Midwest Folding Launches Lean Journey
Client Profile: A leading manufacturer of folding tables, stages, risers and caddies, Midwest Folding has built up a loyal customer base by designing and delivering products that stand up to the rigors of constant use and rough handling. School cafeterias, conference centers and performing arts facilities are among the end-users of Midwest Folding Products. The company continues to use plywood core tabletops and heavy gauge steel components while its competitors have gone to cheaper, less durable materials. Safety and quality are hallmarks of Midwest Folding, which helped develop safety and testing standards for mobile cafeteria tables, and was the first manufacturer in the industry to receive a UL listing. Founded in 1947, Midwest is located in Chicago where it employs 220 people in a 160,000 square-foot facility.
Situation: Midwest Folding came to the Chicago Manufacturing Center for help in meeting three business goals: shrink manufacturing lead times; improve on-time delivery, and reduce inventory levels. These challenges were exacerbated by operating out of an aging five-story plant requiring movement of materials between floors during the various stages of production, causing capacity constraints that limited Midwest's ability to grow. As the company considered options to relocate to a more modern production facility, CMC worked with Midwest to improve operations at the current location. Another set of challenges—inventory buildup and on-time delivery performance—arose out of MFP's highly seasonal demand, which peaks in late summer.
Structured Solution: The initial engagement focused on certification training to improve efficiency and reduce rework in the welding process, which is key to meeting quality standards and customer expectations. A companion project oriented Midwest employees to the value of lean manufacturing through a Lean 101 simulation and training in the principles of lean. As Midwest embarked on the Lean Journey, the company developed a Lean Strategy Statement: “Midwest Folding Products will consistently offer its customers lead times which are among the shortest in the industry and will continue to offer on-time shipment performance that it has become known for.Midwest Folding Products will use lean manufacturing techniques to systematically seek out areas of inefficiency and match its capacity with its demand.In particular, MFP will focus its energy on identifying and quantifying bottlenecks that exist in the metal and wood fabrication areas.”
With the groundwork laid and lean champions in place, Midwest retained CMC to perform an on-site assessment and to lead Kaizen Blitz events with the goal of identifying and acting on improvement opportunities, initially in the woodshop and metal shop.
Results: The CMC assessment and follow-on Kaizen events generated numerous opportunities for improvement in Midwest's priority areas. The company found ways to mitigate some of the obstacles inherent to operating in a multi-story facility, and realized cost savings through inventory reduction. While Midwest Folding's Lean Journey is continuing, the company has achieved these initial results:
• Manufacturing lead-time reduction in the woodshop of 50%
• Inventory reduction in the laminate storage area of 35%
• Cost savings of $150,000
“CMC helped us focus on the key processes and value streams of our operation and taught us the tools required to continuously improve and optimize them. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with CMC to further eliminate bottlenecks and inefficiencies throughout the company, on the shop floor as well as in the office.”
Patrick Mitsuuchi-Stork, Manufacturing Engineering Manager
