Organisational transformation programme that developed the JCB Production System and ensured that JCB remain the world leaders that they are today.    

The Background

JCB were early adopters of Lean but many of JCB’s early initiatives failed.  JCB didn’t have the capabilities in- house to start the Lean journey effectively and activities did not develop well or as intended.         

“One of the reasons we still enjoy a working relationship today, after all these years, is that Grant StanleyConsultants have the ability to come in and do the job rather than standing at the lines telling us what to do – they can be as hands on or as hands off as you need them to be.”  Max Jeffrey, Product Marketing Manager, JCB. 

The Approach

JCB wanted to address quality issues throughout the organisation and made the decision to focus on each division in turn, developing systems and learning processes that could then transfer throughout the entire, complex organisation.

The team were serious about increasing JCB’s reputation for quality and leading the industry in customer service.

With the JCB organisation failing to introduce Lean the Chairman visited Toyota to see how it should happen.

When he came back from Japan he wanted a whole new way of doing things – to achieve this JCB needed external support:

• That had world class level of experience and expertise in Lean

• Whose ethos is one of true value and strong, long term relationships.

CSM Consultants worked alongside the JCB staff and trained and developed them in the ways of Lean, replicating the way that the CSM Consultants had themselves had been schooled ‘working for Lean Masters at Toyota’.

Challenge

Address quality issues throughout the organisation and make a success out of Lean – previous Lean initiatives had failed.

Benefits

• Output of production lines increased by over 600% and profit loss operations turned into profit making.

The key areas for action were identified. Operations, logistics, engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and sales all faced a major step change in ways of working with the goals of improved quality and efficiency, customer satisfaction, zero defects, reduced costs and accelerated growth.

A Continuous Improvement Steering Group was created made up of selected team leaders and Lean champions from within JCB including the then CEO John Patterson.

Education and guidance was critical to the activity running freely, at speed and delivering results from the off. Standardisation was vital. Measurement was essential. Everyone had to understand their part of the process and take responsibility for their area of improvement.

The Results

Significant results were achieved on three product types: Load all, Compact and Backhoe vehicles: