Strategos Case Studies

Case studies and stories are great ways to learn. Especially when the subject has the complexity and nuance that is inherent in Lean Manufacturing and Manufacturing Strategy. Case studies illustrate the application of principles and design procedures. They demonstrate when and how to deviate from the academic approach. Unfortunately, they do not substitute for genuine, real-life and wide-ranging experience.

Everything went wrong when the venerable boilermaker entered the nuclear pressure vessel business. The aftermath brought delivery delays, strikes, lawsuits, red ink and a bizarre suicide. This classic case study is an excellent way to introduce Manufacturing Strategy to your management team or classroom. It comes with notes on the most effective way to conduct the discussion.

• Manufacturing Strategy

• Key Manufacturing Task

This study illustrates how one manufacturer moved from a "Do everything for everybody" mentality to a more focused approach to competition, in this instance, Delivery and Quality.

• Key Manufacturing Task

• Marketing/Manufacturing

• Focused Factories

How misapplication of the Blitz and designing workcells with slogans and edicts led this aircraft manufacturer into deep trouble.

• Kaizen Blitz  or Event

• Cellular Manufacturing

Shows the effects of too much reliance on the Kaizen Blitz approach combined with too little attention to Manufacturing Strategy.

• Kaizen Blitz or Event

• Manufacturing Strategy

A precision foundry focuses inappropriately on One Piece Flow when designing workcells. The results are lower productivity.

• One Piece Flow

• Cellular Manufacturing

How perseverance and thoughtful planning leads this manufacturer to success in Cellular and Lean Manufacturing.

• Lean Implementation

• Manufacturing Strategy

• Assembly Workcells

Illustrates the 10 steps for designing a kanban systems for production control.

• Kanban

The blitz approach is successfully applied to combined assembly/fabrication workcells that build industrial heaters.

• Kaizen Blitz  or Event

• Cellular Manufacturing

The difficult situation of short-run machine shops is attacked successfully by this manufacturer of specialized water pumps.

• Group Technology

• Kaizen Blitz or Event

• Cellular Manufacturing

How Henry Ford survived the recession of 1920-1921, bought out some unpleasant partners and divorced himself from Wall Street bankers. The company emerged with great financial strength and almost doubled efficiency.

• Just-In-Time

• Inventory

• Strategy

• Lean History

While the catastrophe of American bombing in 1945 affected all of Japanese industry, Toyota's biggest crises came about five years later. This financial and labor crisis was the inspiration for what became the Toyota Production System and, particularly, the Human Side of Lean.

• Labor, Unions & Employees

• Strategy

• Lean History

In 1984 Harley-Davidson was in the last extremity, just hours away from bankruptcy. This article tells how Harley turned the tables on the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers and implemented Lean fast and cheap.

• Just-In-Time

• Inventory

• History

This company's cycle counting program enjoyed initial success but then stalled out. This case study illustrates why counting is not enough and Error Prevention is also required.

• Cycle Counting

• Inventory errors

While telecom companies move information at the speed of light, their business processes are somewhat slower. This case study shows how one large telecom company reduced installation time from three months to six weeks on a new type of business service.

• Process Improvement

• Action Learning

• Office Lean

After seven years in business, Les Davis has one customer for his company -- the only customer he wants. This case study shows how one entrepreneur focused his factory and his business on a single customer with singular results.

• Focused Factory

• Manufacturing Strategy