Case Study 1 — Productivity & Cost Competitiveness
📌Context
A large manufacturing network (+30 plants) with a significant frontline workforce faced challenges in labor cost competitiveness and inconsistent operational performance across multiple sites.
🎯 Challenge
- No standardized work methods
- Inefficient workplace organization
- Suboptimal layouts and flows
- Performance variability on automatic lines
🔧 Intervention
- Introduced Industrial Engineering as a regional capability
- Defined and deployed labor standards
- Redesigned layouts and ergonomics
- Optimized internal logistics
- Improved OEE on automatic lines
📈 Results (3 years)
- 25% labor productivity improvement
- 50% quality KPI improvement
- 70% safety KPI improvement
- Consistent labor standards across the manufacturing network
- Significant unit cost reduction
Case Study 2 — Increasing Throughput Beyond Designed Capacity
📌 Context
An automotive plant faced unexpected demand exceeding designed capacity.
🎯 Challenge
Increase throughput and productivity without CapEx, with lines near saturation and unstable processes.
🔧 Intervention
- Increased OEE through process stabilization
- Installed a full JIT system
- Redesigned material feeding (kanban, supermarket, point‑of‑use)
- Implemented Workplace Organization (5S)
- Introduced WCM
- Strengthened daily governance
📈 Results
- +15% throughput, zero CapEx
- +10% OEE
- Reactive maintenance nearly eliminated
- 20% reduction in maintenance material inventory
Case Study 3 — Engineering Transformation
📌 Context
A global Medical Devices division faced structural inefficiencies in engineering and industrialization. Responsibilities were fragmented, equipment start‑up times were long, and time‑to‑market exceeded industry benchmarks.
🎯 Challenge
- Excessive time‑to‑market
- Long equipment start‑up times
- Fragmented engineering organization
- Non‑competitive CapEx vs revenue ratio
🔧 Intervention
- Built a new central engineering organization
- Centralized CapEx, governance and sourcing
- Introduced frugal engineering
- Strengthened cross‑functional collaboration
- Improved transparency and prioritization
📈 Results
- 30% reduction in industrialization time
- USD 23M organizational synergies
- USD 100M CapEx avoidance (CapEx/revenue from 4.6% to 4.1%)
- Stronger governance and predictability