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Not up to speed with Lean? You’re not alone. In a 2006 survey of the North American Mold Manufacturing Industry conducted by Plante & Moran, 41 percent of the respondents said they “know nothing” about Lean Manufacturing. However, said a Plante & Moran partner, “if there is a time to look at your processes and become Lean, it is now."

Jeff Mengel leads the Plastics Industry Practice of Plante & Moran, a professional services firm that helps more than 140 plastics industry clients with operational and strategic planning, due diligence, inventory control, scheduling and forecasting, and tax and financial consulting.

Jeff Mengel

“Lean is a challenging, long-term commitment,” Mengel said. “But our survey shows that those who are successfully implementing it are experiencing efficiency gains of up to 40 percent.”

Plante & Moran’s 2006 study of more than 160 companies with 213 facilities throughout North America identified several ways in which successful companies differentiate themselves from struggling companies. Among those ways is operational efficiency, which can be dramatically improved by Lean in areas including:

• Quick setups
• High inventory turnover
• High press utilization
• Low internal PPM

“The top 25 percent are being rewarded for having a good business design and operational efficiency,” said Mengel, “while the others continue to struggle.”