Federal Industries, a Belleville manufacturer of custom commercial bakery and deli display cases, needed to improve throughput. WMEP recommended Lean including Lean Culture. Federal began with Value Stream Mapping and 5S/Visual Workplace. The VSM revealed that one person assembled a case, from beginning to end, leading to potential delays. Priorities needed to be set.

The need for a Lean Culture and Lean Leadership was apparent.  A Lean Culture is focused entirely on the customer and totally committed to continuous improvement.  Employees rotated in and out of the steering team to increase involvement and cultivate ownership of improvements. Federal sought volunteers from the shop floor to serve in leadership roles.  The volunteers, many from the union, and supervisors received additional development of their leadership skills. 

Federal gained real benefits such as:

• Lead time down 57%
• $200,000 in cost savings
• $2 million in increased sales.

Gary Hamburg, Continuous Improvements Director for Federal, feels employee empowerment sets Lean Culture apart.  “It helped give everyone ownership of continuous improvement to sustain progress,” said Hamburg.