by Dave Rizzardo, Associate Director - MWCC
We had another great MWCC Lean Facility Tour on April 23rd!
This one took place at Strouse Corporation in Westminster, Maryland. We had over 30
attendees from various organizations in attendance for this fantastic Lean event. It
started with an overview of Strouse, a leader in the custom adhesive
solutions industry. We learned about their capabilities and the
strong values that align and guide the organization.
This was followed by an enlightening review of their Lean
journey and practices. A number of specific practices and techniques were
covered, such as 5S, PDCA problem solving, kanban replenishment, andon, and
their training structure. Their employee appreciation, recognition, and
engagement practices were also highlighted. Their alignment of these
people-practices with Lean principles enables and motivates everyone to continuously
improve company processes to continually add more value for Strouse’s customers.
After this informative presentation, we had a tour to see
everything in action. Due to the number of products and processes that Strouse
employs, it could seem overwhelming and delay progress. However, no delays at
all at Strouse! Improvements were everywhere and ongoing experiments to further
improve are the norm, not the exception. Their understanding that the Lean journey
is never ending, and that there are always plenty of improvement opportunities
ahead, is a characteristic that Strouse shares with other strong Lean
organizations.
Following the tour, we had a short debrief segment where key
takeaways were shared and discussed, followed by lunch. In summary, Strouse’s
blend of focusing on people and improving processes creates a culture which
embodies what Lean/Continuous Improvement is all about, and which will continue
to lead to success for the organization, employees, customers, and the community.
We are extremely grateful to the Strouse team for opening up their doors to us
and sharing key aspects of their Lean culture.
