THEN MASS NOW CLASS

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We have been focusing on lean culture for 15 years. In the end, the simple application of methods

became a way of life.Stefan Munsch, Managing Director, Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH«

»

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Then mass, now classMunsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH from the Westerwald had to reinvent itself after the financial crisis of 2009. The restructuring of production as part of the "Blue Sky" project laid the foundation for spectacular sales growth.

From Ransbach-Baumbach northeast of Koblenz out into the

world: Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH delivers around 80 per-

cent of its production abroad. What makes the pumps from this

family business so unique: They are made entirely of plastic in-

stead of metal as usual. This makes it possible, for example, to

transport chemically contaminated liquids that would otherwise

damage metal pumps. The company was founded by the father

of the Managing Director in 1964. Currently, the company has

125 employees and generated sales of €27.5 million in 2017. Re-

markably, nearly one tenth of annual sales is invested in research

and development every year, whereas the industry average is

only between four and six percent.

COMPANY PORTRAIT

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"With the financial crisis of 2009, our world changed completely

as orders began to break away," recalls Managing Director Stefan

Munsch. "Until then, 70 percent of our sales were achieved in a

single industry with a limited portfolio of standardized pumps.

Thanks to standardization, we had an excellent process flow in

the areas of manufacturing and assembly."

As orders began to slump, the company succeeded in winning

new industries as customers with the help of product innova-

tions. The result: an explosion of product variance. Instead of

standard pumps, custom-made pumps were now required. This

impacted the previously good process flow. "The existing Kanban

system reached its limits," says Managing Director Munsch. The

assembly area underwent restructuring according to lean criteria

prior to 2007, while the product area remained untouched.

INITIAL SITUATION

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Stefan Munsch, Managing Director, Munsch Chemie-Pumpen GmbH

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APPROACH

At the beginning of 2015, Staufen AG was commissioned with re-

organizing the production area, which consists of machining and

the pressing plant, according to lean principles. Until then, both

areas had been organized for classic workshop production.

The first step was to determine the lean maturity level of the ex-

isting organizational structure as part of an audit. Since it was as

low as expected, at 30 to 40 percent, it quickly became clear that

there was considerable potential for optimization.

Subsequently, a value stream analysis was carried out. The lead

time was determined through the system. At 120 days, it turned

out to be extremely high. This greatly hindered the company‘s

flexibility.

It was striking that until then, every single machine produced

almost everything. Setup times were correspondingly frequent.

In order to minimize these mandatory breaks, a separation was

implemented as the first measure. "Our pumps consist of five

core elements: impeller, casing, casing cover, cast parts and base

plate. A separate process chain was created for each element,"

says Managing Director Munsch. Since each element now only

passes through one of these chains, both lead and setup times

could be significantly reduced.

Production was turned upside down

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Shop Floor Management board in production

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INTRODUCTION OF SHOP FLOOR MANAGEMENT

Along with the introduction of Shop Floor Management in man-

ufacturing, a new management system was implemented. Until

then, there had been no holistic system for this. At the begin-

ning, employees and executives were not exactly enthusiastic

about the plan. There was a fear of control.

However, once the employees understood the meaning and

purpose of Shop Floor Management in practice, these fears

subsided. At its core, the new system is not about personal con-

trol, but about identifying deviations from the defined goal and

taking measures to improve it. In short: If deviations are identi-

fied, measures are taken.

Meanwhile, employees have recognized what Shop Floor Man-

agement means for teamwork. And they love it. They actively

participate in daily meetings on the shop floor and educate

themselves through training courses on presenting and moder-

ating. The employees feel they are taken seriously and valued.

The entire organization now works more closely and efficiently

together.

"Each team leader now holds a meeting every morning in their

area at the shop floor board. The figures are passed on to the

production and logistics unit and then to me," says Managing

Director Munsch. "At half past nine I know exactly what‘s going

on at the factory."

Thanks to Shop Floor Management, his Production Manager

Jörg Martin not only has a management system but also a key

performance indicator system at his disposal. It measures pro-

ductivity, setup time deviations, quality and delivery reliability,

among other things, on a daily basis. The key figures are aligned

in such a way that employees can identify with them, i.e. influ-

ence them through their work.

Employees feel they are taken seriously and valued

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RESULTS

The results of the transformation so far are impressive. Although

the number of employees has not changed from 125, sales in-

creased significantly between 2015 and 2017 from €22.8 million

to €27.5 million. This corresponds to a 21 percent increase in la-

bor productivity.

In the same period, the lead time in pump production fell by 20

percent, so did the inventories held in this area. Instead of 30 to

40 percent, the lean maturity level is now 75 percent.

"The production hall is now clean and tidy. Because the orders

are dispatched as late as possible, there is hardly any material

left in the hall," says Managing Director Munsch. For material this

means: "First in, first out."

In fall 2017, the shop floor concept at Munsch was transferred

to the first administrative area: sales. And the results are great:

Thanks to the newly introduced deviation management, the sales

staff have now also grown together to form a real team.

Managing Director Munsch is satisfied with the results: "Today,

we see the lean concept as a comprehensive qualification, train-

ing and improvement system. On the one hand, we use it for gen-

erating customer benefits. On the other, and just as importantly,

for the satisfaction of our employees."

Pump up the volume

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Michael HenneDirector Sales m.henne@staufen.ag +49 7024 8056 150

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