Working with Synchronous Solutions means working with a team of Synchronous Flow experts who have decades of experience driving continuous improvement across multiple business environments.
Your consultant and coach teams love putting theory to practice and achieving real world impact. They’ve done thousands of hours of training, reading and studying hundreds of books, plus have years of experience practicing Synchronous Flow and the continuous improvements methodologies that build from it (Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, TPS, JIT, etc.).
Here is a working list of the industries we have experience working in:
Cabinets and Countertops Shops
Custom cabinets and countertops for high-end kitchens and baths are unique processes requiring maximum flexibility of the manufacturing system. Every order is one-of-a-kind. From the detailed measurements for the exclusive home to the meticulous fabrication and superior installation of the final products, the business system must be designed to achieve exceptional quality and rapid completion of each individual customer order. Using the principles of Synchronous Flow, we have developed the manufacturing systems to accomplish these objectives. Cabinet and countertop fabricators have reported significant improvements in quality of processes, customer lead times, organizational communication and, ultimately, net profits of the business enterprise.
Collision Repair Shops
The big bears in the collision repair business are the insurance companies. They perceive a repair shop as a cost center, with good reason. One of the major parameters in a collision shop that promotes cost is time. The longer a vehicle is in repair, the higher the cost to the insurance company.Our Synchronous Flow process focuses on simplifying the flow process and in dramatically cutting vehicle time in the system. Our experience is that we can easily cut elapsed time for average size repairs by 50%. This can be done in two to three months and requires change that can be readily absorbed by the average shop.
If you’re willing to step outside ordinary repair shop operations, we have a model that can cut that elapsed time by an extreme amount. This model sets elapsed time for an average repair job to 3.5 days – that’s impressive. And, it’s very attractive to the insurance industry. However, this is a challenge and it requires risk taking and a high level of change leadership. If you’re interested, we can sit down with you and detail the steps – it’s quite an adventure.
Hospitals
The Harvard Business Review in 2007 stated: “Medical treatment has made astonishing advances over the years. But the packaging and delivery of the treatment are often inefficient, ineffective and customer unfriendly.” We couldn’t agree more. The healthcare industry is in crisis. While the demand for medical care is increasing along with the average age of the population, the inefficiencies and excessive costs of medical care are out of control. Synchronous Solutions has applied the concepts of Constraint Management, Lean and Six Sigma to the hospital system to achieve significant improvements in the quality medical care while dramatically improving the financial results of the business enterprise. We were able to reduce the non-clinical activities of the medical staff while increasing the time that clinicians spend with the patients. Nurses reported that their job satisfaction improved because they were able to spend more time dealing with patients and less time doing non-clinical and administrative activities. Improving the ability of the hospital to deliver quality medical care, enhancing the quality of life of the clinical staff and advancing the financial performance of the hospital system is a win-win-win scenario.
Manufacturing
The foundation of our knowledge, experiences and skills, we honed the Synchronous Flow process in manufacturing. We have first-hand, on-the-floor and in-the-boardroom experience in many diverse manufacturing bases. These include, but are not limited to:
- First, second and third-tier automotive
- Pharmaceuticals
- Forging
- Chemicals
- Fine woodworking, cabinetry and countertops
- Furniture
- Modular homes
- Apparel
Our firm belief is that manufacturing is the foundation of a strong economy. Our goal is to do everything possible to enable that foundation.
Mining
Our mining experience covers open-pit metal and non-metal operations. This includes pit development and operations; ore extraction, crushing, processing; and general repair maintenance. With a focus on flow and behaviors, we apply the Synchronous Flow process to stabilize the system. Then, we can reasonably apply our processes to a variety of system challenges, including:
- Business improvement strategies
- General repair
- Setup reduction
- Workplace design
The introduction of novel ideas to historic mining challenges will give you a competitive edge.
Not for Profits
Not-for-profit organizations require a different approach. An interesting thing is that all not-for-profits have to make a profit – else, they can’t thrive. Their market discipline is, typically, Customer Intimate. This requires an infrastructure that is intensely focused on the needs of their client base.
This is a very special world. Not-for-Profits deliver goods and services that are critical to unique constituencies. Our experience with them has given us the basis to understand that special world and the processes needed for them to thrive.
If you work in a not-for-profit organization and would like to discuss how our Synchronous Flow processes would apply, just get in touch. We’d be happy to sit down with you and talk.
Pharmaceuticals
Our work with pharmaceuticals typically encompasses:
- Manufacturing flow (including testing)
- Packaging strategies
- Distribution
There is a way to ensure quick response times for 50-count bottles of product on Tuesday and 25-count bottles on Wednesday. Controlled inventory operations coupled with quick-turn tactics are the key. The Synchronous Flow process we employ focuses on both.
Printing
Our focus with clients in the printing industry is, in this order:
- Process
- People and their behaviors
- Technology
There’s a lot of printing capacity out there. Many printing operations are run from basements, residential garages and are imbedded within other businesses as leased floor space. So, if you have a large printing operation and have to compete with this spread of capacity, exactly how do you make and keep yourself successful?
Our Synchronous Flow process is ideally suited for the printing industry. Speed and on-time delivery along with maintaining a controlled expense operation are the key process parameters we meet.
Tire Retreading
More than 70% of all over-the-road trucks use retreaded tires. A quality tire casing can be retreaded up to five times while maintaining the safety of the product. The retreading process is a classic manufacturing function involving the removal of the old tread and vulcanizing the new tread onto the existing tire casing. Synchronous Solutions has extensive experience in engineering this process to achieve much quicker inventory turns and much faster customer service. By focusing the process on a strategically selected control point, the process can be synchronized with dramatically reduced inventories in the manufacturing system. The result is a business system that can turn raw materials into finished products in a matter of hours, which always results in lower inventories, better customer service and improved company profits.
and much more…