Written by MDS Nordion is a world leader in the supply of isotopes for medical purposes. It is a highly regulated business with very strict restrictions on electronic document management including approval signature processes. The issue they had to solve was how to continue to fully comply with regulations while improving turnaround time and efficiency – Value Stream Mapping was the right tool to do this.
The Value Stream Mapping and Lean training helped solidify a more positive relationship between Engineering and Manufacturing Planning. The door was opened to work together in new and ‘sharing’ ways.
Some changes that were made included:
- A weekly meeting with parties involved in the Change Notice process
- Every pending notice is reviewed
- Decisions are made and signed off at the meeting
- Manufacturing gathers all the inputs from the shop floor regarding deviations, improvements and prioritizing. This input from manufacturing becomes the agenda for the meeting.
- Engineering provides the technical response as well as implementation of the decisions taken at the meeting with revised drawings and technical documents.
Three months after beginning the Value Stream Mapping exercise, the results are:
- Change notice paper flow is typically 7 days instead of the original 28, a 75% improvement
- The departments can concentrate more on technical innovation and less on paperwork
- Less time is spent chasing things
Read the entire article at https://www.leanadvisors.com/lean-success-stories/government/lean-office-implementation-at-mds-nordion