Projects, Case Studies & Testimonials

Projects

One Piece Flow

Supply Chain Projects

Simple Kanban Solution

Case Studies

Challenges: Inability to launch products in a timely fashion – some were as much as eight months late.

Action: Used scrum kanban to manage the six-phase product introduction process. Daily accountability ensured progress was made and issues were identified and addressed

Result: Reduced backlog of products, increased revenue, and increased customer satisfaction

Challenges: Inefficient supply chain processes causing inventory issues and efficiency issues

Action: 5S training, SMED training and implementation, standard processes developed for picking, machine cleaning changeover, inventory taking, and ordering material.

Result: Accurate inventory, reduced out of stock items and less manpower requirements. Improved machine changeover from one day to 3 hours.

Challenges: A complex and lengthy Bus Driver recruitment process resulting in high applicant self-selecting dropout rate. The company could not higher enough Bus Drivers.

Action: Created a value steam map of the current process, identifying all the wastes, inefficiencies, dropout points and throughput. Brainstormed a future value stream map of a new process eliminating or minimizing wastes and throughput barriers to the application and hiring process.

Result: Improved hiring from 1 driver per week to 4 drivers per week and reduced the recruiting process from 25.5 days to 12.75 days and Human Resource time from 155 minutes per applicant to 80 minutes per applicant.

Challenges: Contracted to revive a struggling division and improve leadership, process efficiencies, throughput, and customer relations, to become a turnaround story.

Action: Focused site leadership on changing the way they did business and instituted best practices in master scheduling, visual management, Gemba and goal attainment. Trained and facilitated Lean Six Sigma kaizen events to improve efficiency and quality.

Results: Improved EBITDA >40%; Reduced Quality Incidence, year over year, by 32% Improved On-Time delivery >25%; Improved Safety Incidences >50%

Challenge: Company faced material flow and storage throughout the factory, from incoming to shipping.

Action: After mapping out the value stream, we were able to define and implement a pull system for all the parts throughout the value stream. We identified Raw Material, WIP and Finished Goods locations for every process in the factory.

Result: Reduction in defect from lost and damaged parts, reduction in waste from moving parts multiple times and reduction in production downtime.

Testimonials

"I was a Lean manufacturing engineer when I meet Pat Conlon of The Conlon Group.  During that time, uncustomary to the company, Pat championed the effective use of six sigma statistical practices for continuous improvement project selection as well as identifying cost-benefit solution choices to operational problems. He educated us on the use of statistical data as the cornerstone of quality improvement principles and process variation reduction. 

Pat’s direction drove daily dedication to organizational goal performance; due to his direction in improved supply chain management, I witnessed the company benefiting from an increased bottom-line profit of hundreds of thousands of dollars per quarter. I will always remember the leadership charge Pat drove to establish the successful supply chain hub connections in China and Vietnam which are still in use today.  I highly recommend Pat as a strong business leader and would be only too fortunate to work with him again."
– Therapeutic/medical table manufacturer
"We contracted with The Conlon Group to provide 5S training, implementation, and productivity improvements in our warehouse. Pat is a very involved leader that works with our team to improve our processes.  We experienced a 70% increase in productivity. He Leaned our systems and implemented better utilization methods. We were able to improve our picking accuracy, ordering accuracy, and reduced inventory through improved processes and system utilization. His consultation worked so well that I was able to transition a growing product group for better visibility and management of the warehouse. We are currently working with Pat on implementing leader standards at all levels in the business to improve consistency and accountability in how we perform on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. We look forward to working with Pat on an ongoing basis for leadership and further Lean training."
– Food Service Company
"Pat came onboard in replacement a consultant we were working with. Immediately, it was noticeable how easy Pat was to work with and how the team responded to his style of leadership. The team responded well to the basic Lean training and continued implementations. Our biggest challenges were material flow throughout the factory from incoming to shipping. After laying out the value stream, we were able to define a pull system for all our parts with throughout the value stream. Pat also helped us to better utilize Kanban boards for project management, primarily a quick-change project. We standardized standup meetings, leaders standard work, better utilization of Gemba walks, implementation of Visual Management systems and tracking of downtime causes. Most of all I appreciated Pat’s leadership style and his coaching."
– Custom Equipment Manufacturer
“The Executive Leadership process helped us get things done through our employees. We now have a core group of dedicated people who want to make our vision a reality. After four months of working together, our bottom line is $100,000 greater than it was during the same timeframe one year ago.”
– HVAC Industry

"I had the privilege of working with Patrick at the facility where I was the plant manager. I brought in The Conlon Group to help me with a supply chain and scheduling issue that we were experiencing. His thought process and attention to detail on how to solve the problem were second to none. He has the ability to work with groups while knocking down barriers without conflict to get to the root cause of the problem. He is hands-on and side by side as a partner to find a solution to the issues that you may be facing. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Patrick again in the future."

 – Food Manufacturing Company

"Pat Conlon of The Conlon Group provided our group with training on the subject of Lean Manufacturing and helped to initiate the implementation of these concepts into one of our process lines.  His training presentation was extremely informative, well organized, and provided insight into the concepts of Lean Manufacturing that were valuable to our process.  I would recommend his services and plan to continue to use him as a resource for continuing with projects related to Lean Six Sigma in the future."

 – Chemical Manufacturer

"When we accepted The Conlon Group to take us through a Strategic Planning process, we did not know what we were letting ourselves in for. We assumed we had most things in place, if uncoordinated, and the result would be a more formal organization. Over the course of six months Pat lead us down a path that would see us deeply question why, what, how, etc., we were doing. The result was a complete "sea change" in our organization. For the first time we had goals, supported by action plans, that everyone agreed with. Since then, we have had wholehearted support in implementing them and the change in the organization's outlook is nothing short of remarkable.

None of this would have been achieved without the leadership and direction of Pat Conlon in taking us through the Strategic Planning process and spearheading its subsequent implementation."

– Networking Organization

“Our decision to invest time and money in the Executive Leadership program was based upon the realization that our management and leadership sensibilities needed stimulation and enrichment. Although we started the program with some skepticism and doubt, all of us quickly realized the power of the material. For the first time in our 15-year history we established a company Vision, defined Core Values, and started implementing Organizational Goals in a manner that would foster their achievement.”

– Communications Industry