Lean-Pathways® — Finding New Ways to Improve

Improved Operational Processes for Industrial Fan Manufacturer - Case Study - TechSolve

Company Profile

American Fan Company, located in Fairfield, Ohio, provides solutions with their “American Fan” and “Woods” product lines for industrial, commercial and marine/offshore applications. By listening to their customers and providing innovative solutions, American Fan has developed a stellar reputation within the industries they serve.

Situation

American Fan’s core strength is providing quality air movement equipment. To remain competitive in their industry, they realized they would need to find ways to continually improve operations and manage supplier relations. In partnership with TechSolve through the Lean-Pathways® project, they identified key improvement opportunities and implemented custom tools to achieve enhanced performance.

Project

American Fan’s participation in the Lean-Pathways® project identified numerous operational processes that could be improved upon to achieve company success. One of the key outcomes of the project was the focus on employee-relations and participation within the company’s operations. American Fan, along with Lean-Pathways®, created an environment for employees to have opportunities to impact and improve the overall success of the company. This included the analysis and decisions that changed the work flow and processes, productivity enhancement, and their benefits — all which improved the financial health of their company. Employees were invited to share ideas through Lean events, a formal suggestion program, morning “huddle – ups” with team leaders, lunch and learns with managers, and various committees.

Today, the American Fan Company turned the successful completion of their Lean-Pathways® project into a lifetime commitment toward continuous improvement, where employees are participants in the company. Over 90% of employees have participated in Lean events, employee committees, job studies and/or the Employee Suggestion program.

Results

  • Increased revenue by 35% compared to pre-recession 2007.
  • Increased productivity by 5%, year over year, for five years.
  • Conducted 17 Lean events, with savings of over $1.4 million.
  • Experienced less than 2% employee turnover.
  • Won the 2011 Manny award for “Best Place to Work.”

“We owe a great deal of our success to TechSolve and their Lean-Pathways® project. We would not be positively positioned in the market place at this point in time without their help and guidance.” ─ Greg Card, President