Context: the client wants to be prepared for the upcoming privatisation of the passenger transport market
The European market for passenger transport by rail should be entirely privatised by the early 2020s. In practice, this means that private companies will also be allowed to offer transport by rail on the entire Belgian railway network or at least on certain lines. This principle also applies to the maintenance and repair of the rolling stock.
In order to analyse and increase the performance level of the maintenance workshops, a team was created, consisting of 25 people from renowned consultancy agencies like Mc Kinsey, Accenture, Bain, PWC and Nova Reperta. It was their task to adjust the workplaces according to the Lean principles.
The Lean methodology is one of the most frequently used methods worldwide to increase the performance level of the operational processes of companies. The experience and expertise of Luc Janssens were also called upon for this large-scale project.
A Lean improvement project in 6-month waves
The number of people employed in a workshop may vary between a few hundred and more than 1000. The “smaller” workshops could be reorganised as a whole, whereas the adjustments to be made to the larger workshops had to take place in several phases. Each 6-month wave consisted of 3 phases: mapping the as-is situation, defining the to-be situation and finally the implementation of improvement actions to make the transition from as-is to to-be.
In addition, each phase was subdivided into 4 dimensions: the client's expectations, the management systems used, the operational processes and the organisational culture. This way of working made it possible to analyse and improve the overall functioning of the workshops.
Impressive improvement potential
The heart of workshop is the shop floor, where the train carriages are maintained or repaired: this is a process that can take a team of specialised technicians a few hours up to a few days to complete.
Some workshop also perform extensive revisions, implying a complete modernisation of a train carriage. This process takes thousands of working hours. We were soon able to demonstrate that a considerable improvement of the efficiency and productivity was possible by making use of lean production and management systems.
As is usually the case, improvements could only really be made by working simultaneously and transversally on all fronts: the quality of work instructions and maintenance methods, the production methods, the supply systems, planning and managing the activities, competency management, roles and responsibilities, coaching, leadership, etc.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the improvements, an extensive training programme was organised and the new working principles were integrated into the existing quality systems.
Customer satisfaction leads to more assignments
Although the Lean project and most of the consultancy assignments were completed within the set timing and budget, the client continued to call upon the services of Luc Janssens for consultancy and interim management assignments relating to maintenance methods for new high-speed trains, the improvement of the supply chain, the structuring of competence management, the start-up of senior management training in cooperation with Vlerick business school, the provision of Lean production training for engineers, the coaching of executives, the monitoring of complex construction projects and the required adjustments and the planning and monitoring of IT migration projects.
What clients appreciate
Luc Janssens has completed a large variety of assignments in many different sectors, which has enabled us to map trends and reasons why our clients always come back to call upon our services. It doesn't have anything to do with one particular core competency, but rather with a productive synergy of competencies that complement and reinforce each other:
- The quick gaining of insight in new situations presented to us;
- A very methodical, step-by-step and pragmatic approach;
- The availability of broad knowledge and experience in the field of business management;
- The ability to handle complex and sensitive matters, causing us to sometimes be asked to engage in important negotiations;
- The ability to alternate between zooming in on details and taking a step back to consider the overall picture.