Digitizing continuous improvement: here’s how Symbol tackles it

Based on that vision, among other things, we assist clients in developing and implementing an improvement strategy. And increasingly, continuous improvement and digitization go hand in hand.

Implementing a Lean or Six Sigma transformation

Mind you, Symbol is and will not be an IT company. We do help clients take their processes to the next generation, and increasingly we are using digital tools to do so. We do this consciously, because working digitally is efficient and effective and provides insight – sometimes even real-time. For example, we ourselves use Microsoft Power BI to visualize data from our databases. Among other things, our sales forecast is on a digital screen at our office for all to see. But Power BI – a tool we can also implement at your organization – is just one example. More and more techniques are coming on the market that allow organizations to make data insightful and analyze it. Bosch Rexroth’s interactive Active Cockpit, real-time process information with Power BI, and digital daily startups via Planner: all of these types of tools help you make a Lean or Six Sigma transformation within your organization faster or easier.

The biggest Lean game in the Netherlands

We ourselves have also developed a unique tool, namely the largest Lean game in the Netherlands that you can play at our Experience Center in Amersfoort. In the game, you must use data to make a fictitious factory run as logistically and financially efficient as possible. During the serious game you will learn by doing and experience step by step what you can achieve with your organization if you design processes Lean.

Industry 4.0 in our SMART Experience Center

In our SMART Experience Center, Industry 4.0 plays an important role – and we made a conscious decision to do so. Indeed, we see many organizations struggling with or hesitant to implement Industry 4.0, and we like to lead by example. This is why, among other things, we have equipped all workstations in the SMART Experience Center with digital instruction. Also, as a participant in the Lean game, you make use of various apps and software to generate real-time process data. For example, it gives you insight into waste in the process, such as long waiting times. It also visualizes the logistics and financial performance of the process on a large touch screen and uses Process Mining to visualize the logistical flow of products. If that’s not Industry 4.0….

LeanForms, software for digital forms

Furthermore, we recently started working with LeanForms: software that allows you to build digital forms, which you can then use to optimize business processes. No IT knowledge is required, making the software easy to implement in your organization. Indeed, LeanForms’ philosophy is that ICT should be supportive, not leading. The more user-friendly the software, the lower you can place responsibilities in the organization. Thus, with LeanForms, you can make continuous improvement a task for all employees – not just management.

One tool for grip and overview

LeanForms can be used for everything you currently record in Word or Excel, such as complaint registration, forms to record deviations or visitor registrations. By capturing this type of data digitally, you can collect metrics needed for a Lean or Six Sigma transformation much more quickly and easily. It also changes information exchange from push to pull, which speeds up and improves communication within the process. The registration is otherwise error-free and thus produces no waste. In addition, the graphs in LeanForms provide insight: in complaint registration, for example, you can see the number of internal complaints, the number of complaints about suppliers and the turnaround time for complaint handling. Symbol can then help you analyze all the data so you can actually improve processes.

A digital dashboard for the stand-up

Almost every organization currently uses a physical whiteboard for standup meetings around performance management and continuous improvement. A major disadvantage of a physical board is that the data is actually already obsolete by the time the stand-up takes place. Symbol supports companies to make a digital move here. For example, we can use LeanForms, Power-BI, Planner or with Bosch Rexroth’s Active cockpit to visualize all performance and improvement initiatives in real time. During the standup meetings, the root causes can be zoomed in directly and improvement actions can be assigned to the improvement teams.

Event: ‘Digitizing continuous improvement’

Are you curious about how Industry 4.0 can work within your organization and which digital tools are suitable for it? Then sign up for the “Digitizing Continuous Improvement” event co-hosted by Symbol, LeanForms and Bosch Rexroth on Thursday, June 30. Sign in? You can do so here.

Interested in sparring with us about Industry 4.0 within your organization? Then contact us at 053 – 20 30 240 or leave your details using the form below. Then we will contact you as soon as possible.