Lean management coaching in new factory

Consulting and coaching services to initiate lean management activities

EMAG Taicang has been growing sustainably for years and is well positioned in the Chinese market. By the end of 2018, EMAG sold 270 machines and still expects to deliver a high volume of output over the next two to three years. In 2018, EMAG built a brand new factory in Taicang for commissioning and preliminary acceptance tests for customers who will be on site regularly. In order for a smooth and stable ramp up of the new factory to take place, UNITY was requested to provide consulting and coaching services to initiate lean management activities. Together with EMAG‘s lean team, UNITY consultants evaluated the maturity of EMAG‘s lean management and identified improvement potentials along the main business processes in order to avoid waste in the process and to ensure the highest level of quality for the machines. After initial lean basic training with management and the shop floor workers, UNITY achieved an awareness of the continuous improvement mindset in their daily work for the managers and employees of EMAG Taicang. 

In a later project phase, UNITY consultants supported and coached the EMAG lean team (“lean agents”) on the job and enabled them for future lean activities. After 4 months into the project phase, three fundamental lean projects were defined and executed: Introduction and pilot implementation of 5S (a lean manufacturing methodology), an initial design of the production system for EMAG Taicang and a lean roadmap, and process management introduction. At the end of project, EMAG lean agents continued with lean implementation such as the 5S rollout, providing lean training and establishing a lean committee on the management level.

Successful coaching and support of lean agents

Defined and executed 3 fundamental lean projects

5S implementation in a pilot area of 500 sqm

“I strongly believe lean management can set the foundation for good business performance in a dynamic market environment as in China. The UNITY team successfully motivated our lean agents and our management team to identify improvement potentials and develop an implementation plan. We are very pleased to see that all of the initiated actions are being managed by lean agents now and that all of our employees are participating in them.”

Markus Clement

Managing Director

EMAG Taicang

Your Contacts

Ingo Neumann

Managing Director UNITY China, Team Leader

Peking, China
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