Lean Implementation case study

While some parts used at this first workshop were locally fabricated, most were imported. Siemens India then experienced exponential growth, and by 2009, it was a 55 percent subsidiary of Siemens AG, the parent German firm (Chidambaran, Khandekar & Anderson, 2012). Siemens- the parent company- was a behemoth in the electrical and electronics engineering sphere because of its unrivaled ability to incorporate assorted products, systems, and services and use them as innovative solutions across a project’s lifecycle. It was also a major player in other varied sectors, including healthcare engineering, industrial projects, and automation, as well as transport and communication. Admittedly, both the parent company and its subsidiary were thriving. The medium voltage switchboard factory served not only the domestic market but also the export market.

Sitting on a vast piece of land, the Siemens factory in Kalwa was now (2009) fully equipped with the world’s most modern equipment and testing facilities. While its primary prerogative upon inception entailed the production of motor vehicles, it diversified in 1973 to incorporate switch gears and later in 1975 to include switchboards. In 2009, almost 40 percent of Siemens' workers in India were posted at this facility which contributed almost 45 percent of the firm’s total production in the country (Chidambaran, Khandekar & Anderson, 2012). In a nutshell, the factory complex had grown into the corporation’s most significant business enterprise in India. The technical order processing department would then receive the orders and estimate the time it would take to complete an order. Every order needed both electrical and mechanical raw materials, which were entered into a bill of materials (BOM).

The BOM was generated using the firm’s enterprise resource planning software and passed on to the material planning department (Chidambaran, Khandekar & Anderson, 2012). The department then categorized the materials as mechanical or electrical. Mechanical components were available at the factory’s store while electrical components were procured externally. However, introducing lean techniques implied changing the system that workers had become accustomed to for years (Bateh, Castaneda & Farah, 2013). As expected in such situations, there was resistance to change. Resistance to change among workers is often driven by the fear of the unknown. They get anxious about how a change may affect them, the workplace environment, their work performance, and their relationships with colleagues, both junior and senior (Cascio, 2013). Some departments within the Kalwa factory complex resisted the implementation of lean techniques, saying they were alright with the way they were currently working.

Another issue faced at the Kalwa plant entailed employees’ bonuses which depended on the line’s productivity. Whenever the line was hampered, it impacted their bonuses negatively, and they needed to extend their working hours to earn what they had been earning before the lean system (Chidambaran, Khandekar & Anderson, 2012). The lean system had disrupted their working tempo, and this annoyed them. Productivity issues were aggrandized by the fact that workers within the plant had unionized, although it is this union that helped the factory and its workers to reach an amicable solution to the problem. Other issues remained untouched as they would interfere with the adoption of the lean system. The material planning department would have to be in constant communication with the vendors.

Solutions Khandekhar’s Team Approach Khandekhar integrated with the workers at the Kalwa Plant and made them aware of how their non-compliance and faults were detrimental to the corporation. Kahndekhar also explained the role of lean principles in improving the plant’s productivity, thereby making the employees a part of the process (Chidambaran, Khandekar & Anderson, 2012). Such interactions brew an interest in lean techniques among employees, and they were eager to attend his meetings. The meetings also facilitated problem-solving as employees were encouraged to air any issues they had with the system, which would be solved using root cause analysis. Such a big change can only be adopted if the employees are willing to comply, and this can only be achieved if they understand the system and why it is necessary (Bareil, 2013).