The worldwide market leader in swimming pool equipment and supplies, Hayward Pool Products seemed an unlikely candidate for serious change. When we started their Lean journey together in 1999, they were growing at double-digit rates and earning more than any of their competitors. However, they were running out of space in their plants and were about to sign off on a new $8 million facility. We convinced Paul Adelberg, then Vice President of Manufacturing, to postpone the investment while he visited some of our clients.
“When I observed the transformation that took place, I immediately recognized opportunities beyond my expectations,” recalls Paul. “Our on-time delivery wasn’t the greatest. We were drowning in inventory. I saw an opportunity not just to improve quality and reduce labor cost but also to give customers what they wanted, when they wanted it.” The president and chairman were 100% behind him. Hayward moved quickly, immediately conducting Kaizen Breakthrough events in all four U.S. plants.
Observes Paul, “We’ve never had a Kaizen event where we didn’t achieve or exceed our goals. We accomplish in one week what would typically take months.” One result: so much space was recovered that the need for the new facility rapidly vanished. And one of the plants Hayward thought had reached capacity in1999 today produces four times the volume.
Operational Excellence is the first stage of TBM’s LeanSigma® Growth Strategy. Click here to see a scorecard of results Hayward achieved during this phase, through regular Kaizen Breakthrough events.
“Almost across the board, there isn’t anyone who participates in Kaizen programs who doesn’t end up being better for it, smarter, learning better techniques, learning to work smarter. I think there would be an uprising if we suggested going back to the way we did it before.”