A slow, unpredictable path from idea to product.
More products, faster, with the competence at hand.
An American machinery manufacturer, founded in the 1940s and making equipment for cable and pipe installation, came to SAM needing to develop its products more efficiently. Market demand for new and updated products had risen sharply.
To compete, the company had to lift R&D productivity and cut development lead time, but it did not have enough competence in house to do that on its own.
We clarified the flow, then coached it daily.
We worked across two product segments, one technically advanced and one heavily customised. With the teams we defined and clarified the organisational interfaces and the development flow, made status and needs visible, and put the focus on handling deviations in real time, alongside clearer leadership and communication.
This was embedded work: we were on site every day, implementing, supporting and coaching individuals at every level of the development process.
Shorter lead times and more capacity, with quality up.
Development lead time fell by 10 to 20 percent and production lead time for prototypes by 15 percent, while fixture-built capacity rose by 20 percent. Total test hours dropped by 25 percent for only a 3 percent increase in man-hours. Departments cooperated better and product quality improved.
