Lean Process Improvement – Seyer Industries

Results Case Studies

Case Study Snapshot

Results At A Glance

Contract-to-Acceptance Cycle Time

−20%

Missing QA Role

Identified & Filled

Process Visibility

Weekly Dashboard Created

Key Takeaways

  • VSM baselined the full Contract Award through Acceptance cycle time for the first time.
  • SIPOC and process flow mapping clarified responsibilities across serial, cycling processes.
  • Uncovered a missing QA Compliance role that was causing rework and delays.
  • Weekly project visibility dashboard enabled ongoing performance tracking.

Where This Approach Fits

Best for defense and aerospace companies with complex, multi-department office processes that drive program timelines.

Lean Process Improvement Process Flow Mapping

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Problem / Challenge:

Seyer designs and produces specialized aerospace products that require precision machining, welding and testing for commercial aircraft and the military. Each successful product requires an extensive back office set of processes. Seyer wanted to improve their “office” process efficiency and quality, which included the entire program cycle, excluding the manufacturing operations.

Lean Assessment

We conducted a 2-day Lean Assessment and it recommended Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and SIPOC for the program cycle, detailed Process Flow Mapping for the Contract Award thru Acceptance phase, creation of a weekly Project Visibility Dashboard/Meeting, and implementation of an Office Defects Tracking and Resolution process.

Implementation Details:
VSM, SIPOC, PFM & Dashboard

  • Created Value Stream Map (VSM) and SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Processes, Outputs and Customers) to baseline the cycle times, clarify roles and responsibilities, identify gaps and constraints that would require a deeper understanding and resolution via Process Flow Mapping (PFM)
  • Created VSM with baseline cycle times for complete “product cycle”, from Request for Quote thru Ready to Ship, but excluded manufacturing.
  • Identified constraints and where to probe deeper with Process Flow Mapping
  • Generated a SIPOC for each VSM high level step to identify organizational complexity, duplication and or gaps
  • Created a “current state” Process Flow Map for the constraining process, Contract Award thru Acceptance
  • Leveraging the VSM and SIPOC, developed “order visibility” dashboard to proactively address project flow issues in a “future state” weekly “Order Visibility Meetings”

VSM with Cycle Times & Process Flow Map Area Highlighted

VSM provided the office performance baseline cycle times and identified the constraining areas

Process Flow Map (Portion) with Dotted Steps to be Improved

Current State PFM was very “serial” with lots of cycling back and forth between steps

Initial Draft Order Visibility Dashboard with VSM Steps as Columns

Dashboard was developed based on the VSM and lessons learned from cycle times and SIPOC complexity issues

Difficulties Encountered:

Balancing governmental requirements while trying to reduce redundancy of steps or duplication of organizational roles

Results

  • Baselined cycle time and created reporting to promote continous improvement
  • Reduced Contract Award thru Acceptance time by 20% and formalized the missing or ad hoc acceptance process
  • Identified missing QA Compliance role and clarified process responsibilities
  • Operationalized the improved office process and order-flow visibility and trained personnel
  • Implemented “office defects” processes to better understand and analyze the root causes and improve performance

Learn more about Lean Process Improvement in the Office

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