The DuPont Performance Services team provided the first two courses in a series related to Lean Thinking & Continuous Improvement for Toyota Dealership Collision Repair Shops, Southeast Toyota Distributors Port Processing Facilities and Southeast Toyota Consultants.

The courses were facilitated by DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) Lean experts: John Sweigart, who owns and operates a multi-shop organization (MSO) which has fully implemented the lean / pull production principles; Ron Kuehn, an industry leading process consultant; and the three local DuPont business development managers, who also have extensive repair center consulting experience.

The curriculum during the “Production Management: Pre-Lean” portion of the program focused on process improvements which can be implemented prior to, and during, a full lean implementation project. The pre-lean portion of the course focused on topics such as refined blueprinting / repair planning, improved parts management and proactive communication systems. Students left with numerous best practices, an assessment of their current process and an action plan to implement the desired improvements.

The second portion of the series featured the “Lean Foundations” course. This highly interactive course featured a real-world exercise where repairers applied lean thinking to solve cycle time and customer service index (CSI) problems in a repair center. Content reviewed all of the major lean principles, with a focus on voice of the customer, 5S, quality standards, work standards, flowing work and pull production. Finally, attendees were treated to a tour of the Toyota Center (where DPC products are utilized) which has all of the principles in place that were reviewed during the course.

“Our Toyota Collision Centers really appreciated DuPont Performance Coatings practical and easy to implement approach to process improvement,” said Spence Price, regional Consultant – Southeast Toyota. When asked about the local approach taken, George Hogan, DPC business development manager stated, “Collision Centers are becoming very focused on achieving continuous improvement; it is truly a win-win to offer our customers this training. The more we work as a team to solve common problems, the better we can solve the day-to-day challenges!”

Access the most current nationwide DPS course schedule, or to learn more about DPS, contact your local DPC jobber, DPC representative or visit www.dupont.com.