Lean pushes Orbit One forward in Russia

Vice President Operations, Ulf Karlsson, has, along with his team in Russia, built a competitive unit. “We have come very far in our Lean efforts, which is the result of great team work. We have chosen a somewhat different approach to developing Lean in the organisation. Instead of classroom instruction, we work hands on in production. We continuously discuss, challenge, improve, and develop the processes together. Then we test, measure, and improve again. This methodology yields not only greater results, but also a high level of dedication and understanding,” says Karlsson in a press release. He elaborates saying that the approach is based on Lean Kata, which is an approach aiming to both improve business processes and benefit from lessons learned. “This is where dedication and understanding are so important. It’s a lot about learning and repeating work steps, finding new, better solutions, and constantly improving. We do not set specific goals; instead, we aim for a so-called target state, that is, to always get better and better.” The unit also recently invested in another new Koh Young AOI as well as a wave soldering machine from Soltec. Besides the Lean approach and the new equipment, the unit also work according so called “takt flows”. Takt flows are basically based on what the client wants produced per day. “By continuously checking and counting backwards toward the production target, we can better adjust the pace, gaining a smoother and safer production pace with the right resources,” Karlsson explains in the release.