Situation

A medical imaging device manufacturer’s profitability was severely affected by quality defects in its x-ray tube product line.  In addition, customer satisfaction was suffering due to consistently missed production schedules.  All of the failures were discovered at final inspection.  As a result, bottom-line losses were significant, since most of the defective product was either damaged beyond repair or could not be reworked.  Management required a solution to eliminate the defects and improve customer satisfaction and profitability very quickly.

Solution

GE WorkOut was selected as the ideal mechanism to drive improvement actions within a very compressed timeframe.  A skilled WorkOut designer teamed-up with the general manager (WorkOut sponsor) of the business to select projects, identify team members, establish improvement goals, and plan the WorkOuts.   Three cross-functional teams were formed, each consisting of a team leader, facilitator, production associates, and engineers.  The teams were trained in the principles of WorkOut and later assembled for the actual  WorkOut events.

The sponsor provided each WorkOut team with specific, measurable goals for both performance improvement and project completion time.   The teams effectively applied the WorkOut principles of process mapping & walk-through, brainstorming, identifying potential solutions, and piloting the proposed solutions.  Key success factors were sponsor support, a skilled WorkOut designer, strong team facilitators, and solid cross-functional teams that included significant representation by production associates.  All of this was made possible through the application of WorkOut, which provided the framework to mobilize resources within a structured, rapid-fire environment.

Results

Within three months, the results of the WorkOut were significant:
The number of x-ray tubes broken due to in-plant handling was reduced 50%.
The yield of a high margin x-ray tubes increased 15%.
Bottom-line results increased by approximately $500M.
Processes were streamlined and standardized across all three production shifts.
Customer satisfaction has increased through improved on-time delivery performance.
The climate improved as employees from different functions at all levels in the business work together to improve business performance.