Lean Manufacturing Q&A With Jennifer Lindquist
Lean Manufacturing Q&A With Jennifer Lindquist, Senior VP of Manufacturing
Whirltronics, Inc. incorporates lean manufacturing principles into our production business model. This means we focus on eliminating waste and streamlining our processes to improve efficiency and deliver quality products at a lower cost. We are dedicated to continuous improvement in cost, quality, service, and delivery.
Today, we are asking our Senior VP of Manufacturing, Jennifer Lindquist, some of the most commonly asked questions about lean manufacturing and what it means for Whirltronics:
Q: What is Lean Manufacturing?
A: A text book definition of lean would be: Lean manufacturing is a production system that focuses on reducing waste, creating customer value and seeking continuous process improvement. This is achieved by applying lean principles, techniques and tools to eliminate waste from a manufacturing cycle.
Q: When did Whirltronics start practicing Lean Manufacturing?
A: Whirltronics started to think about lean in 2003. As a team, we read a book together called “Lean Thinking” by James Womack. That book study was the kick-off to our lean journey.
Q: What is Kaizen, and how do the events done by Whirltronics fit into that process of Lean Manufacturing?
A: Kaizen at Whirltronics is an event where we bring a cross functional team together with a goal of eliminating different types of waste in a process for cost, efficiency, resources and throughput gains. Some of the wastes we target are defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory excess, motion waste, extra-processing.
Q: What is the average number of events we do and how many have we done and closed in 2024?
A: On average, we do upwards of 20 events per year, but it’s not the number of events that is important, but the positive impact on the company. The events also connects employees across the various levels and departments of a company and can help break down silos and improve collaboration and engagement at all levels.
Q: What else might be important for people to know about Whirltronics and Lean Manufacturing?
A: Whirltronics has had a lot of success over the years, and I believe that we are still in business today because we took the strategy of lean seriously and integrated continuous improvement into our daily culture.
Learn more about the lean manufacturing journey in this video:
