The Shippers Group has assembled an Operational Excellence team to lead cultural transformation by training Lean Concepts aligned with our Core Values of:
With our customers ever-changing needs and the rising costs of doing business, efficiency has never been more important. The Shippers Group is taking the next step to deliver more value to our customers by making our sites more efficient and safer. Short for Operational Excellence, our OpEx Team has five key focuses:
PEOPLE – Respect for People and their ideas to improve
Lean programs start from the bottom up because those who know and do the work can find the best solutions.
PROCESS – Process Improvement Initiatives
Empowering team members to eliminate waste in their own processes.
ACCURACY – Accountability to Operating Procedures
Making improvements to ensure that the work gets done the right way, the first time, every time, and catching mistakes so they don’t turn into defects.
SPEED – Elimination of Waste for Better Efficiency
Eliminating wasteful activities that add meaningless time to a process.
EXCELLENCE – Measure and Deliver Results
Having measurable results where each employee can see the flow of value to the customer that they are creating.
Alex Whitely, Industrial Engineer
Al Siekerman, Director of Process Excellence
Susie Bodnar, Lean Supply Chain Consultant and Trainer
Within its first 90 days, our OpEx team has already helped improve productivity, processes, and communication – helping us achieve cost reductions, higher safety, and greater efficiency. Using a servant leadership approach, OpEx will lead and support Continuous Improvement and Lean efforts for each of our sites by empowering team members to find best solutions and by providing expertise to support improvement initiatives. By continually streamlining our operations and reducing waste, The Shippers Group is one step closer to achieving our Vision of being 1st in supply chain!
Stay tuned next week as we announce our Lean Champions from each site, who are already driving continuous improvement using the Lean Principles they have learned!
The Shippers Group was founded in 1901 and today employs over 1400 associates nationwide. For more information on The Shippers Group, visit our services page.