Knauf Insulation Uses Lean Six Sigma To Improve Energy Efficiency of Customers

To get started on their LSS journey Knauf turned to Exactus, a Chicago-based executive consulting group. Chris Lawson and Pedro Menendez, both longtime executives in the building products industry, were chosen to lead the effort. They reached out to TMAC and began discussions with Russ Aikman and Alberto Yanez on the next steps. Chris and Pedro commenced work in the fall of 2018 through a series of formal assessments at each Knauf plant. They met with the management team, identified potential projects, and helped select candidates for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training. Next, the TMAC and Exactus teams worked closely with Knauf management to prepare a formal plan for the deployment of Lean Six Sigma. The plan combined best practices learned from over 20 years of implementing Continuous Improvement programs. First, the Knauf management team wanted to learn more about LSS. This was accomplished with a Champion & Sponsor Workshop which TMAC delivered in February 2019. Parallel to this effort, Chris and Pedro worked closely with Mike Bonte (Director of Manufacturing Systems – Corporate), to finalize the candidates for LSS Black Belt and Green Belt training. They also chose projects for each belt at their respective facilities. Around this time Knauf hired Roldan Vazquez (Sr. Manager, Continuous Improvement), to lead the Continuous Improvement Program. The group agreed on a plan to begin training in the Spring of 2019. Before each class, TMAC delivered a pre-class kickoff session to provide an overview of Lean Six Sigma. In the following week, TMAC and Exactus provided 1-on-1 project coaching for each belt candidate and their project sponsor. The first wave of Black Belts began their training in April and ended in July of 2019. Russ and Alberto were the TMAC instructors. The first group of Green Belts, taught by Diana Martinez and Alberto, had training in August and October of that year. After each class was completed, the belts participated in ongoing project coaching on a regular schedule (every three weeks), with one coach from TMAC and one from Exactus. Project work and coaching continued throughout 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Project teams were able to continue meeting and to solve problems at each Knauf facility. The next wave of Black Belt and Green Belt training is planned for Spring 2021. These classes will expand the LSS Program outside Manufacturing into Supply Chain and other functional areas including Finance, IT, Sales, R&D and Marketing.