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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Lean Together Leads to Culture Training and Culture Changes

With the help of: Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership

About

With roots back to 1901, Franklin Industries is a rail re-rolling mill, which means they re-roll used rails from the railroad and heat them to roll a wide variety of products such as highway sign posts and posts for agriculture fencing. Rail steel is a high-quality steel due to the exacting chemical and physical specifications under which the original railroad rail was produced.

The Challenge

Franklin Industries had implemented lean principals within the organization in the past but was challenged to maintain momentum for additional progress. They wanted to obtain increased benefits through lean activities to transform their company culture and create greater employee participation leading to improved financial performance.
Lean Together has helped our employees realize that working together as a whole group, and gathering multiple ideas from each other, makes us a stronger and more productive team. As a result, multiple new production records have been set.
— Debbie Neal, CFO

MEP's Role

The objective of Lean Together™ is to help companies create, develop, and sustain a culture of continuous improvement through a collaborative learning platform consisting of peer-to-peer assistance, professionally facilitated sessions, plant tours, and observation of onsite live team meetings- all focusing on concepts from the book 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers. Leadership at Franklin Industries, including their Operations Manager and CFO, participated in the Lean Together 9-month program from April 2017-December 2017 and used new insights to engage their employees. From the beginning of the program, they started making 2 second improvements creating many new efficiencies. The company also requested training, 2-Second Lean Overview and Changing the Culture of your Workplace, for employees not participating in Lean Together working group sessions. Four sessions of training were provided to approximately 15-18 mangers in each.
Created August 4, 2022