Controls News 13
23
Main theme: Lean as a company philosophy |
Interview
How would you describe the
company’s development since its first
audit in 2002?
I think that the decision to introduce the new,
process-oriented C.Net management system was a
crucial step in the company’s development. In my
view, the way the processes were presented, with
their sequences and interactions, was excellent for
corporate activity. The processes were presented
transparently and the process owners have profiled
new, useful tools year after year and built them
into the process to improve user-friendliness. This
is only possible when the company management
uses the management system, which was very
noticeable in this case. That also made it possible
to make a number of organizational changes (e.g.
production factory 1 or 2) and thereby achieve
permanent efficiency. Furthermore it was clear that
the workplace benefited from modern facilities.
This meant that staff skills were continually being
improved.
What is your assessment
of the company today?
I think the company is in a very strong position. It
has a stable and expert leadership, well qualified
personnel, a great product range with established
customer value, and efficient production with
custom manufacturing penetration. In contrast to
other companies, it has grown consistently down
the years. That is conclusive proof that many
processes are effective and efficient.
The path to Saia-Burgess as a lean company
Perspectives of an independent external auditor to ISO 9001
About him: Hermann Widmer is approved for the
certification of management systems to ISO 9001,
ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO /TS 16949. Since
1993
he has worked at the SQS (Swiss Association for
Quality and Management System) as a senior auditor
carrying out so-called third party audits as a neutral,
independent auditor.
Mr Widmer and Saia-Burgess Control:
Since 2002, he has reviewed the implementation of
the management system at Saia-Burgess Controls Ltd
during the annual two-day maintenance audits. Every
third year recertification takes place across the whole
What has changed in the
QM system since the switch to
lean production?
With the introduction of lean principles to
the current management system, many
processes have been changed. Processes
were analysed and those considered a
liability were thrown out to improve
efficiency. The result of this was that the
processes were presented differently and the «One
Piece Flow» principles were integrated. This made it
possible for us to manage existing growth in many ma-
nufacturing domains and to significantly improve
processing times (e.g. with the KANBAN system) in
our high-revenue areas (e.g. PDC3). This further
improved transparency (e.g. Shadow Boards, work list
displayed on screens) and led to almost paper-free
production and good material flow.
What is your experience of the change
towards a lean enterprise?
In addition to the progress already mentioned, I have
been struck by the fact that «Lean» is a focus in all
processes, not only in added value processes (e.g. in
complaint handling). The aim has been to streamline
and standardize the processes (e.g. the HR processes)
and to increase efficiency that way.
What do you think of lean as the basis
for a whole company, not just production?
It is a modern, comprehensive approach to increasing
efficiency and effectiveness in all processes, and thus
company performance.
management system, for which another, independent
auditor is used. By 2009, these audits took place on
the basis of the management system C-Net 1.x versi-
on. In 2010, business processes and organization took
a more systematic approach to Lean. Accordingly, the
management system C-Net was replaced with a new
Lean version 2.0. Successful ISO 9001:2008 certifica-
tion of the Lean Systems was completed in Decem-
ber 2010. The first maintenance audit took place in
November 2011.
Owing to his profound and longstanding knowledge
of the company, Mr. Widmer was able to answer the
following questions to evaluate the visible progress.
Interview
Hermann Widmer
Swiss Association for Quality
and Management Systems
