Continuous Improvement through Organizational Development

The University of Wisconsin-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center’s (MOC) staff, part of the Wisconsin MEP and the MEP National Network™, listened to the management team and people on the floor. They walked the processes and sought to understand what was working, and what was not. The MOC helped identify the top issues and put together a plan to take immediate action; a high-level plan called organizational development. It had four objectives for the year, which Kevin Thiel, MOC project manager, calls, "must-dos." “We need to have some systems people can rely on; a recipe to turn things; a system that can be responsive to the business and easy to use; improve how we do work. With some collaboration and evaluation of supporting systems, an introduction to the entire staff was facilitated in an all-day simulation," Todd stated.

This simulation was based on lean manufacturing principles and, in a matter of 4 months, the organization has realized significant improvements. “Things are much better and we are achieving our needs,” described co-owner Renea Fredrick. “The impacts at a high level have improved our throughput time in manufacturing. We have doubled our output. The productivity and quality improvements have reduced all kinds of waste, stress, and nonsense." The total impact is estimated at 100% improvement. “The responsiveness, productivity, and execution in our plant now has increased capacity," Todd cited. “People understand their role, how they contribute, expectations, and how the team approach gives everyone more," Renea explained.