Manufacturer gets results from comprehensive analysis

A client’s new executive team lacked visibility into the reasons for a plant’s unsatisfactory output due to unreliable data and insufficient reporting and metrics.

When the executive team couldn’t confidently pinpoint the root causes of the plant’s struggles, Grant Thornton was engaged to provide an unbiased, third-party assessment of the plant’s people, processes, technology and equipment.

To get to the root of the plant’s underperformance, Grant Thornton left no stone unturned in its search for answers. Interviews were conducted with a wide-ranging group of personnel, including people from procurement, supply planning, scheduling, production, maintenance, warehousing and logistics.

For all focus areas, Grant Thornton shed light on the workflow by creating process maps and work instructions. The firm redesigned the plant’s previously manual planning and scheduling methods, and developed a baseline labor model to assist the client with dynamic staffing plans.

To promote product traceability from raw materials to finished goods, Grant Thornton also recorded a quality test matrix

After identifying more than 150 operational gaps at the plant, Grant Thornton created 19 initiatives that would enable the client to mitigate them. These proposed initiatives included project charters, value propositions, estimated costs, and a detailed, integrated implementation roadmap that described how the client could follow through with the initiatives.

The initiatives will result in benefits as widely varied as warehouse consolidation and reduced labor turnover, and they will have a substantial effect on the margins of the plant. It’s expected that the project will enable revenue growth of 10% to 20% at the plant, with projected operating expense savings of 8% to 13%.