Big R Manufacturing- Greeley, CO

Big R Manufacturing is a locally-owned bridge and culvert manufacturer located in Greeley, Colorado with 90 employees. Since its inception 36 years ago, the business has served corporate and government customers across the country. In 2001, the current owners took over the business and prepared to dramatically increase its revenue.

Primarily through better targeting of market needs, Big R has seen a remarkable increase in sales from 2001 to 2006. Big R contacted CAMT in 2005 for assistance in fulfilling the increase in customer demand as efficiently and quickly as possible. CAMT customized a Lean Manufacturing training plan for Big R aimed to increase productivity and curtail non-value added activities. Big R’s entire workforce completed training on the Principles of Lean Manufacturing, while a full one third of the workforce completed value stream mapping trainings and implementations as well as a five-day kaizen event focused on rapid improvement using the implementation of several lean tools.

The CAMT training enabled Big R to reduce lead times by 50% to meet the increase in customer orders, resulting in retained sales of $1,000,000. Many new practices were implemented on the shop floor. Using Visual Workplace tools created by Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth, Big R created a visual production schedule board that staff uses to communicate and monitor progress on the shop floor, significantly decreasing wasted time. Most important, the CAMT training facilitated a shift in the company-wide culture, encouraging staff to recognize the value of their work and their collective ability to attain and sustain the anticipated growth.

“The tools that we learned from CAMT have changed the way we look at our costs, and we have embraced lean practices as part of our culture.” Kenzie MacPherson, President

Results:
- Invested $75,000 in Workforce Practices
- Retained Sales of $1,000,000
- Savings of $100,000
- Invested $1,000, 0000 in a state-of-the-art facility
- Reduced lead times by 50%