Manufacturer takes on ‘lean enterprise’ methods

Edmonds Dental Prosthetics Inc. has begun an extensive improvement program with the help of Missouri Enterprise to become more efficient and productive.

The dental laboratory produces crowns, bridges, dentures, implants and other orthodontic devices and in December was named the 2005 Manufacturer of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

The “lean enterprise” improvement program includes staff training and hands-on implementation support to help Edmonds incorporate better operation techniques.

The program’s first phase introduced employees to lean enterprise principles, such as how to reduce processing time, increase productivity and product quality and make better use of lab space by improving organization and material flow through the facility.

The company now is in the program’s second phase and is developing value-stream maps – tools that create graphical representations of all the actions in the company’s operations. The maps look at workers’ actions that either add value to a product or use resources but add no value.

Edmonds also will create a future state map, which will be a guide for improving the company’s operations.

Based on all the maps created, Missouri Enterprise will help the Edmonds team examine and prioritize improvements and eliminate nonvalue-added activities.

Edmonds has branches in West Plains and Jefferson City, and employs more than 100 people.

Missouri Enterprise is a not-for-profit corporation that provides business and technical assistance to small- and medium-sized companies.