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June 1, 2009
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Representatives from E-Z-GO and Lycoming accept awards during the Shingo Prize 21st Annual Awards ceremony |
E-Z-GO President Kevin Holleran and Lycoming Senior Vice President and General Manager Ian Walsh accepted awards recently on behalf of their businesses during the Shingo Prize 21st Annual Awards ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.
E-Z-GO was the only – and the first-ever in history – recipient of the Shingo Prize at the Enterprise level; Lycoming received the Shingo Silver Medallion for Operational Excellence.
More than five years ago, Textron’s Chairman and CEO, Lewis Campbell set the Shingo Prize as a goal for all of the company’s businesses to achieve. This particular recognition has been referred to as “the Nobel Prize of manufacturing” by Business Week magazine and it has honored companies that achieve world-class performance using Lean operational concepts since 1988.
“Many people were skeptical when Lewis stood up several years ago and challenged Textron’s businesses to achieve Shingo Gold,” said Lynn Kelley, vice president of Textron Six Sigma and Quality.
“Lycoming and E-Z-GO did more than accomplish this goal – these businesses improved their results year-over-year and both became greater companies. The goal was never the Shingo Prize; the goal was to make the businesses better and to provide superior products for our customers.”
E-Z-GO’s Lean transformation has reached an unprecedented milestone – not just for the Augusta, Ga.-based manufacturer of light-transportation vehicles, but for any company in any industry.
E-Z-GO is the first company to receive the award at the enterprise level – meaning that E-Z-GO was recognized for world-class status at all of its geographic locations and across all business functions, including manufacturing, engineering, sales, finance, marketing, communications, supply chain management, information technology, and human resources.
“E-Z-GO’s employees were the key to our company’s accomplishment,” said Holleran. “The common thread across all of the years of our journey to Lean, and all of the progress that E-Z-GO has made, has been our people. I couldn’t be more proud of our employees for their dedication and devotion to achieving that goal and their tireless efforts on behalf of our customers.”
Since launching its Lean transformation five years ago in the face of diminishing business performance, E-Z-GO has seen tangible results. Incorporating Lean into its entire business has improved its financial performance and customer satisfaction and created a workforce that is engaged in everything they do. E-Z-GO has improved its operating profit by more than nine percent in the past five years and its return on invested capital by more than 13 percent.
Lycoming is the first Textron business to achieve Shingo status with the Shingo Silver Medallion. This win, combined with the recent 80th anniversary of manufacturing piston aircraft engines mark two very important milestones for the company.
“The Shingo Silver Medallion recognizes Lycoming’s impressive transformation into a lean, globally competitive manufacturer,” said Walsh. “Our transformation was made possible through the tremendous teamwork of every Lycoming employee.”
Beginning in 2005, Lycoming made a commitment to Lean principles, focusing on employee engagement, leadership and teamwork at all levels. The company was dealing with poor quality, supplier issues, and a lack of investment in its people, equipment and facilities. The challenge to improve quality, safety, delivery, teamwork and cost through Lean Six Sigma methodology provided the company with a mission – and the results were outstanding.
Lycoming saw a return in profitability and improved return on invested capital by 88 percent. The company enhanced safety by 30 percent and achieved the milestone of one million hours without a lost time injury twice in a row. Lycoming also improved quality, reduced defects by more than 90 percent and was recognized by Cessna as one of their “Top Suppliers,” in 2008.
Walsh validates how hard Lycoming has worked at transforming the company. “This award exemplifies what can be achieved when we relentlessly focus on continuous improvement. I am proud of our team and honored to be a part of Lycoming’s impressive transformation.”
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