Factory Building Symposium on Lean Production January 29, 2007 Austin, Texas

Palm Harbor Homes Plant City, FL Michael Lombard, Continuous Improvement Manager Creating a Lean Infrastructure

Palm Harbor Plant 06 Started:1981 Location:Plant City, FL Home type(s):Modular Price point:Moderate to high-end Design:Substantial customization Production:4 floors/day Market area:Southeastern US

Challenges Employee turnover Lack of standard work procedures Instability on the shop-floor Poor work environment Unstructured improvement process

Strategy: Build a Foundation for Lean Integrate lean into the plant culture Establish a well defined infrastructure for kaizen (continuous improvement)

Lean Culture Training for managers Weekly book club meetings Hands-on simulations, gemba observations, etc. Online learning component Training for shop floor associates Five S Standardized work One-piece flow and pull systems

Kaizen Infrastructure Lean Executive Team Champions improvement projects Appoints and supports project captains Provides resources and guidance Five S Workplace Providing a positive workplace Use visual control Encompass entire facility Idea Development Process Harness employee creativity Available to all Plan-Do-Check-Adjust

Idea Process Results Ideas generated: 200+ Ideas implemented: 78 Total estimated savings to date: $108,000

Frame Shop Unnecessary moving frame in and out of floor department Frame moves directly into frame department ThenNow Floor crew stopped work while frame moved through Floor crew works without interruption

Results Cost less than $1,000 Floor department works uninterrupted Eliminated waiting time Eliminated 4 floor moves Throughput time reduced Labor savings $36,000 per year

Paint Booth Doors painted in open area subject to dust and interference Dedicated paint booth ThenNow No fixtures Doors painted far from point of use on the line Fixtures for holding and flipping doors Doors painted close to point of use

Results Cost less than $2,000 Doors closer to point of use Defects from 25% to 5% of doors Painting time reduced by two-thirds Total labor savings = $31,500 per year

Highlights Getting buy-in critical to make improvement ideas work Basic understanding of lean critical to management buy-in Action over planning

Going Forward Continue Management Training Develop Shop-Floor Training Expand Idea Development Process Evolve Five S Workplace

Lean Symposium

Manufactured Housing Research Alliance Jordan Dentz (212) x13 Factory Building Symposium on Lean Production