M.C. Dean recently hosted a four-day CEO Kaizen Event at our Modular Mission CriticalTM (MMC) facility. Kaizen events are an element of the business philosophy commonly referred to as lean manufacturing, modeled after the Toyota Production System, which aims to improve customer service, quality, and productivity by systematically attacking waste in our processes. During the CEO event, leadership and frontline employees evaluated three key areas within the extended overhead pathway value stream: design simplification/standardization, bend/kit, and assembly/pack. A diverse team, including employees closest to the work as well as those who offer a fresh perspective, worked together to identify problems in work and root cause issues, and implement countermeasures.
“M.C. Dean can benefit greatly from the way companies like Toyota design, execute, and manage work to achieve higher quality, productivity, and on-time delivery,” said Al Mason, M.C. Dean’s new executive vice president for continuous improvement who led last week’s Kaizen event. “Our initial focus for improvement will be on modular delivery, with plans to expand downstream to job sites and upstream into engineering once we establish a solid foundation at MMC.”
Mason joined M.C. Dean early this year to drive lean transformation across M.C. Dean, starting with our manufacturing processes at MMC. He brings to M.C. Dean 35 years of experience leading transformational change across manufacturing, product development, and office operations at multi-national, multi-billion-dollar corporations, such as Altra Industrial Motion and Goodrich Corporation. Mason earned a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from N.C. State and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University.
“Al is an exciting and strategic hire for M.C. Dean, as he brings deep expertise in operational improvement, including Kaizen business philosophies that will impact corporate and individual efficiencies,” said Bill Dean, M.C. Dean chief executive officer. “His work will help us address our large project backlog for modular delivery and ensure we continue to exceed customer expectations. Long term, he will play a critical role in improving M.C. Dean’s overall operational excellence.”
The improvement efforts at MMC have already yielded significant results, doubling the productivity of our underground assemblies. A report out from the CEO Kaizen Event will be shared in the coming weeks, along with a calendar of future events aimed at further enhancing modular product manufacturing.
Learn more about Kaizen and lean transformation here.
M.C. Dean is Building Intelligence®. We design, build, operate, and maintain cyber-physical solutions for the nation’s most recognizable mission critical facilities, secure environments, complex infrastructure, and global enterprises. The company’s capabilities include electrical, electronic security, telecommunications, life safety, automation and controls, audio visual, and IT systems. M.C. Dean is headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, and employs more than 5,800 professionals who engineer and deploy automated, secure, and resilient power and technology systems; and deliver the management platforms essential for long-term system sustainability.
