EXCELLANCE, Incorporated | Madison, Alabama
Company Information:
EXCELLANCE, Inc. makes the world’s highest quality emergency medical vehicles. The company serves metropolitan areas primarily in the eastern and southern U.S. and a growing international segment. EXCELLANCE designs, makes and paints its own aluminum bodies, wiring harnesses, control consoles, cabinets and upholstery which it mounts on customer-specified chassis retrofitted with better suspensions, brakes and other specified upgrades. After final assembly of external lights, sound systems, trim, striping and insignia, vehicles pass a final quality inspection by customers. EXCELLANCE vehicles are known for their durability and safety, and the firm enjoys a growing ‘remount’ business in which it dismounts, remanufactures and reinstalls its bodies on a new chassis for established customers.
Situation:
With sales of more than $8 million in 1997, EXCELLANCE employed over 90 people in Alabama, enjoyed high customer satisfaction and a strong market reputation, but had never met key performance targets. Significant working capital was tied up in excess work-in-process, and slow throughput stretched order lead times. Management needed help to improve production processes.
Center Assistance:
ATN-UAH staff provided financial analysis and benchmarking that confirmed significant room for improvement. ATN-UAH then helped management evaluate three consulting groups and recommended two of the groups, one to lead change, one to assure follow-through. Finally, ATN-UAH staff then participated in the kaizen events and helped integrate efforts of the two consultants.
Results:
In its first three-day kaizen at EXCELLANCE, a cross-functional team led by High-Focused Improvements, Inc. reorganized the production process, cleaned the production area, initiated a kanban system, prototyped material handling carts and developed a detailed implementation plan. The second consultant stocked the kanbans, improved parts supply, and helped all employees work through the required changes. With less than half a day of lost production, the company was able to meet its monthly and annual production and profit goals, with small first-time profit-sharing bonuses for all employees. No employees were laid off, and the company anticipates growth as throughput improves.
Client Comments:
“The change achieved in three days was unbelievable and long overdue. Thanks to ATN-UAH, EXCELLANCE now has several resources to help drive improvement. We are learning how to make changes quickly and rapidly improve efficiency. We look forward to continuing assistance on future kaizens and management issues as we address other tactical and strategic opportunities for improvement.” – EXCELLANCE Representative