For this week’s discussion, read about Schwan’s Corporation in chapter 7 of the textbook, and address the following questions:
How was the Lean Six Sigma process at Schwan improved with the help of MAMTC advisors by including key components of a control system in the structure?
What were the results attained from these improvements?
How might control charts be used in your daily life? For example, think of applications to monitor your school or sports performance.
Textbook – An Introduction to Six Sigma & Process Improvement 2e
By James R. Evans and William M. Lindsay
Schwan’s Corporation specializes in frozen pizza and other food items. Located in Salina, KS, the company has 251 employees. (Another example from this company was described in Chapter 3.) Schwan’s made a conscious effort to implement a robust lean program several years ago. Schwan’s knew this would be a challeng-ing but necessary journey. After spending a few years implementing lean, Schwan’s was not realizing the impact they wanted. A local Manufacturing Extension Program’s Lean Six Sigma Management team saw this as an opportu-nity to help Schwan’s evaluate and refocus its effort and define a plan for enhance-ment and implementation. MAMTC [Mid-America Technology Center] performed an assessment of Schwan’s current lean practices and helped them develop a robust implementation of their Lean Six Sigma program. Requirements were established along with control measures to ensure sustained success. The first step was to establish structure and expectations for the continuous improvement effort. Knowledge of the effort underway was needed to grasp an understanding of what was desired. Goals and expectations that met the needs of the company and employees were established and agreed upon. The company realized a cost savings of $253,640, retained sales of $22M, and cost avoidance of $199,270.
