CASE STUDY
Added 350 on-time shipments a week across a global repair network
A repair and overhaul network rolled lean out across key plants and unified standard work across acquired divisions, adding 350 on-time shipments a week with faster turnaround.
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2 min read
Acquired divisions each ran their own process. Unifying standard work added 350 on-time shipments a week.
A global repair and overhaul network had grown by acquisition, and each division still worked its own way. Inconsistent processes for unit induction, customer work instructions and warranty adjudication meant late deliveries, lost revenue and excess cost.
The challenge
Divisions acquired over many years ran different versions of the same core processes. Friction between Customer Support, Field Engineering, Warranty and the account teams turned every handoff into a delay, and customers felt it in turnaround time.
The approach
The team ran recurring Gemba walks and Kaizen events at key plants worldwide to surface the problems at the source and rank the fixes. It then accelerated unit induction, compressed warranty adjudication, redesigned contracting terms and reset SAP order policy so the system enforced the new standard work.
Lean was rolled out across the key plants, and standard work was unified across the acquired divisions so the network operated as one.
The results
The network added 350 on-time deliveries every week, shortened repair and overhaul turnaround, and standardized its core processes globally.
What it means now
Standard work is also the precondition for AI in the shop. Induction, work instructions and warranty decisions that follow one process produce data a model can learn from; five versions of the same process produce noise. Harmonize first, then automate.
