Value Stream Mapping Helps Lund Boats Increase Quality
Our Client
Recognized as a premium brand in the marine industry, New York Mills, MN-based Lund Boats manufactures aluminum fishing boats, runabouts, and inboard-outboard boats. The company has been in business since 1948.
In 2004, Lund Boats was purchased by Brunswick Corporation. Brunswick is a Fortune 500 company operating in the marine, fitness, and recreation industries. With 432 employees, Lund is the largest employer in New York Mills, which has a population of 1,150.
Lund Boats has a strong reputation for producing high quality boats and being dedicated to providing the ultimate fishing experience for its customers. In 2006, Lund was recognized for its high achievement in the Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index.
Our client’s problem
The marine industry is cyclical in nature and is currently experiencing a decline in market size. Recently Lund closed a second production plant in Manitoba to reduce costs, moving all production to Minnesota.
In order to remain competitive and profitable at lower production levels, Lund has undertaken several lean manufacturing initiatives. The purpose is to:
- improve processes
- reduce production costs
- increase Lund’s reputation as a high quality boat producer in its industry
For instance, while the company built its business on aluminum boats, it recently added a fiberglass line of products to compliment its offerings.
The biggest problem is Lund boats are built to order by dealers and boat building is labor intensive. To help them maintain profitability, Lund sought the assistance of Enterprise Minnesota to train workers in value-stream mapping and help them identify potential areas of improvement.
Enterprise Minnesota’s Solution? Value Stream Mapping
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 The consensus here is that value-stream mapping was a very useful exercise and a great communication tool. We definitely got our money’s worth.
-- Jake Wallgren
Continuous Process
Improvement Engineer
Lund Boats |
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Enterprise Minnesota provided a two-day training in value-stream mapping to 35 Lund employees. After learning the process, Lund employees created value-stream maps of all of the manufacturing areas in the plant.
The value-stream maps showed several points in the production process where significant improvements could be made. For instance, employees found that on average two boats sat between each of the 5 work stations in the production line. This extra inventory represented under-utilized value.
Lund Boats' Results
Since the training, workers have conducted several quality improvement projects. “One project in the assembly area will result in a $46,000 annual savings,” says Jake Wallgren, continuous process improvement engineer.
A value-stream map of the fabrication area showed that more parts than would typically be used in a day were often on the floor, but not in use. A rearrangement of the area has reduced the inventory.
Wallgren also notes that the value-stream mapping process improved communications among workers. “The best thing was the hands-on nature of the process,” says Wallgren. “When we got out the sheets of paper and began to make the map ourselves we could see the areas for improvement.”
In addition to the two projects completed already, several others are in the works.