Lean Production Rewarded for Battery Maker

The Chloride Motive Power factory at Over Hulton, Bolton, United Kingdom, has achieved the bronze Excell award from Exide Technologies’s Centre of Excellence. The Excell program aims to reward “lean production” techniques, a concept introduced by Toyota to minimize waste from production processes as a result of post-WWII resource shortages. It has been adopted by Exide Technologies worldwide to drive continuous improvement.

There are five award levels, platinum being the most difficult to achieve. Relatively few companies in the U.K. have taken up the initiative. Many that do undertake to comply with the system concentrate on cutting inventory.

David Ling of CMP Batteries says, “Raw material inventory has indeed been reduced by 65% at CMP with a total inventory reduction, including finished goods, of 31%. However, we needed to concentrate on other aspects of the business as well. We also have achieved a 45% reduction in factory maintenance costs and recorded an 80% reduction in accidents.”

A specific example within CMP involved the creation of an Area Improvement Group, which redesigned the work area with defined locations for components, cells and WIP batteries. Storage bins were clearly labeled, tool kits were standardized and a daily cleaning routine was established. Strict targets were set and the “lean team” at Over Hulton achieved or exceeded all of them.