Lean Training and Implementation Pays Off in Big Results

Woodside Industries, a family-owned company located in Cavalier, North Dakota, is a quality oriented supplier of custom and standard box cabinets, desks, and commercial casework to fit out contractors and dealers projects in the central United States and Canada. Woodside's vision is, “The commitment and values of the Woodside Industries Company will allow us to provide our customers with the best experience in receiving quality products to supply their markets in a timely fashion to the satisfaction of the contractor and end user.”

Woodside Industries had previously implemented lean process improvement through Impact Dakota, part of the MEP National Network™. Leadership determined that Woodside Industries needed to look into additional training because the lean practices had been reduced over time from their original introduction through attrition and new hires of personnel. The processes in production had evolved to be less efficient and had introduced an increase in waste, rework and scrap. The increase in work-in-process in many areas had led to increases in cost and reduced production capacity. 

Woodside attended an Introduction to Lean webinar in the Fall of 2021 to get further information. In follow-up discussions from that session they expressed interest in additional on-site training. A tour of the facility, assessment of current practices, along with meetings with key people, led to identification of a road map which could help with the goal of continuously improving production and operations and creating a culture of continuous improvements based on lean principles that would continue after the training. Impact Dakota customized training materials and delivered lean training to 15 employees to help them further their abilities to improve production and operations utilizing lean tools and systems.