Lean Electrical Controls - What does this mean to an ABB Rep and their customers?

Lean is not just a buzzword in manufacturing today, it is how many manufacturers are staying competitive in this global marketplace. It is all about staying competitive by focusing on what is important:

• Determine what the customer is willing to pay for … this is value
• Identify the processes required to provide value … this is the value stream
• Physically arrange the required resources in a “flow”
• Implement “pull systems”
• Eliminate waste from the flow

To learn more about lean we would suggest you read Jim Womack's book, Lean Thinking. This was one of the original bibles on the concept of lean and is still used widely today. It will significantly help you understand the challenges of the market and see how you can help.

The concept of Lean Electrical Controls is about your ability to help your customers focus on the right things in their electrical control system to lower their overall costs of controls. The whitepaper, which you can download by clicking on the icon to the right, goes into the key areas manufacturers must consider to lower their costs and focus on the customer.

• Lean Operations
• Lean Supply Chain
• Lean Design

By having a conversation about each of these items and working with the customer to streamline each area, you can show your value without having to drop your price.

This story is also a great way to meet key players in the organization. Many times a Puchasing agent or Low Level Electrical Engineer is not going to care about Lean. But a production manager or Engineering Manager should be very interested in how you can lower his overall costs of controls.