LEAN Philosophy: doing the right things with the 5s app
Bakker bedrijfswagens is undergoing a lean transition and uses the 5s App from 5S Company. In this article 'LEAN Philosophy: doing the right things with the 5s app' the experience is shared.
Why 5S rollout and use of the 5S app at Bakker Bedrijfswagens?
In 2014, Bakker Bedrijfswagens changed management. Then came the knowledge and expertise about continuous improvement according to the LEAN philosophy. And as is often the case, if the leader is enthusiastic, the whole team will share it. Bakker Bedrijfswagens wants to get a little better every day. This was a clear signal for the company to get started with 5S. “The Barneveld location was the first location where we rolled this out. We started with a continuous improvement process for repair and maintenance. Our main goal was clear: we wanted to make our customers and employees more satisfied and to make work easier and more fun. We didn't necessarily want to apply the lean philosophy. But discovered that continuous improvement, a little better every day, is a pleasant method to achieve our goal. You also radiate that to the customers,” says Jan Wout van de Vuurst. After Sales Manager at Bakker Bedrijfswagens
What was the biggest challenge?
At Bakker Bedrijfswagens to convince colleagues of the benefits of Continuous Improvement in their daily work. This was the biggest challenge. Raising awareness was no problem. However, maintaining and securing improvements was a challenge. People quickly fall back into the old way of things. Nevertheless, the mechanics are very good at putting out fires, which also causes a lot of frustration and waste. When the 5S program was introduced, the technicians immediately saw improvements in their working environment. This was reflected in a clean and tidy workshop that allowed them to work more efficiently and safely. The day starts, which felt uncomfortable at first, were also missed the most during the Corona period.
LEAN Philosophy: doing the right things with the 5s app
The arrival of a new quality manager at Bakker Bedrijfswagens raised many questions. In particular about how the quality of the branches could be guaranteed and how the ISO points could be followed. “To guarantee our improvements, we opted for a modern solution. The 5S-app which allowed us to track and track the actions that resulted from our 5S journey. Instead of relying on paper methods, we decided to keep everything digital. This gives us an easy way to track everything. We now use the app at all locations from a safety and quality point of view. We also want to apply the 5S action points everywhere this year.”
Bakker Bedrijfswagens has decided to use the app for: ISO standards, KPIs, customer satisfaction surveys and our complaints registration. As a result, the quality manager and also every regional manager and company manager have a complete overview of all action points that are open everywhere. “We want our entire organization to focus on the app as the first step in their working day. This allows us to increase our efficiency and improve the quality of our services. The manager and prevention officers are starting to use the app more and more. The action points are sent directly via the prevention officer and manager, in order to control the input. The fitters can 5S whiteboards report their action points by means of an improvement form. We still have to manage the follow-up and we will have to activate it further this year”.
And this is not Bakker's only gain! “Our DAF Service Manager was impressed with the improvements we made at our Barneveld site. Customers see it too, because it is clear at a glance that order and cleanliness reign here. This is a real win-win situation for both our company and our customers.”
Major roll-out in the Winterswijk workplace
“A major roll-out has recently taken place in Winterswijk. 5S-company is not an ordinary team of consultants who give orders from a distance. No, they accepted the challenge and rolled up their sleeves. They are more like improvement coaches, have a low threshold and know exactly how to communicate with the employees on the work floor. They are not afraid to get their hands dirty and that is what makes them so valued in our industry.
This team is well attuned to each other and they are there for each other. It is a somewhat smaller team than at other locations, perhaps because of that also closer with a fun and open mentality. This was evident in their positioning and commitment. They had been cleaning up on their own time even before the 5S rollout. One of the mechanics has made a new layout for the workshop. He did this for his HBO associate degree training through our Bakker Academy. This was discussed with colleagues and carried out in this way. Super cool to see” says Jan Wout van Vuurst.
We believe in this method, then you just have to invest!
Bakker Bedrijfswagens' mission, vision and core values are in full development. The priority for this year is the implementation of the 5S structure in all their workshops and the optimal use of our app. The goal is a clean, tidy and safe working environment for their employees where they can enjoy working. “Unfortunately, there is a major shortage of technicians, so we are forced to embrace efficiency and innovation. This means that we help our technicians by optimizing their walking routes, among other things. But also to place tools close by and to ensure a tidy working environment. In this way we hope to enable them to help even more cars. Our staff shortage will not stop us, we are dealing with this in a smart way.”
Bakker Bedrijfswagens opened the Bakker Academy in 2018, a collaboration with HAN and aimed at an associate degree system specialist. Here they offer training to young people and their own employees. Which results in word of mouth and the growth of employees within their organization. Bakker Bedrijfswagens strives for the presence of an Improver at every location and department. Familiar with the LEAN philosophy to tackle waste and frustrations. Giving responsibility for implementing and managing improvements is important and also offers growth opportunities for employees.
User experiences of the 5S app
“The 5S-app has made our company more efficient thanks to its clear and user-friendly dashboard. Our employees find it easier to follow up on actions through insight into open, expired and over-date tasks. All branches have access to the app, which offers uniform methodologies instead of separate Excel sheets. We are still experimenting with the method. What's nice is that 5S-Company always thinks along! We use the app in a way that is different than originally intended. That is why it is so important to have a partner who thinks along with you and grows with you.
The app is suitable for any production environment, workshop or warehouse. More and more dealers and even our suppliers are interested in what our company is doing in terms of continuous improvement. This just proves how versatile our app is and how much value it can add to different companies.”
What future elements do you think you will add within the app? “In the future we would like to be able to work with checklists and audit lists. In addition, it would also be useful to add communication and announcements via a specific module within the app. This can contribute to better internal communication and connection between branches”. These points are already being taken up by 5S company and will be added to the 5S app this year.
Lean philosophy within Bakker Bedrijfswagens
“In my opinion, Lean is sometimes used incorrectly, with the aim of saving costs. It is precisely intended to learn to recognize and remove waste so that your work becomes easier and more fun. The fact that you save costs is a nice bonus, but certainly not a goal in itself. It is also intended to increase the quality of our services. This is of great importance to both us and our customers. We strive to ensure that vehicles entering our workshop receive the correct maintenance or repair work immediately. So that they have to stand still as little as possible and can keep driving as long as possible. Lean thinking and acting ensures, among other things, that you get a grip on your own working environment and stimulates ownership. Our people often know very well what can be improved. What could be better than letting them implement those improvements themselves.
A nice pleasant workplace that you can influence yourself gives positive energy and you radiate that. Customers also experience this and it gives them the feeling that their car is in safe hands with us. We want to stimulate the idea of continuous improvement in our employees so that they eventually become subconsciously competent in their work. They don't have to think about it anymore, but do it automatically. In other words, it has to be part of the Bakker DNA!”
Bakker Bedrijfswagens, thank you for your trust in 5S company and CI Company ! Are you curious about the next steps in this continuous improvement journey? Then keep an eye on us.
Meet Bakker Bedrijfswagens
Bakker Bedrijfswagens, a company with a rich history, started in the 1960s by Grandpa Bakker. Has grown into a leading supplier of commercial vehicles with 20 branches throughout the Northern, Central and Eastern Netherlands. With years of experience as a DAF dealer, Bakker Bedrijfswagens has been able to strengthen itself by taking over other dealer companies. As a result, Bakker Bedrijfswagens is now a powerful player in the market. With a team of 500 passionate employees who are ready to help you every day. Through sales, repair, maintenance, damage repair and rental of top brands such as DAF, GINAF, TATRA, IVECO Daily and Fiat Professional commercial vehicles.