Quality does not beget efficiency when it comes to Lean manufacturing

For many manufacturers, there is an ever-persistent dilemma between balancing efficiency with quality. The economy has forced many businesses to focus on doing more with limited resources, which has placed efficiency at a premium. At the same time, companies feel as if productivity has to come at the expense of quality, and they simply can't retain quality and achieve higher productivity levels.

While that may be the case in traditional manufacturing settings, many businesses have been able to achieve both of these end goals simultaneously through the utilization of Lean practices and mindsets. When your company's operations revolve around efficiency to begin with, it's easy to identify ways of maintaining quality levels while also improving overall productivity.

Lean labels

Take, for example, the European label printing business Gallus. The company utilizes Lean (or the Gallus Smart Production Concept, as the firm calls it) as a way of assessing the whole production environment, enabling it to completely rework operations to bolster efficiency.

“The main aim of the Gallus Smart Production Concept is to cut job changeover times by as much as possible,” Packaging Europe adds. “This area offers enormous potential for savings … even a small reduction in average setup times of around five minutes per job frees up enough capacity to handle several hundred more jobs each year. This in turn enables print shops to cut the time required for return on investment by up to two years.”

Gallus' Lean concept has proven to be a huge success, with the company continuing to use these philosophies and practices to this day – years after it first made the Lean transformation. In fact, the company has a dedicated business unit devoted to evaluating operational environments, and has even started lending its expertise to its partners and customers to help them improve as well.

Manufacturers need to realize that wastes exist all throughout their organizations. These processes may not be evident – particularly if a practice has been the standard for ages. When businesses are pressed with the task of improving efficiency without jeopardizing quality, it's best to do a full workplace evaluation, much like Gallus. There is no practice or process that is too precious to be modified, and everything should be assessed to maximize productivity.