Lean Success Story

Portland Firm Finds Lean Training Makes a Difference

When the Portland, Maine Brockway-Smith facility officials had a challenge meeting the demands of their customers, they recognized the company needed the assistance of the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Maine MEP) to implement Lean methodologies.

Although the manufacturer of doors, windows, and specialty millwork was limited by its square footage, the goal was to increase production while utilizing the same manufacturing space.

Implementing Time Wise® Principles of Lean Manufacturing, the company optimized facility layouts using new automated equipment in a flexible manufacturing cell orientation, allowing Brockway-Smith to adjust to changes in daily demand by quickly reorganizing their capacity on an as needed basis.

“With the assistance of the MEP team, we trained the workforce to become the solution,” said Ray Briere, Brockway-Smith plant manager. “The result has been a 20 to 25 percent increase in production capacity within the facility. The Maine MEP helped us realize machine utilization, product flow and placement, along with employee participation, were the keys to this success.”

Briere said the one area that success stands out is in Brockway-Smith’s shop production recovery percentage. “The goal obviously is 100 percent,” he said. “The norm company wide has been below that benchmark. However, the Portland facility has consistently produced over 100 percent, and we have hit as high as 121 percent recovery figure. Obviously, working smarter versus harder really shows results here.”