Visual Workplace at Its Finest
CEA Technologies, established in 1988 in Colorado Springs, provides contract design and manufacturing services for the medical device industry. With a 96% retention rate, CEA’s 100+ employees boast a high level of expertise, allowing them to flexibly meet the demands of the Fortune 30 medical device firms they serve.
As the company has grown, CEA management has endeavored to grow responsibly to meet increased demands while preparing themselves to weather any dips in business that inevitably occur in the cycle of growth. Steve Wychulis, Director of Corporate Development, contacted CAMT to ensure growth challenges were met responsibly. With the help of CAMT, CEA could prepare their employees for success, providing the necessary tools to reach the highest level of efficiency and quality.
First, CEA manufacturing engineers and supervisors participated in a Statistical Process Control course to identify and eliminate variations in the production process, as well as a Value Stream Mapping event to reduce non-value added activities. Then the manufacturing facility went through a 12-week Visual Workplace program. CEA’s manufacturing facility was transformed into a “Visual Workplace” to meet daily performance goals, decrease non-value added activities, such as wasted time and motion, and sustain reduced lead times and accelerated flow. CEA’s large manufacturing facility with multiple controlled environments was completely rearranged so that all tools and materials were placed at the point of use. Labels, shadow boards, and display boards were developed to create a facility that speaks for itself-- it tells us exactly where things are, what needs to be done, by when, in what quantity, by whom and how.
The Visual Workplace Training has empowered the production staff to take efficiency improvements in their own hands. The staff is continually improving their workplace, initiating new projects on a regular basis. Initial cost savings have been calculated, but Steve Wychulis is eager to see the full financial impact of these changes over the next year.
“Implementing and sustaining Lean with Visual Workplace tools has assisted CEA in not only meeting customer demands, but exceeding their expectations.” -- Steve Wychulis, Director of Corporate Development
Results:
- Company Culture Shift to Continuous Improvement
- $30,000 in Retained Sales
- $197,000 in Cost Savings
- $98,000 Investment in Plant Equipment