Lean Implementation at Oak Hill Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lean Implementation at Oak Hill - Case Study Example Their current lead-time of domestic order for the testing equipment lies in between one to two weeks, with international orders yielding up to three months. Urgent requirement lies within the high costs associated with keeping the exploration idle – costing an average of $50,000 to $100,000 per day. In intending to reduce their lead-time to one week, as well as to increase operational efficiency, Oak Hills also plans to enhance customer service with the help of lean manufacturing techniques. Oak Hills level of inventory is much higher than necessary because of the high demand volatility and lack of vendor management. The main issues that Oak Hills facility is facing are, employee related concerns, worn out machines, workload on quality department, the lack of quality checkpoints, and process inefficiency. All of which need to be solved before implanting the lean system. The lean system will help improve the processes and quality of the facility as well as lessen the wastage. However, employees are the key to this change; we need to change the current work environment to help boost the employee morale. Furthermore, machines and systems need to be updated in order to reduce waste of raw material and to save time and manpower. The management and employees at Oak Hills need to work together and communicate with one another in order to implement lean system successfully. Employee related fears: There is a lack of communication from management to employees regarding current lay-off’s due to the economy issues, which has diminished the employee morale. Additionally, issues of unfair bonuses pools are awarded on team basis, which employees are cross functionally trained, and are sometimes forced to assist other employees to complete the rush jobs. Damaged machines: Oak Hills has been utilizing old worn-out machines for years in which are not up to par with current levels. This results in waste of raw materials and employee turmoil at work