Companies belonging to general galvanizing are increasingly struggling with a global market, despite their local or regional appearance. Metallic materials are produced in multiple parts of the planet. In fact, and despite the fact that the sector itself boasts the traditional nature of its process (it is true that in 150 years it has barely evolved), the risks from competing coatings are increasingly massive: ask Spanish and Europeans galvanizers for the headaches caused by Arcelor’s Magnelis.

But while this scenario prevails, is there anything that can be done to strengthen the current status quo of the galvanizing plants? The answer is: of course. In fact, outstanding companies in the sector are those that have correctly understood the approaches to business growth and applied professional management to their business.

Within this approach we propose Lean Six Sigma projects as a way to change the production philosophy. Lean Manufacturing was born from the Just in Time production system developed by Toyota in the 50s of the 20th century. It was a set of tools or techniques that allowed materials and products to be manufactured at the right time and with a total guarantee of quality. But the key resides in the necessary elimination of everything that does not offer or add any added value to a company. Six Sigma was born at Motorola in the 1980s as a scientific process improvement methodology consisting of reducing the variability of manufacturing processes and eliminating the defects.

Lean Six Sigma is a philosophy supported by the knowledge, experience and know-how of the workers themselves who are in direct contact with the processes of the galvanizing plant. The key question that many of our clients ask themselves is whether, through Lean Galvanizing, they will quickly become more competitive, more efficient and have a greater market share. The answer is … yes, but whether it takes more or less time usually does not depend on us, but on themselves.

Lean Galvanizing is not about ordering, nor about squeezing people, nor about reducing reduce labor, or attend eternal training talks. What it does is introducing a productive philosophy based on proven methodologies and techniques, on measurements and informed decisions, and, in this specific case, sufficiently tested in the sector. Of course there is training, but it is very practical and always focused on the reality of the plant in which we work. The results come alone: less downtime, less inventory, a more robust production system, more quality, more operational flexibility, better materials and of information. More profit, in sum.