Vitamix Lean DC
The main objective for Vitamix in 2014 was to educate their employees on Lean principles and to implement foundational elements of their VLE system. The first step involved sending all of the Reno DC employees to Lean 101 workshops. Throughout Vitamix, more than 600 employees have been educated with this eight hour, learn-do style workshop. The class exposed their employees to fundamental Lean concepts, galvanized a common Lean language, aligned them around the continuous improvement objective, and clarified reasons why Vitamix is committed to this Lean transformation. The foundational elements that were implemented included: Management for Daily Improvement (MDI) management system comprised of daily standup meetings, metric boards, and leader standard work; visual management throughout the DC; and 6S workplace organization. Throughout the implementation, our Project Manager from Manufacture Nevada acted as the technical liaison between the Reno DC and the Lean Department in Cleveland. She supported the implementation through weekly visits to the DC to ensure the systems were being sustained, coaching the employees, and facilitating 6S kaizen events.
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