The Kodak Operating System: successfully integrating Lean and Six Sigma

Reducing cycle time flow from 100 days to just four was only one of the challenges when Lean and Six Sigma was introduced at the Kodak GCG manufacturing plant in Leeds, UK.

Introduction

The Kodak GCG factory in Leeds, England is a model of Lean in action. Bright yellow lines clearly de-lineate workspaces; tools are neatly arranged next to machines, their outlines painted so it is immediately visible if one is missing; everything is clean and tidy, there is no clutter, no waste materials; even the workers themselves are neatly turned out in matching safety gear. The whole place exudes calm efficiency.

The Lean Six Sigma journey for Kodak began in the 90s when the corporate head office introduced the Kodak Operating System (KOS). Based on the principles of LSS, it was implemented at the Leeds factory in 2002, with initially mixed results, as is often the case in the early days of an improvement programme.

However, Mike Harding, the Plant Manager at Leeds, believed that it was the right thing for the site. “We knew what we wanted to do but didn’t know how to do it,” he says. “These methodologies gave us the tools to do it.”

The focus of the programme changed from having a handful of projects run by two or three Black Belts, to a more strategic approach employing a large number of Green Belts working on many projects, with training and support from consultants Rath&Strong. This proved much more successful, lifted the organisation and the programme began to take off.

The biggest challenge

Kodak GCG provide a wide portfolio of digital, conventional and business solutions to the graphic arts industry. At the Leeds plant, they manufacture single layer, thermal digital plates for use in lithographic printing. It became quickly apparent, when they mapped their processes, that probably their biggest challenge was cycle time. Twenty-three days was the shortest lead-time, with one hundred days not uncommon.

“We did our Value Stream Mapping and from receipt of raw materials to the time the product went out the door and established that four days was our value added time. Everything other than four days was scrap and we saw then that waste wasn’t just product waste.

“Under the banner of the 'Four Day Factory', we implemented a project where we reduced the cycle time down to ten-to-twelve days for circa 60% of our volume. This allowed us to not only reduce inventory in-house but also in our European country warehouses who were able to take out a week of finished product inventory as we reduced our lead time by one week.. We’re talking about a 25% reduction in inventory on 60% of the value – and they got it without having to do anything."

Peter Blum is the Quality and Technical Manager at the Kodak plant in Leeds who was given the task of looking at process improvement and introducing the KOS at the plant. For Peter, the success of the ‘Four Day Factory’ project was instrumental in successfully pushing the KOS improvement programme through the organisation.

“The savings from this one project alone were approximately £2million. We were amazed with the results. It allowed the graduates to get engaged very quickly from a company point of view, as well as apply the techniques. The shop floor people were brilliant at deployment, and the two groups complemented each other perfectly. It lifted the whole organisation, and now they are driving it.”

The Four Day Factory project is a great example of how well Lean Six Sigma can work together, with one driving the other. Although the programme has been re-branded as KOS, it is still very much a Lean Six Sigma deployment, but done in such a way so that they can cherry-pick the tools and methods that complement the organisation. Kaizen events have been very useful for them.

Mike Harding

“Generally, this approach has been very successful for us,” says Peter “A project is identified and sometimes it’s Six Sigma, sometimes it’s Lean. We have a project pipeline and during the early DMAIC stages they choose the particular tools to solve that problem.”

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