TBM Consulting Group provides lean transformation consulting services to help clients around the world improve competitiveness. They use a proprietary LeanSigma methodology to help clients achieve rapid performance improvements and sustained growth. The document discusses TBM's work with several clients across multiple industries, showing how LeanSigma helped them significantly reduce costs and lead times, increase quality and customer satisfaction. Key impacts included increased market share, production capacity with same or fewer resources, and ability to develop new products much faster. The document promotes TBM's services and LeanSigma approach for enabling long-term competitive advantage through operational excellence and value chain improvements.

1. T B M CONSULTING GROUP

2. TBM serves clients throughout the world, Leading Your Competitive Transformation
on five continents, in multiple languages. As we attempt to navigate the daunting challenges of today’s global economy, the survival
of the businesses we lead may hinge on our ability to consistently coordinate immediate,
unified responses to new threats and market shifts.
To successfully compete over the long term, we must continuously break down obstacles,
increase our speed and
efficiency and get closer
to our customers and value
chain partners. But how do
we embed the team-based
speed and responsiveness
required into the cultural
DNA of our organization?
Through a LeanSigma®
Transformation, the journey
that has taken Toyota and
hundreds of other enter-
prises to new levels of sus-
tained competitive strength,
innovation and growth.
Transforming your business or organization into a competitive powerhouse is a long-term,
multi-faceted journey of change. While each journey is unique, our clients typically follow
the roadmap illustrated on page three. The stories that follow cover the range of TBM
clients – discrete manufacturers, continuous process companies, healthcare, financial services
and government – and give you a snapshot of the challenges they faced and where they
stand today in their LeanSigma transformations.
As you will see, the foundation of success is visionary leadership – the ability of management
to inspire a new culture, motivated to continuously drive improvement in every part of your
business and supply chain through the application of proven lean and six sigma tools and
techniques. The payoff for your “transformational leadership” will be an energized, relentlessly
Business Focus innovative enterprise that can turn on a dime, in unison, to anticipate and quickly meet
Discrete Manufacturers the needs of rapidly-evolving markets and customers.
Continuous Process Companies I hope these stories give you a sense of how TBM and Guidon may be able to assist you in
Healthcare leading your own journey of transformation and success.
Financial Services
Government
Anand Sharma
Founder and Chairman, TBM Consulting Group
1

3. LeanSigma Transformation Model
®
About Us
Founded in 1991, TBM is the worldwide leader in lean innovation and rapid
performance improvement for discrete manufacturers, continuous process companies,
healthcare, financial services and government. We operate on five continents in
multiple languages.
TBM clients follow this roadmap to achieve rapid and dramatic
The hallmark of our work is rapid implementation, generating sustainable results performance improvement and to translate their success into
for our clients. Our proprietary LeanSigma® process helps clients achieve new game-changing competitive advantage and sustained growth and profitability.
competitive advantages and consistent sales and earnings growth.
TBM Consulting Group
Over 150 senior-level consultants work side-by-side with senior management
to drive culture change, transfer knowledge, and generate immediate, hands-on
improvement for discrete manufacturers and continuous process industries – in “How many consulting firms
the factory and in their business processes. unconditionally guarantee every
TBM LeanSigma ® Institute
aspect of their work? TBM is the
A faculty drawn from TBM’s most experienced consultants, providing essential, only one I know of.”
– Tim Powers, Chairman & CEO,
experience-based LeanSigma training and development. With an action-oriented l
tia
Hubbell Incorporated
en
curriculum rooted in the Toyota Production System and distilled from hands-on
t
Po
experience.
t
Guidon Performance Solutions en
em
A TBM subsidiary dedicated to helping healthcare, financial services, information ov
pr
technology, other service organizations and government agencies generate immediate Im gy te
process improvement and establish a high-performance culture.
tra
ow th S
3 Lea n S ig ma Gr
2 Lean Value Chain
1 LeanSigma Process Improvement
CURRENT
ACTIVITIES Foundation: Lean Leadership & Culture Change
YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5
Foundation Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
• Policy Deployment • Operational excellence • Demand management • Market segmentation
• Performance metrics • Kaizen Breakthrough • Order fulfillment • Value innovation
Every TBM and Guidon consultant is a seasoned professional, with a minimum of 10 years • Managing for Daily • Time-based strategies • Supply chain development • Rapid product development
of hands-on experience in their area of expertise. Unlike traditional consulting firms, we Improvement • Toyota Business System • Business planning and • Lean acquisition strategy
focus on developing a vision and moving quickly to execution. And we guarantee total client • Lean Leader training segmentation
satisfaction, unconditionally.
3

4. “Operational excellence is the price of admission to today’s global world. The real payoff
Hayward Pool Products
Leveraging lean for growth lies in where you go from there. Can you take that improvement across your value chain
www.improvemypool.com
– and translate it into significant benefits for your customers?”
– Paul Adelberg, Vice President of Lean Technology, Hayward Pool Products
“We thought we’d have to make
this pump in China.”
“Instead, we’re producing it just as efficiently in North Carolina, with higher
quality – and a fraction of the lead time,” points out Paul Adelberg, Hayward’s
vice president of lean technology. “It’s one example of how we’re converting our
lean improvement into meaningful benefits for our customers and employees.”
When it began its LeanSigma transformation in 1999 with TBM, Hayward Pool
Products was an unlikely candidate for serious change – already the worldwide
market leader, growing at double-digit rates nearly every year. “We were enjoying
very good growth, or what we thought was good growth,” Paul recalls. “But we
were a typical batch manufacturer and growth meant more equipment, space
and inventory. TBM showed us a new way, which enabled us to do far more
with less.”
Since then, Hayward has tacked on an additional 10 market share points – and
doubled their business with less space and no change in direct labor headcount.
Work in Process ( WIP) inventory turns have jumped from 12.6 to over 50 per
year, on-time delivery is up almost 25 percentage points and time-to-market for
new products has been cut in half. Integral to that dramatic improvement: a
Kaizen Promotion office in each plant and ongoing Kaizen Breakthrough events.
For TBM clients like Hayward, operational excellence is not the end game, but
rather the starting line for a Lean Value Chain – and sustained growth, innova-
tion and competitive advantage. Two initiatives Hayward is now aggressively
pursuing with TBM: new product development, using Design for LeanSigma,
and strategic “lean” acquisitions.
“Instead of sending out a new brochure, our salespeople invite customers and
prospects to tour one of our plants,” explains Paul. “They experience our entire
process, the efficiency and testing, the enthusiasm, the quality and innovation
we’re building into every product. It’s an easy sell. Especially if they’ve been to
one of our competitors’ plants first.”
In the PowerFlo Matrix pump
Lean Value Chain cell in Hayward Pool Products’
Rapid Product Development Clemmons, North Carolina plant:
Paul Adelberg, Vice President
Strategic Acquisitions of Lean Technology, Hayward
Pool Products; Anand Sharma,
Chairman, TBM Consulting Group.
5

5. “The LeanSigma process is more rigorous than Six Sigma. It allows us
LeanSigma in 24/7 continuous Sappi Warren
to use existing resources to quickly identify and fix sophisticated problems
process operations www.warrenreleasepapers.com
– and significantly improve profitability and competitive strength.”
– John Martis, Managing Director, Westbrook Mill, Sappi Warren
“This paper machine is 100 years
old. It’s probably more productive
now than when it was brand new.”
Aging, inefficient infrastructure is a common issue for 24 /7 process operations –
and Sappi Warren’s Westbrook Mill in Maine is older than most, dating back to
the 1850s. It also had all the typical throughput and revenue-drainers when TBM
began working there in 2004. “We were losing share to more responsive domestic
competitors,” recalls John Martis, the mill’s managing director. “Long change-over
times, excess WIP and machine downtime were dragging us down. TBM began
engaging teams with targeted Kaizen and 5S events in high-opportunity areas,
combined with process capability and equipment maintenance initiatives.”
Unplanned mechanical downtime has been reduced by more than 50%, as Total
Productive Maintenance and Operator Autonomous Maintenance have been
implemented throughout the mill. WIP (work in process) inventory turns have
tripled, total process time has been cut in half and value-added time has doubled.
Change-over time and frequency have improved dramatically. “At first look,
you’d think this 100 year-old machine couldn’t possibly run efficiently,” says
John. “But it does and change-overs now take 70% less time.”
“TBM’s LeanSigma methodology,” John continues, “is an incredibly powerful
improvement tool in a continuous process environment, where the root causes
of problems are less visible. How an activity impacts other parts of the operation
may not be readily apparent. Lots of people talk about Lean and Six Sigma.
TBM speaks from a wealth of process experience. They are hands-on and more
disciplined about implementation than I’ve seen with any other consultants.”
“The word is getting out,” John points out. “Other parts of the company are
calling to say ‘we want to try this.’ They’ve seen how we have significantly
improved our financial and business performance and are taking back market
share – using the same resources we started with.”
In Sappi Warren’s
Throughput and Process Capability
Westbrook, Maine mill: Overall Equipment Effectiveness ( OEE )
John Martis, the mill’s
managing director; Bill Total Productive Maintenance ( TPM )
Schwartz, Executive Vice
President, TBM Consulting
Group; Doug Bonner, Senior
Management Consultant,
TBM Consulting Group. 7

6. WIKA
Global competitive strategy
www.wika.de
How do you become so valuable
to your customers that you cannot “We’re connecting our
operational performance
be replaced by a low-priced, directly with the needs of
outsourced competitor? our customers, so we’re
positioned as an essential
The growth of the global marketplace has made it harder for companies to stay business partner. Our
relevant doing the same thing, year after year. When you listen to customers,
customers are buying based
you become aware that their needs are changing rapidly. To avoid getting stuck
on value, not price.”
in endless, no-win price wars – as global competitors race to deliver attractive
– Alexander Wiegand,
alternatives to your traditional customers – you must constantly reinvent the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
products and services you offer. WIKA Alexander Wiegand GmbH & Co. KG
“We had unintentionally become the producer of a commodity, which customers
tended to purchase infrequently, in large quantities,” observes Alexander Wiegand,
WIKA’s chairman and chief executive officer. “New competitors were selling similar
products for 30-50% less. Our competitive response was much more powerful than
outsourcing. We began to leverage our ongoing process improvement into significant,
tangible value for our customers.”
WIKA, the global market leader for pressure and temperature instruments, was
a typical batch manufacturer when they began their LeanSigma transformation
in Germany and the United States in 2002. Huge reductions in manufacturing
lead time, change-over time and delivery time have enabled WIKA to implement
a “just in time” low-volume, high-variation production strategy – which is
creating loyal customers and driving higher profits.
Says Michael Gerster, who leads WIKA’s U.S. operations, “Today, WIKA is the
clear alternative to low-cost, low-quality and long supply chain performance.
Customers always ask for product variations to meet specific needs. We can
produce high-quality, customized products and have them in customers’ hands
in just 3-5 days. We’re truly selling added value.”
Making your company irreplaceable begins with a different answer to the question
about what your company does. “The old system of ‘we make stuff, you buy stuff ’
is over” emphasizes Michael. “I believe a company’s strength is determined by the
level of customer dependence. We must keep finding ways to increase our customers’
reliance on WIKA as a valuable partner. That’s our future – and TBM is helping In a lean work cell in
us write the script.” WIKA’s Klingenberg,
Germany plant: Michael
Herr, Managing Director
Fast High-Variation Production Europe, TBM Consulting
Group; Alexander Wiegand,
Replace Price with Value Chairman and Chief
Leveraging Lean for Growth and Profitability Executive Officer, WIKA
Alexander Wiegand
GmbH & Co. KG. 9

7. “Design for LeanSigma enabled us to develop and launch the two largest Game-changing Hubbell Incorporated
product lines in our company’s 120-year history – a total of 2,200 discrete SKUs –
new product development www.hubbell.com
in less than half the time of our normal product development cycle.”
– Bob Murphy, Senior Group Vice President, Hubbell Wiring Systems, Hubbell Incorporated
“This is something no other
manufacturer in our industry has
ever done.”
Translating your lean improvement into sustained growth and competitive
advantage is the biggest potential payoff of a LeanSigma transformation, which
Hubbell began with TBM in 2001. Wiring Systems, Hubbell’s first division, had
a long-established reputation as the industry’s top-of-the-line supplier.
“We identified two significant strategic gaps in our product offering,” explains
Bob Murphy, Wiring Systems’ senior group vice president. “In 2004, we received
the go-ahead to self-develop both. One alone would have been a mammoth
undertaking, not to mention both together. We decided to use TBM’s Design for
LeanSigma process, which another division had utilized to quickly develop a
breakthrough new product.”
With TBM’s guidance, Hubbell formed two dedicated product teams. “In the
past,” says Bob, “one function would throw the project over the wall to the next
group. Instead, we had all disciplines working as a team, in the same location,
through the entire process – from Voice of the Customer and concept to packaging
and delivery. Each project was managed as a team, rather than by individual
disciplines, with everyone committed to a specific timeline. We got feedback
instantly and made prompt decisions. It was totally collaborative.”
Added Kevin Mallory, who headed up the residential product line team, “We had
no preconceived notion of what the new product line would look like. Each team
member collected Voice of the Customer input related to their function. Based
on that input, we decided to differentiate through incremental improvements.
One might not be a knock-out punch, but together we had a clear, defendable
advantage over our competitors.”
“We’ve transformed the business,” Bob concludes, “into a full-line supplier that can
sell profitably at every price point. Before, we would have developed these two
product lines in sequence, with each taking two to three years. We developed and
commercialized both concurrently in just 24 months – at far less cost and with
high-quality innovative products that could immediately be produced efficiently
In a Hubbell product development “war and flexibly. That’s a great story.”
room”: Bill Schwartz, Executive Vice
President, TBM Consulting Group; Hubbell
Wiring Systems’ Bob Murphy, Senior
Group Vice President; Brian McGlone, Design for LeanSigma
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Concurrent Product Development
Sales; Rajiv Katwala, Section Head,
Residential Devices Design Engineering; Market Leadership
John Lamoureux, Section Manager,
Hubbell Asia Plant Support; Kevin Mallory,
Vice President, Residential Markets. 11

8. “To the unknowing eye, many business processes seem almost invisible.
LeanSigma transformation Electronic Data Systems
A finger hits a key to input an order, but what happens next? Guidon helps us (EDS)
in the service sector
see every step – so we can quickly evaluate and improve the entire process.” www.eds.com
– Jeff Ruiter, Director of Demand Management Distribution, BPO Service Delivery US, EDS
“Those who say it cannot be done…
should not interrupt the person
doing it.”
“That gives you a pretty good idea how our team feels about process improve-
ment,” observes Jeff Ruiter, referring to the Chinese proverb posted on the
door of the Kaizen/LeanSigma “war room” in EDS’ Des Moines distribution
and fulfillment center. “We may run into a brick wall, but we’re always going
to figure out a way to the next level, fast. Guidon has been a huge contributor
to our engaged, can-do culture.”
Guidon Performance Solutions, TBM’s service industry and public sector practice,
works with healthcare institutions, financial service organizations, government
agencies, information technology and other service organizations. This EDS
facility began its LeanSigma transformation with Guidon in 2005. “We handle a
wide range of business process outsourcing for our customers – from processing
and fulfilling orders to warehousing and managing their inventories,” adds Jeff.
“Our performance and efficiency reflect directly on our customers’ reputations
– and how competitively we can sell our services. So it’s imperative to keep
improving quality, cost and delivery.”
“Guidon provides a unique toolset, using LeanSigma methodology, that’s
tremendously effective at generating rapid improvement in service environments,
from office processes to distribution and fulfillment.” Part of that toolset is the
Guidon High Performance Culture (GuidonHPC™), which simultaneously drives
three critical improvement elements: culture change, performance management
and talent development.
To date, Jeff ’s team has conducted over 250 Sigma Kaizen Breakthrough events,
with 93% full-time employee participation, turning the operation into a solid
profit center. Units per labor hour are up almost 70%, accompanied by major
improvements in accuracy and first-pass yield. Cycle time and floor space have
been cut over 30%. “Guidon is also helping us translate that improvement into
enhanced value and innovation for our customers, which in turn generates revenue
growth for us. As space and resources are freed up, we’re able to add new services
and value that our competitors can’t.”
In the EDS “war room”: Larry Mead,
Co-founder and Vice President, Guidon
Value-Stream Mapping
Performance Solutions; Jeff Ruiter, Time-Based Strategies
Director of Demand Management
Distribution, BPO Service Delivery US,
High Performance Culture
EDS; and members of the EDS Kaizen/
LeanSigma office brainstorm their next
high-impact improvement target. 13

9. Jason Incorporated
Rapid value creation
www.jasoninc.com
“We set stretch goals two years ago
“If we don’t live and that each of my presidents thought
breathe our LeanSigma
transformation from the top,
were ludicrous...”
it’ll never work. It has “And we’ve exceeded them every year,” says Dave Westgate, president and chief
to be led by our entire executive officer of privately-held Jason Incorporated, a global diversified
management team. For manufacturing company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “We’ve
culture change to take hold, increased profitability 40% each year, recovered over 200,000 square feet of
our people need to see that manufacturing space, drastically reduced inventories and added hundreds of
millions in revenue.”
we’re passionate about lean
and actively involved.” Jason began working with TBM in 2005. “We weren’t realizing our intrinsic
– David Westgate, value as a public company,” adds Dave. “Effective private owners like ours
President and Chief Executive Officer, establish aggressive goals – we basically had a two-year window to execute a
Jason Incorporated
five-year plan for transforming the company. TBM is very comfortable in
situations like this. They immediately began to show us, hands on, how to use
the Policy Deployment process and LeanSigma methodologies to quickly drive
operational excellence and culture change throughout our five businesses.”
“Policy Deployment has been critical. It helps us identify what’s really important
to the company – the vital few objectives that our lives depend on. More
importantly, it tells us what we should not be focusing our resources on. We also
use it as a communications tool to cascade those objectives down through each
level of the organization, so everyone is focused on what we need to do. And
LeanSigma processes provide the speed and toolsets for achieving and sustaining
operational excellence, the foundation for profitable organic growth.”
Today, Jason is either the North American or global leader in 90% of its niche
products. “The active example set by my entire management team has been
essential. One of us is always on a kaizen team, on a shift-change walkthrough
or involved in some other activity with our workers – to demonstrate how
important this is for all of us. It’s a journey that’s never done because substantial
improvement opportunities always exist.”
On the shop floor at Milsco
Manufacturing, a Jason Lean Leadership
business and major supplier
to Harley-Davidson® Policy Deployment
motorcycles since 1934.
Left to right: Gary Hourselt,
Rapid Culture Change
Executive Vice President,
TBM; Jerry Bole, President
of Milsco; David Westgate,
President and CEO of Jason
Incorporated. 15

10. Responding to Sealy Corporation “Over 85% of our customers are within 300 miles of one of our manufacturing facilities.
Our foreign competitors quote eight to ten week lead times. We build customized products
foreign competition www.sealy.com
to order in 48 to 72 hours, without any finished goods inventory. Who’s got the advantage?”
– Shailesh Patel, Vice President Operations, Central Region, Sealy Corporation
“Keeping production in the U.S.
isn’t only patriotic, it’s fundamental
to our business strategy.”
“If you walk through any of our customers’ warehouses,” says Sealy’s Mike
Hofmann, executive vice president of operations for North America, “you’ll see
that over half their inventory says ‘made in China.’ We could have jumped on
that bandwagon, but felt that we could build a far more powerful competitive
model, with TBM’s help.”
Sealy began their LeanSigma transformation in a strong position, as the world’s
largest bedding manufacturer, holding the number-one U.S. market share for over
20 years. However, their 26 factories in North America were typical of the entire
industry – inefficient batch and queue piece-rate production with mountains of
inventory. “So far, we’ve cut total inventory 62 %,” states Shailesh Patel. “For a
business our size, a one-day reduction equates to about $1.5 million in freed-up cash.”
A focus on using LeanSigma principles, kaizen events and Managing for Daily
Improvement (MDI) to drive rapid improvement and culture change has been a
hallmark of Sealy’s initiative. All critical metrics are posted on shop floor SQSCM
boards (Safety, Quality, Service, Cost, Morale), as part of the MDI discipline.
Asked how lean and MDI have changed his environment, one long-time Sealy
supervisor replied, “A year ago, if you had asked me how we were doing at any
given point, I couldn’t tell you. Now I know.”
“Our regional manufacturing strategy is about improving the workplace,
encouraging innovation – and producing great products close to our customers,”
adds Mike. “We’re using lean to drive standardization and eliminate waste
throughout our supply chain, with TBM as our trainer and catalyst. We have
lots of work ahead of us, but we’ll only become more competitive as our
journey continues.”
Managing for Daily Improvement
Visual Management
Mixed-Model Production
In Sealy’s Batavia, Illinois mattress
factory: Don Pflug, Plant Manager;
Carl Deeley, Director – US Consulting,
TBM Consulting Group; Shailesh Patel,
Vice President Operations, Central
Region, Sealy Corporation. 17

11. “TBM helped us build the infrastructure of our LeanSigma improvement program A.O. Smith Electrical
A roadmap to self-sufficient
– and trained and certified our Value Process Champions, who are now spearheading Products Company
LeanSigma leadership
our lean transformation in 30 locations worldwide, in four languages.” www.aosmithmotors.com
– Fred Stell-Smith, Continuous Improvement/Kaizen Manager for Mexico, A.O. Smith Electrical Products Company
“With this training, you can lead
your own LeanSigma transformation,
anywhere en el mundo.”
LeanSigma leadership and the ability to drive and sustain culture change are
essential foundations of a successful lean transformation. That challenge is
magnified when the transformation involves multiple countries and languages,
as it does for A.O. Smith, a leading global manufacturer of electric motors.
Mike Mills, manager of continuous improvement, recalls, “We wanted to be
self-sufficient, to train our own team of ‘Value Process Champions’ who would
conduct regular kaizen events and be the front line of our LeanSigma transfor-
mation.” A.O. Smith began their self-driven transformation in late 2004.
“One of our fundamental values,” says Anand Sharma, TBM chairman, “is to
always teach you everything we know. We formalized our hands-on improvement
knowledge into a curriculum of essential lean learning for each stage of your
LeanSigma transformation. That learning is absolutely critical to the success of
your initiative, whether you get it from TBM’s LeanSigma Institute workshops or
somewhere else.”
“We felt TBM had the strongest training program, with the real-world application
of lean tools our champions would use every day,” adds Mike. “First, our entire
management team and one Value Process Champion from each plant attended TBM’s
foundational lean-immersion workshop, Quest for the Perfect Engine. Then we put
every champion through four other intensive workshops, what I call TBM’s ‘self-
reliance package’: Kaizen Breakthrough Experience, Kaizen Promotion Office, Shop
Floor Kaizen Breakthrough Instructor Training and Managing for Daily Improvement.”
This training, conducted in both English and Spanish, was completed in June 2005.
“We hit the ground running”, says Mike. “Our champions ran 145 shop floor
and business process kaizen events in 2005 and almost 300 in 2006. We’ve
implemented the same model in China, with TBM’s China office giving our
champions the identical training in Mandarin and English. The efficiencies
and performance improvement we’ve achieved have been outstanding. We bring
in TBM periodically to assess our progress and suggest ways to get better, but
otherwise, we’re running our transformation ourselves.”
Essential LeanSigma Learning
Knowledge Transfer
Culture-Specific Training
Rocio Hernandez, one of A.O. Smith’s
TBM-trained Value Process Champions, Multi-Lingual Curriculum
leading a Kaizen team in A.O. Smith’s
IG Mex #6 plant in Juarez, Mexico. 19

12. Creating competitive advantage “When a customer is looking for a product we normally carry – and we don’t have it
Argos UK
with a lean, synchronized for them – they don’t care if the problem is in our warehouse, with one of our suppliers,
www.argos.co.uk
value chain or someone who put it on the wrong shelf. It’s all Argos to them.”
– Alistair Sercombe, Head of Operational Excellence, Argos
“The value chain contains the
largest chunk of total costs and
lead time… but is often the weakest
link in a LeanSigma transformation.”
Ninety-five percent of the United Kingdom’s population lives within 10 miles of
an Argos store. Argos sells all types of merchandise, from toys and electronics to
jewelry and furniture. Like most major retailers today, they offer a multi-channel
approach, serving over 130 million customers a year in nearly 700 stores, as well
as handling approximately four million orders either online or over the phone.
“Once you could sell speed or price,” says Alistair Sercombe, Argos’ head of
operational excellence. “Now customers routinely expect both. The performance
of our retail, supply and distribution operations are all intertwined in that
customer satisfaction equation.” Argos started working with TBM in 2004,
focused on building operational excellence into its new National Distribution
Centre. After saving more than $2 million at this facility in the first 18 months,
Argos expanded its Lean Value Chain focus to other areas:
— Regional distribution centers: product returns, goods received and dispatch
— Home delivery distribution centers: small parts put-away, returns and picking
— Retail stores: customer picking, returns and repairs
“We’re in the early stages, but a cultural shift is definitely taking place,” adds
Alistair. “People are generating new ideas and building enthusiasm for involve-
ment and improvement, not because it’s a top management edict, but because
they see the value.” One recent benefit: by cutting truck-loading time by 75 %
and reducing the number of loading docks required by 55 %, Argos can now
meet anticipated growth targets without new warehouse facilities.
The Lean Value Chain, the second ongoing phase of a LeanSigma transformation,
eliminates excess pipeline inventory, long lead times, erratic demand, poor on-
time delivery, price variances and limited visibility. By opening the entire chain’s
eyes to all the processes involved in getting their products to the customer – and
then building excellence into all those areas – companies create the power to
transform their competitive landscape.
Demand Management
Order Fulfillment At Argos’ Magna Park Distribution
Centre: Richard Holland, Managing
Supply Management Director – UK, TBM Consulting
Business Planning and Scheduling Group; Alistair Sercombe, Head of
Operational Excellence, Argos.
21

13. “Everyone at Pella wants to improve every day. Continuous improvement is embedded Sustaining a culture of Pella Corporation
in our culture. It’s the way we do business. It’s how all of us think.” continuous improvement www.pella.com
– Denny Van Zanten, President, Wood Division, Pella Corporation
“What we’ve achieved isn’t about
the company’s management.”
“Each person here deserves credit. All of us are proactively engaged in the
improvement process,” points out Denny Van Zanten, Wood Division president.
“We do MDI walkthroughs like this at every shift change to share key metrics.
Each team member always knows where we stand and what we need to accom-
plish. It’s an essential discipline that maintains improvement momentum – and
reinforces how serious we are about it.”
Lack of sustained culture change is the number-one reason LeanSigma initiatives
fail to take hold or lose momentum. Pella, a leading manufacturer of premium-
quality windows and doors, is one of the business world’s outstanding examples
of the impact of culture change in a lean transformation, which they began with
TBM in 1993. Using two of the most powerful drivers of rapid improvement and
culture change – Kaizen Breakthrough events and Managing for Daily Improvement
(MDI) – Pella has achieved operational excellence, which they are extending
across their value chain.
“It’s a testament to the quality and initiative of our people, at every level,” says
Van Zanten. “Together with TBM , we’ve built a positive, can-do culture, which
engages everyone. Our people know they’re leading our transformation – that
it means better conditions for them, improved company performance and more
satisfied customers.”
Culture change is a primary focus of TBM’s teaching and implementation work,
because it is such an essential component of success. Pella has been at it for
15 years, Toyota over 50. Reinforces Mel Haught, Pella’s president and chief
executive officer, “I don’t think you can ever relax or assume that you’ve got it.”
Culture Change
Long-Term Sustainment
Managing for Daily Improvement ( MDI )
An early morning production line meeting and
walk through in the Pella, Iowa plant: Pella’s
Denny Van Zanten with Pella team members.
23

14. “We want Iowans to know they are getting the most effective,
LeanSigma transformation State of Iowa
responsive state government possible – that we are customer- and
in the public sector www.lean.iowa.gov
results-driven and work hard for them every day.”
– Teresa Hay McMahon, Performance Results Director, Iowa Department of Management
“Traditional government doesn’t
see taxpayers as customers they
need to satisfy or compete for.”
Ask people about their state government and chances are you’ll get an earful
about long lines, infuriating waits and illogical levels of bureaucracy. If you’re
the only game in town, what difference does it make how fast or innovative
you are? “Every state agency competes for visibility, constituent support and
scarce resources,” observes Teresa Hay McMahon, performance results director
in Iowa’s Department of Management. “You may be the only department
issuing a certain permit, but you’ve got plenty of competition.”
When Iowa began its LeanSigma transformation with Guidon Performance
Solutions, TBM’s service industry and public sector practice, collaboration
among state agencies was alien to the culture. The first Sigma Kaizen event
focused on the air quality permit process. At 62 days, it was one of the short-
est in the country, but the one-week event reduced it to 12 days, with process
steps cut 70 %. The next one-week event decreased the lead time of another
permitting process from 28 to 4.5 months.
So far, Iowa has conducted more than 70 Sigma Kaizen events in 18 departments
– and similar dramatic examples of new efficiency and responsiveness are now
commonplace. Says Teresa, “It’s human nature to be defensive about the way
you’ve always done things. Guidon’s approach removes personalities and allows
workers to step out of the process, so they can see and implement far better
solutions. And it helps them empathize with the needs of their ultimate
customer, the taxpayer.”
With LeanSigma tools designed for the public sector, Guidon helps state
governments quickly build efficiency and performance into their culture.
Concludes Teresa, “We can be more responsive to constituents, minimize the
need to raise taxes and deploy scarce resources where they serve the public
best. It’s a big win for everyone.”
In the Senate Chamber of the Iowa
State Capitol building: Teresa Hay
McMahon, Performance Results
Director, Iowa Department of
Competing for Scarce Resources Management; Brent Jameson,
Director of Business Development,
Public Sector Service Excellence Guidon Performance Solutions;
Anita Walker, former Director, Iowa
Department of Cultural Affairs.
25

15. Knowledge TBM LeanSigma Institute “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe.”
Transfer Essential training and development for each stage of your Lean journey – Abraham Lincoln
Awareness. Skill Development.
Skill Mastery. Peer Networking.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
Lean leadership and culture change are the foundation for every step of a Workshops at the Customized learning Lean “Best Practice”
successful LeanSigma transformation. Unless your entire organization under- TBM LeanSigma Institute Work directly with senior TBM LeanSigma conferences
stands and rallies behind your initiative – and is proficient with the critical The TBM LeanSigma Institute conducts Institute consultants to develop a training Peer networking is an extremely effective
a comprehensive curriculum of interactive, curriculum customized to your unique form of knowledge transfer. TBM holds
tools and techniques required to drive fast, continuous improvement – it is
instructor-led workshops at our headquarters enterprise needs and culture. Provides the several “Best Practice” conferences each year,
unlikely you will succeed. The TBM LeanSigma Institute was formed to provide in Durham, North Carolina and at confer- skills, tools and roadmap for a self-driven designed to encourage experiential learning
that essential learning and motivation – and facilitate its rapid, efficient transfer ence centers and hotels around the world… transformation, similar to the A.O. Smith from peers and outside experts around the
to every part of your organization. to position each level of your organization story on pages 18-19 of this brochure. world, who share challenges and successes
for success at every stage of your LeanSigma from their LeanSigma journeys.
All the clients in this brochure have relied on the Institute’s experience-based transformation. Online learning
learning at different phases of their transformation… from basic awareness TBM’s innovative Online Learning Center
training for senior management… to skill development and skill mastery for Workshops in live, delivers LeanSigma learning globally, at
host-company operations internet speed, providing a convenient,
operational teams. Each of our instructors is a senior TBM consultant who’s
Nothing reinforces and builds upon cost-effective way to train an infinite
spent more than ten years, hands-on, actually implementing the LeanSigma classroom learning more effectively than number of employees in a short time. Our
principles they’re teaching, grounded in the roots of the Toyota Production the hands-on, real-life application of approach combines interactive exercises
“Tell me and I’ll forget.
System. Many are widely-recognized experts. They spend most of the year in critical LeanSigma tools and techniques… with simulations to reinforce key learning…
the field, quickly leading client teams to dramatic performance improvement, conducted in operations similar to your and get everyone quickly speaking the same Show me and I’ll
enabling them to bring a wealth of real-world experience to every workshop. own, on an actual manufacturing or improvement language. remember. Involve me
continuous process plant floor or in a and I’ll understand.”
business process or service environment. Materials licensing with
– Native American Proverb
24/7 online access
“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it.” On-site, dedicated workshops Quick and easy access to TBM’s extensive
– Winston Churchill TBM on-site workshops bring our full library of training materials… online, in
learning curriculum right to your facility, or seven languages. Immediately download
the location of your choice, tailored to your materials you need to conduct training at
Introduce the concepts of LeanSigma to multiple levels of management and
needs and objectives. A cost-effective alter- local facilities worldwide… and even view
operations… and give them a clear understanding of the road ahead. Advance native if you have six or more individuals the latest report-outs for LeanSigma events
new skill sets and internal capabilities to create teams of action-oriented to train. within your organization.
change agents who will help your organization travel further, faster. Build
leadership skills. And create the rock-solid internal capability you need for
sustained innovation, growth and competitive advantage.
The TBM LeanSigma Institute provides essential LeanSigma Multinational, multilingual
knowledge and support at each stage of your transformation,
Uniquely qualified to serve the training needs of multinational clients, the TBM
for every level of your organization.
LeanSigma Institute provides a comprehensive global curriculum in multiple
languages, from offices in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia…
to help our clients implement consistently, across multiple cultures.
27

16. ®
TBM
Consulting Group
TBM Corporate Headquarters TBM Consultants (India) Guidon Performance Solutions
4400 Ben Franklin Blvd. Private Ltd. 2550 N. Thunderbird Circle
Durham, NC 27704 Technopolis, Sector-54 Suite 317
Tel 800.438.5535 DLF (Golf Course Road) Mesa, AZ 85215
Fax 919.471.5135 Gurgaon, India 122 002 Tel 866.986.4414
Tel +91.124.437.5995 Fax 480.357.6324
TBM Brazil
Avenida Moema 170, cj - 45/46 TBM Mexico
São Paulo – S.P. Calzada San Pedro #250 Nte. www.guidonps.com
Brazil 04077-020 Edificio HQ
Tel 55.11.5051.7490 Col. Miravalle
Fax 55.11.5052.0082 Monterrey, NL CP 64660
Mexico
TBM China Tel 52.81.50.00.91.36
Room 3, 3/F, POS PLAZA Fax 52.81.81.24.00.69
1600 Century Avenue
Pudong TBM United Kingdom
Shanghai, 200122 3 Gleneagles House
P.R. China Vernon Gate
Tel: 86.21.6888.6671 Derby DE1 1UP
Fax: 86.21.6888.6672 United Kingdom
Tel 44.1332.367378
TBM Europe Fax 44.1332.367.379
29, Route de Pré-Bois
1215 Geneva 15
Switzerland www.tbmcg.com
Tel 41.22.710.77.70
Fax 41.22.710.77.71
Copyright 2008 – LeanSigma®, TBM and the TBM logo are registered trademarks of TBM Consulting Group, Inc.

17. TBM Consulting Group
4400 Ben Franklin Blvd.
Durham, NC 27704
800.438.5535
www.tbmcg.com