CLAYLEAN™ LEAN AND OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE SERVICES
Stabilize the work. Fix the constraint. Build the operating rhythm
ClayLean helps manufacturing, warehouse, distribution, service, and operations teams reduce waste, improve flow, and create daily management habits that hold after the consultant leaves.
Choose the right starting point
Most teams do not need a longer improvement list. They need the right sequence: understand the system, focus the constraint, improve the work with the people who do it, then lock the new standard into the management rhythm.
Diagnose
Find the constraint, quantify the loss, and sequence the work.
Stabilize
Fix the flow, reduce variation, and create standards teams can follow.
Sustain
Build daily management, leader standard work, and escalation routines that keep the gains alive.
Diagnose and prioritize
Operational assessment
- Problem solved: too many symptoms, unclear priority.
- Best for: leaders who need a practical 30/60/90-day roadmap.
- Typical duration: 1-3 weeks depending on scope.
- Deliverables: constraint summary, waste map, prioritized actions, ownership plan.
- Metrics affected: throughput, labor productivity, quality, delivery, overtime, backlog.
- Proof: selected career work includes $7M annual savings delivered through productivity gains.
- Next step: book a 45-minute Constraint Review to define scope.
Value stream mapping
- Problem solved: leaders cannot see where time, inventory, or handoffs are being lost.
- Best for: manufacturing, warehouse, and service flows with recurring delays.
- Typical duration: 1-2 workshops plus prep and follow-up.
- Deliverables: current state, future state, gap list, implementation roadmap.
- Metrics affected: lead time, WIP, queue time, touch time, schedule adherence.
- Proof: selected career work includes throughput improvement from 550 to 950 UPH.
- Next step: align on the process family or flow to map.
Stabilize and improve the operation
Kaizen and focused improvement
- Problem solved: a visible operating problem needs momentum and cross-functional alignment.
- Best for: changeover, rework, flow, 5S, handoff, service, or warehouse execution problems.
- Typical duration: 2-5 event days plus preparation and sustainment.
- Deliverables: target condition, implemented improvements, standard work, owner plan.
- Metrics affected: output, quality, downtime, motion, changeover time, response time.
- Proof: selected case work shows safer work areas, clearer handoffs, and standardized changeover expectations.
- Next step: define the problem and target condition.
Warehouse flow and 5S
- Problem solved: inventory exists, but teams waste time finding, moving, staging, or trusting it.
- Best for: receiving, put-away, pick paths, replenishment, staging, dock congestion, and visual control.
- Typical duration: 2-6 weeks depending on area count.
- Deliverables: flow changes, location rules, visual controls, audit cadence, action tracker.
- Metrics affected: dock-to-stock, pick productivity, travel time, inventory accuracy, safety.
- Proof: selected career work includes 85% administrative waste reduction through process redesign.
- Next step: identify the area where flow is visibly breaking down.
Sustain through the management system
Daily management system
- Problem solved: issues are discovered late and escalated inconsistently.
- Best for: teams that need clear priorities, tier meetings, KPI boards, and action discipline.
- Typical duration: 4-8 weeks for design, launch, and coaching.
- Deliverables: meeting cadence, KPI board, escalation rules, action follow-up, coaching plan.
- Metrics affected: delivery, response time, schedule adherence, quality, engagement.
- Proof: selected career work includes 650+ employees trained in Lean and operations routines.
- Next step: choose the pilot team or department.
Leader standard work and coaching
- Problem solved: supervisors spend the day reacting instead of managing the system.
- Best for: frontline leaders who need repeatable routines for checking standards, removing barriers, and coaching problem solving.
- Typical duration: 4-12 weeks depending on leadership layers.
- Deliverables: leader routines, coaching cadence, escalation expectations, sustainment audits.
- Metrics affected: follow-through, accountability, standard adherence, issue response.
- Proof: selected work includes operating support through a 17-company integration and major expansion activity.
- Next step: define the leader layer and daily rhythm to stabilize.
How the service pieces fit together
- DMS: the execution rhythm for seeing work, surfacing problems, and following through.
- Leader Standard Work: the sustainment routine that keeps leaders connected to the standard.
- Coaching: the behavior change needed for supervisors and managers to use the system well.
- Fractional OpEx: temporary ownership when the organization needs senior improvement leadership without a full-time hire.
- Lean Operating System: the integrated system that connects standards, metrics, meetings, escalation, and problem solving.
Need help choosing the right starting point
A focused 45-minute Constraint Review can clarify the likely constraint, the right service path, and whether ClayLean is a fit.