only 3% report they are at the advanced implementation stage where lean has become the standard way of operating. Another 14% say extensive implementation is underway, many areas of the business are applying lean concepts and tools, and solid progress is being made. Other companies are just starting.
4. Lean improvement techniques
Companies implementing lean improvements take advantage of a number of techniques. The most popular, employed by at least 30% of companies where lean implementation is taking place, are kanban, 5S, value-stream mapping, and the kaizen blitz.
5. Benefits of going lean
Top benefits of implementing lean improvements include: waste reduction; improved operating efficiencies; speedier product lead and delivery times; reduction in plant space; speedier inventory turnover; and improved product quality. Close to 30% report lean implementation has improved profit.
6. Obstacles to effective lean implementation
The most significant obstacles to overcome in implementing lean improvements are backsliding to old ways of doing things, a lack of implementation know-how and resistance to change. Leadership at all management levels and on the shop floor is crucial to lean success.
Trends information is provided by Plant, Canada's Industrial Newspaper. Source: Jayson Myers, chief economist with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. Purchasing b2b and Plant are both published by Rogers Media.
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