20.02.2018
Guyenne and its everyday heroes. Episode 1.
“Be Ambitious, Be a Hero of our daily life».
We will dedicate this first phase to the innovative processes implemented in Guyenne. It is the conquest of the digital enterprise by the four founding axes: Making processes and material / immaterial flows more reliable, bringing the customer back to the centre of attention and managing the company by data.
For several years now, I have been committing myself to continually investing in Guyenne to develop the manufacturing process and chain". The tone is set by Céline Procop, a dynamic leader who is certainly not lacking in ambition. In 2017, Lean Manufacturing was set up.
 | Lean Manufacturing is one of the operational requirement tools for making a company’s processes more reliable.
Lean Manufacturing is about managing production without waste; getting rid of everything that is «heavy and useless». First of all, the notion of Added Value (AV) corresponds with what the customer is willing to pay. This AV is very often accompanied by added expenses including all actions that take time, consume resources, occupy space, but do not add value to the final product (the non-Added Value that the customer is not willing to pay).
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Lean Manufacturing aims to reduce these added expenses. Since Guyenne is a manufacturing company, the Lean approach takes on its full meaning and is spread out over several levels.
Nathalie is a machine operator and has been working for more than 30 years for Guyenne. She is discovering participative management and Lean tools. «Keeping everything tidy and having a clean space makes it easier to find your way around. We now know where things are, it simplifies work and we spend less time searching for things». The method gave immediate results. Nathalie has seen the company develop, but she also knows that changing culture and habits is not easy. So with a smile, she says «it’s true, there’s still work to be done but so far, we are doing ok I guess».
Visual Performance Management makes it possible to manage and make results and information visible to the teams. These are necessary to make their work and performance their own. We remember visual things better than written or spoken words!
Nathalie likes to be informed in case of a product non-conformity «It is we who are present, manufacture, wind up and prepare. We like to know when there were problems. Before, that was not the case, but now thanks to the indicators visible on our workspace, we are informed and we try to improve ourselves so as not to make any more mistakes». Whatever the business sector, the problems encountered are almost always the same. |  |
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We communicate with each other. To inculcate the Lean culture, the culture of performance consists of bringing serenity to the daily work. This is done in two main ways: making processes more reliable and to relying on human rigour.
It is obvious that the challenge is greater in a company where the production model is based on human resources. Lean Manufacturing is easier to implement in factories where machines do 90% of the work. Why? Because the success of Lean depends essentially on people. They are the ones who set it up, use it, feed it and follow it on a daily basis.
Is it a question of automating the company to make it more adaptable to change? Many factories have made this choice for the sake of performance. Human management is a delicate matter, and giving up in the face of the need for cultural change is a reality.
By empowering teams in the short term on Lean methods, it is a question of improving the medium-long term of the company.
«A company is first and foremost men and women committed together to success», says Céline Procop. As the CEO knows, success depends on everyone’s work and involvement on a daily basis. She wants everyone to surpass themselves and make a difference. The slogan «Be Ambitious, Be a Hero of our daily life» was not chosen on purpose: everyone has the power to act, to change things. It’s a motto!
Guyenne is all about stories, stakes, everyday achievements, innovative processes, committed men and women, investments and much more. Everything is done to meet the expectations of our customers, «just because WE COAT FOR YOU».
Lean Manufacturing was set up in Guyenne with the support of the Bordeaux POP School.
