Alongside the primary objective of being a successful company in a world in constant evolution, customer orientation and their needs has always been a priority for ETMA.
It is in this quest to improve its management and internal organization that, for several years, ETMA has been implementing tools of the Lean Manufacturing (Andon Boards and SMED) and Kaizen methods. And with regard to the latter, following the implementation and consolidation of its level 1 – Daily Kaizen, the company has been integrating, for 1 year and in stages across different areas and sectors, level 2 – 5S, aimed at organizing spaces of work.
According to Susana Agra, coordinator of the Kaizen project at ETMA, “this methodology is nothing more than an ally in continuous improvement, presenting itself as a simple and easy-to-apply tool that helps an entire organization, at all levels of production, where the most important thing is to make everyone aware that it is always necessary to seek improvements, achieve all the company’s objectives, as well as guarantee customer satisfaction with quality products and services”.
“I have followed ETMA on its path in search of operational excellence and I am very proud to be able to say that it is an organization of individuals (from its front lines to the management team) who strive to do better every day (by doing Kaizen).
In the 5S, as throughout the implementation of the Daily Kaizen, there was a clear evolution of the different departments in the management of the day that allowed the management to deal with the constant changes in the market and continue to provide its customers with excellent service at very competitive prices and quality!” – André Pinho Oliveira, Kaizen Institute Western Europe
WHAT DOES THE 5S CONSIST OF?
It is a methodology whose main objective is the organization of spaces and which, when well implemented, reveals a significant difference in the routine of employees. That is, it allows each work team more discipline and organization, with less effort and greater error reduction.
The 5S are assumed, therefore, as a strategic plan so that essential aspects in the company begin to show improvements. In this quality management tool, each S concerns a part of a process that contains 5 steps, whose ultimate objective is to improve the overall function of a company. To know:
- Seiri (Sort)
- Seiton (Set in order)
- Seiso (Shine)
- Seiketsu (Standardize)
- Shitsuke (Sustain)
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF IMPLEMENTING 5S AT ETMA?
As Quality is one of ETMA’s main competitive strategies, maintaining customer satisfaction is a daily challenge. Thus, by implementing the 5S method, the company, in addition to ensuring quality products, seeks to fully meet the needs of its customers, which also involves reducing costs and optimizing time.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR ETMA?
Among the many benefits that can be obtained from the implementation of this methodology at ETMA, the following stand out:
- More organized work environment;
- Work time optimization (eg, less time wasted searching for tools and other items);
- Facilitated operations;
- Ease of error detection;
- Increase in employee productivity;
- Safer and more pleasant work environment;
- Decreased expenses (less waste);
- Higher quality delivery.
In addition to improving the standard of delivery of products or services provided, the implementation of 5S is a tool that facilitates the implementation of other quality programs, as well as providing greater reliability of processes and increased predictability of operations.
WHAT ARE THE CUSTOMER ADVANTAGES?
By investing in continuous improvement strategies and tools, such as the 5S methodology, ETMA adapts to a new market context that is increasingly demanding and volatile, reducing costs and response times, raising the quality of products or services, and, ultimately, increasing customer satisfaction with the company. And, ultimately, generating and increasing the degree of customer trust in ETMA.
TURNING SECTOR – MONO-SPINDLES – SUCCESSFUL 5S IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLE
Cláudio Ribeiro, team leader of the Mono-Spindles team, emphasizes that this methodology “has been a daily motivating factor for the entire team, allowing for a better flow of work”. And he adds that “today, we feel that we have become more effective in the production of parts, managing to respond more efficiently and quickly to customer needs”.
NEXT STEPS IN 5S IMPLEMENTATION
Close to completing another phase of implementation in some of its areas and productive sectors, ETMA is expanding the remaining 5S to the organization. The importance given to the issue of quality will therefore continue to be a priority, with the company always seeking to be at the forefront and in the search for the maximum quality of the parts it produces, always in line with the customer orientation.