For Immediate Release

Donnelly participates in Lean panel – A Problem Solving Transformation

On Tuesday, December 15, Donnelly’s Sam Wagner, director of advanced manufacturing, pariticipated in a panel discussion for Enterprise Minnesota following a key note speech by David Meier of Lean Associates, Inc. on Business Problem Solving.

A Problem Solving Transformation
Enterprise Minnesota helps take a new mindset to lean.

Consider problem solving the glue to make your lean transformation stick. As companies turn to methods for reducing waste, increasing efficiency, and saving money, they need to take a step further. To make lean take hold, companies need a wholesale change of mindset to focus on continually seeing and solving problems says David Meier.

"Lean is nothing more than one giant problem solving activity," he says. "And the giant problem that every organization shares is that they don't create enough value."

Meier, the nationally-renowned co-author of The Toyota Way Fieldbook and Toyota Talent, visited the Twin Cities this week to discuss how companies can transform themselves into problem solvers. He spoke at Business Problem Solving - The Toyota Way, an event sponsored by Enterprise Minnesota.    

Problem solving offers a new mindset, he said. It is a method to identify problems, analyze causes, and develop solutions. What starts as a process for solving individual problems eventually becomes ingrained as a cultural change. Organizations make problem solving part of the day-to-day thinking for even very minor problems.

While many companies have focused mostly on implementing lean initiatives, problem solving provides a tool for making those changes permanent says Enterprise Minnesota President and CEO Bob Kill.

"The number one issue that we see - and the top opportunity really - is creating a cultural transformation within a company," Kill said.

And several companies are already seeing the benefits. Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) in Bloomington and Donnelly Custom Manufacturing in Alexandria both worked with Enterprise Minnesota to implement business problem solving.

Over the past several years, Enterprise Minnesota has helped Donnelly train its employees in lean manufacturing and implemented lean concepts. Donnelly, a custom injection molding company, turned to problem solving as a way to solidify those improvements says Director of Advanced Manufacturing Sam Wagner.

"We were looking to take that next step, and problem solving seemed to fit," Wagner said. "Getting that mindset throughout the organization, and using it on bigger problems where it's more difficult."

Yet perhaps finding a new way to think about things also involves finding a new way to see things. According to Meier, one of the largest components is moving from considering problems caused by workers to seeing problems caused by incorrect processes.

CPP, which provides castings for aerospace manufacturers, understands the concept firsthand says Process Engineer Bill Shafer. "You have to get away from the mindset that it's one person causing a problem because there's more to it than that," Shafer said.

In fact, that type thinking holds lean improvements together, and shows the benefits of transforming into a problem solver says Meier. By focusing on solving problems, a company can move towards reducing defects, accidents, and costs along with increasing efficiency, productivity, quality, and profits.

"[Problem solving] is about becoming better, stronger, and more capable as an organization," Meier said.

To learn more about how Business Problem Solving - The Toyota Way may help your organization, contact John Connelly, Enterprise Minnesota Director of Product Development at (612)455-4210 or email him.

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