SUPPLY CHAIN
Sustainable productivity enhancement
Of course , to have enjoyed such longevity – surviving both world wars , which saw Denmark cut off and occupied – there are many factors behind FLSmidth ’ s success . “ We actually have the expertise of all the different technologies that goes from when you get the limestone in a cement plant , to actually have the final cement in a bag ,” Grubbe advises . “ The same goes on the mining side .”
Such expertise helps FLSmidth drive efficiencies for its clients . The company wants to be the productivity provider number one , not only for its customers , but also internally . “ We drive success through sustainable productivity enhancement ,” states Grubbe . “ We drive success for our customers by helping them improve their productivity , but we also drive success internally by improving our own internal productivity in our processes , ways of working , new tools and better visibility .”
Improving the flow
In response to this , the company has launched several programmes to help drive productivity . “ The latest initiative I ’ ve started is what I call FLSmidth Production System . This is a programme focusing on our own internal factories that are producing parts , either for cement plants or mine sites . That programme is a tailormade program for FLSmidth , where I have taken the best from the Lean world , the Six Sigma world , and then I added that into a theory of constraints philosophy ,” Grubbe advises .
“ What is important in our industry is that we can deliver fast and with high reliability . The flow is important , because the faster we can deliver , the faster our customers can make money , and the faster we can deliver them spare parts . Of course , the downtime is also reduced . Speed is very critical in our business .” FLSmidth is focusing on reducing lead time and enabling us to always deliver on time . “ When we know the bottleneck , we can improve the bottleneck ,” Grubbe continues . “ We can improve the flow and an added
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