Alberta guide to productivity

2009·6 MB·English

by  Alberta. Alberta Finance and Enterprise

Alberta II
Guide to Productivity
Now is t he best time to improve your productivity, helping
your business to work smarter
n a c hanging economy, Alberta improvement, system solutions and renewal
companies have to be light on of the business model.
their feet, working smarter,
In these pages you'll find some great advice
leaner and - above all — more productive- from other Alberta companies who've been
ly. That might mean implementing lean there and done that. There are resources for the
business philosophy, or it might mean beginner and tips that you can take away and
addressing any of the five main zones apply to your business today.
of productivity improvement: product What are you waiting for? Roll up your
improvement, market extension, process sleeves and get s tarted.
Learn to enhance your business's productivity. More than
ever, you need the edge to last you through downtimes and
see your business emerge stronger on the other side.
in nn
Welcome
Alberta's competitive edge and financial well being depend on
our ability to up the productivity factor. Here's your guide
am pleased to invite you to read
this first-ever publication about
productivity, innovation and what
they mean for Alberta industries and Albertans'
competitiveness.
Alberta is proving itself a l eader in the new
Canadian economy, and we're working to show
the world that our companies can compete
with the best. By opening this booklet, you've
taken a m ajor step to enhancing your company's
competitiveness.
Compare Alberta today with eadier times, and
one fact stands out: Albertans live better. This is
due to an entrepreneurial attitude and a s pirit by i mproving their productivity and innovation
to achieve. Improvement to productivity across within their operations.
industry has ensured that Albertans get more Albertans from all walks of life have shown
goods and services from the effort they devote to they have the knowledge and skills to build our
work, and that they secure economic progress and great province to become what it i s t oday. And
earn bigger paycheques. The power of productiv- it's w ith this same energy that Albertans will grab
ity has m ade Alberta more prosperous. hold of the freedom to create a new economy to
benefit everyone. The Alberta spirit is c entral
Let's put to rest the myth that productivity im-
provement sis imply another way to have people to achieving the productivity and innovation
work harder or longer. Improving productivity growth needed to secure the wealth and quality
is a bout Albertans working smarter and taking of life for current and future Albertans.
advantage of technology, innovation and invest- Once you've read through this booklet, I e n-
ment to c reate products and services worth more courage you t o contact the productivity experts in
in the marketplace. the Alberta government to see howyour company
can benefit from this important work, and how
In this guide, you'll find information on
what productivity is a nd its importance to your you can join us on this exciting journey. I w ish
you a most productive and profitable future.
organization's success and how you can provide
the leadership to bring your organization to the
Honourable Iris Evans
next level. You'll also find inspiring stories from
five Alberta companies already realising success Minister of Finance and Enterprise
PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTIVITY
Contents
PUBLISHER Ruth Kelly
4 Always a G ood Time...
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Daska Davis
The cost of a ny product falls over time, EDITOR Mifi Purvis
COPY CHIEF KimTannas
which means it's n ever a b ad time to ART DIRECTOR Charles Burke
seek productivity gains DESIGNER Rodrigo Lopez Orozco
PRODUCTION Betty-Lou Smith
7 Case Studies CO-ORDINATOR
Meet some great Alberta companies CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David DiCenzo
and learn from their journey to SRtaechpehla n iSei n gShp arks
improved productivity
23 Get Fit, Go Lean
Government
Become a company that's adaptive,
waste-free and with an engaged, of Alberta ■
efficient workforce
28 Rate Your Productivity Alberta's Guide to Productivity \s published for
Alberta Finance and Enterprise by Venture Publishing:
Take this self-test and assess where
Venture Publishing Inc.
your business is o n the productivity 10259-105 Street
continuum Edmonton, AB T5J 1EV3
TEL: [phone]
32 A Formula That Pays TOLL-FREE: 1-866-227-4276
Embarking on a p roductivity FEA-XM:A IL: 780-425-4921
[email protected]
improvement is n ot necessarily a WEBSITE: www.albertaventure.com
big c ash drain
Contents copyright 2009 by Venture Publishing Inc.
34 By the Numbers Content may not be reprinted without permission.
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Always a Good Time. . .
Take steps today to ramp up productivity in y our business so
you can weather the recession and conrie out stronger
rowth in productivity is c ritical
As the Mills can tell you, in business it's a lways
a g ood time to invest in productivity. Whether
to remaining competitive," says
Ray Mills, CEO and - with his there's a l abour crunch or a recession, you'll
father - founder of Kudu Industries Inc., a want to find out how to improve output relative
manufacturer of progressive capacity oil pumps. to resource input. That could mean maintain-
"The cost of any product falls over time." It's a ing your current workforce and increasing out-
simple pressure that manufacturers everywhere put through lean business practices, technology
face. One of the most important realizations adoption or workflow improvement. Or it c ould
Mills and his father came to was that compla- mean slightly less output for substantially less
cency would be a d eath knell and that seeking input. At its k ernel, productivity measures how
productivity was a c ontinuous process. At Kudu, efficiently an economy or a b usiness transforms
he says, "processes are continuously improved, its labour, capital and raw materials into goods
and services.
inch by i nch, day by d ay, by r emoving waste."
PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 WWW.ALBERTACANADA. COM/PRODUCTIVITY
Don't Wait
While productivity, like Kudu's Ray Mills
says, is a constant process, there are steps
businesses can take to improve it t oday.
There's always some low-hanging fruit that
can be plucked with little grief or cost.
Productivity improvement helps you meet Can you see some places in your business
that would benefit from starting productivity
challenges facing Alberta's economy, includ-
improvements today?
j i ng a h igh dollar, increased material costs and
Benchmark. Calculate your labour produc-
' a s lump in business. In these pages you'll find
a r oadmap that will help you get s tarted on the tivity toe stablish a benchmark. Divide rev-
road to productivity. enue byt he number of hours worked, which
There are five key avenues of productivity im- equals output per hour.
Start learning. Attend brown-bag lunches,
provement available to you: product improve-
ment, system solutions, process improvement, trade shows and conferences. Take produc-
tivity courses online and read up.
business model improvement and market ex-
Ask for advice. Consultants can help with
tension. We'll take a l ook at some companies
production flow, plant layout and lean prin-
who've trod the road before and learn from their ciples. Institutions such as SAIT and NAIT
experience in these five key zones. And we'll offer productivity courses.
look at h ow you measure productivity and how
Keep it u p. Maintain your early gains and
! you can take steps now to earn gains in the short
and medium term. seek sustainability. Appoint staff productiv-
ity champions, and carve some time in t heir
Whether it's through process improvements schedules to set the stage for success.
such as lean manufacturing, outsourcing or in- Schedule regular meetings and consider
vestment ina utomation, companies are looking
investing in professional development to in-
to best practices to be more competitive. Don't crease company literacy in productivity.
be left behind.
WWW,ALBERTACANADA.COM/PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 PRODUCTIVITY
Resource Room Lean Enterprise Assessment Program:
Get deeper into lean business practices with
If y ou are new to productivity, the first thing this program. LEAP is a model for expansion
you want to do is start learning. Check out into other areas of organizational assessment.
these resources: Visit www.albertacanada.com/productivity/lean
Innovative Manufacturing Works: to learn more.
Learn more about manufacturing innovation in Automation and the Welding Process,
Alberta. IMW promotes innovative companies by James M. Berge. As Berge says, your
and best practices in manufacturing across
competition is g lobal and you'd better develop
the province with plant tours, productivity strategies to cope with new forces affecting
improvement seminars and information net- your business.
works. Visit www.manufacturinginnovation.ca. A Guide to the Automation Body of
Construction Users Round Table: Knowledge, 2nd edition, by Vernon Trevathan.
Measure productivity in t he construction Billed as a t echnical summary of automation for
industry. Check out www.curt.org/pdf/ those who need a comprehensive perspective
MeasuringProductivity.pdf. in t heir job.
NAIT Shell Manufacturing Centre: With a Automation Unplugged, by Jim Pinto.
mandate to help small and medium-sized "Industrial automation is not just one applica-
manufacturing enterprises in Alberta, the tion," says P into. "The problems are always
NAIT Shell Manufacturing centre offers a
challenging and the results are rewarding."
host of services. Navigate to Services, then The Goal: A Process of Ongoing
Productivity Enhancement from www.nait. Improvementhy Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox,
ca/26738.htm. and David Whitford
PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTIVITY
Case studies
roductivity describes the out-
put of g oods and services as they
relate to the resources used in
production. Nationally, with a one per cent
rise in productivity growth, real income
takes 72 years to double. With a t hree per
cent rise, it t akes 24 years. Closer to home,
productivity is a bout the future growth and
well-being of your company. Beyond cost
over sales, productivity accounts for in-
put and output and their effect on your Productivity
business.
Improvement Zones
For example, an increase in output value,
adjusted for inflation, relative to the rise in Product improvement lets you become
the number of workers is a r eal cost reduc- more competitive, creating new value for
tion. But a cut in wages, without a c hange in your customer.
Market extension adds new features or
the number ofworkers, does not represent a
gain in productivity. services for products to support custom-
ers. Adapt products and services for new
In a l abour shortage or in a r ecession, pro- markets.
ductivity iys our key to competitiveness in
Process improvement means streamlin-
the marketplace.
ing your business to become efficient
Productivity gains can be realized in five
and productive. It m akes workflow easier,
key ways: product improvement, market faster and more accurate.
extension, process improvement, system System solutions help you accomplish .
solutions and business model renewal.
your goals of selling and servicing great
Each of the five companies profiled in the products. Rethink current systems or find
following pages is a r eal-world example of new ways to solve problems.
productivity improvement in Alberta today. Renew your business model and
Read about their experiences and find tips to think about how you do business to pro-
apply to your own business in the short and vide greater value for your customers.
medium term.
WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTlViTY SUMMER 2009 PRODUCTIVITY
Case studies
Process Improvement:
All Weather Windows
PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTIVITY
Process improvement: Streamline business processes,
mailing them more productive, effective and efficient.
Improving work processes makes throughput easier,
faster, more accurate and reliable.
HHHh hen All Weather Windows started
A'A'fl operations in 1978, it h ad nine
Bi^Bi employees. Three decades later, there
are approximately 1,000 employees and All
Weather Windows is t he country's largest pri-
vately owned window and door manufacturer.
But every business needs a tweak now
and then. In November 2005, All Weather
Windows' management team began to imple-
ment al ean manufacturing approach. "Our
ownership group felt we needed a c ultural
change," says James Simon, the company's se-
nior lean supervisor.
Improving processes at All Weather
Windows was a b ig part of the new direction.
The main principle of lean manufacturing is
getting rid of waste and adding value for the
customer, so management needed to consult
with its most important asset - the staff "We Another process change involved better recy-
needed a process that would sustain the changes
cling. "We're trying to create sustainable manu-
we were considering, to be able to produce more facturing sot hat our materials are not going to
without adding additional resources and equip- landfill," Simon explains. "What we're doing is
ment," says S imon, noting that management we're capturing it a nd recycling it. W e've been
also wanted employees to be intellectually stim- able to implement the Green Phase of our pro-
ulated. "Al ot of the changes came from working gram, which is t aking ofi^ extremely well. We're
recycling 100 per cent of our PVC (polyvinyl
with the employees on the shop floor."
Some of the changes implemented at All chloride) regrind.
Weather Windows were simple. For instance,
The results of A ll Weather Windows' process
benches in the work area were tidied up and or- improvements have been significant. There has
ganized tot he point where employees only had been a d ecrease in product defects and a corre-
what was needed to perform day-to-day activi- sponding 98p er cent quality rate with its manu-
factured items.
ties -" nothing more, nothing less," says Simon,
WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 PRODUCTIVITY 9
www.allweatherwindows.com
Live it, B reathe it
The key to improving processes at a business capacity planning and quality control and, quite
is simple: commitment. regularly, company president Richard Scott.
"There needs to be a 1 00 per cent com- "We have that support from the very top," says
mitment from the top," says All Weather Simon. "It's walking the walk and talking the talk
Windows' lean supervisor James Simon. every day, not rocket science. It's just working
"That means that management is involved. with people to make things happen."
They don't just take a book and say, 'You need Simon adds that given the volatile state of the
to read this,' which happens so often." economy, these practices make sense and are
Every morning at 7:30 a.m., the All crucial to a business's survival. Believing the
Weather Windows management team gets message is imperative.
together for a "gemba" walk, gemba being a "It's not just taking on the principles as a f ad,"
Japanese term that means "the actual place" he says. "It's living it, b reathing it a nd making it a
- in t his case the shop floor. It's here that value part of the business, a part of what you do every
is c reated. The group includes senior produc- day to improve. If y ou're not doing that now, then
tion supervisors, the purchasing manager,
chances are you're not going to be around to
health and.safety personnel, employees from make those decisions in t he future."
PRODUCTIVITY SUMMER 2009 WWW.ALBERTACANADA.COM/PR0DUCTIVITY