In 2013 the Danish production facility of Frese started implementing Japanese Lean principles. The stock, logistics, purchasing and production departments have cut down on wastage and optimised working procedures.

The introduction of Lean in Frese is part of a three-year-old strategy plan, securing growth, increased competitiveness and the possibility of creating and maintaining workplaces in future.

Lean is a business philosophy developed in the Japanese car group Toyota in the 1960s. The thoughts on the project are typically production tasks to simplify and streamline the processes. But the entire company can benefit from working with Lean.

"Lean is about removing all the things which do not give value to customers. When we introduce Lean principles at Frese, we wish to improve our working environment, quality, flexibility and times of delivery for customers. This is made, for example, through shorter lead times in our assembly hall", says Operations Manager Tonny Deneke, Frese A/S.

> Shorter time of production
After a few months the first results have appeared in the form of a significant shorter time of production for a single valve product. This result has been obtained after reorganisation of working procedures in one single section in the assembly hall and by removing things from the premises, which are not being used in the daily production.

But changes must be made continuously. The fundamental basis of the changes is that the three managers of the department have been trained as Lean navigators, and that nine employees have attended a course in the Lean principles and now operate as ambassadors for the change project.

"All employees must work according to the Lean principles. We change our routines and affect the working culture in order to obtain better results. Such a process takes time. So we implement the changes stepwise. And we are well under way", says Tonny Deneke.

The so-called 5 S’s have been introduced at Frese, which is an instrument for creating system and order.

These are:

Sorting
System in things
Systematic cleaning
Standardisation
Self-discipline

The focus of the five areas is that items and knowledge for daily use must be easy to find and all unnecessary things must be archived or removed.

> Lean ambassador
One of the employees, who acts as Lean ambassador, is machine operator Lasse Jensen in the Turning Department. In his opinion the Lean work has already been an eye-opener, and he appreciates that all employees are involved and can contribute to ideas for improvement, and that all employees can take part in implementing changes.

"Generally Lean has been well received, and we will succeed in obtaining improvements, when we stay focused. I have myself become more aware of looking at waste and questioning some of the routines we have", says Lasse Jensen.

The first step in the Lean project of Frese has been taken. The future is promising.

Lean principle creates value for Frese's customers

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