Lean development processes that Porsche Consulting successfully introduced to the software industry to bring new products faster and more reliably onto the market are now catching on in other sectors. HERMA, a leading specialist in self-adhesive technology based in Filderstadt, Baden-Württemberg, has joined forces with the Porsche Consulting management consultancy to introduce “agile management” methods in its Labelling Machines division. The development process for its new “HERMA basic” machine yielded product costs 15 percent below the expected level.
And not only that—the machine is also of higher quality and entered the market on schedule. This is not always a sure thing in the mechanical engineering sector, where the complexity of development projects can often lead to delays. “When development got underway, our ambitious cost targets and our plans for presenting the prototype at an upcoming trade fair were both at risk. And we also lacked sufficient internal transparency on how the development work was proceeding,” recalls HERMA Managing Director Sven Schneller. But his outlook has changed. “We are very satisfied with how this new approach will enable us to plan our product development work more reliably and solidly in the future. That’s why we’ll also be extending the principle of agile development to other projects in our Labelling Machines division.”
“Agile” refers to a development philosophy that boosts innovative power. It increases transparency and flexibility in order to bring products more rapidly onto the market. This is an important factor in securing a competitive edge. “The main idea is to keep sub-processes simple and flexible,” says Till Friedrich, a partner at Porsche Consulting. That is done in three areas: the product, the organization, and the people. “The product structure is specified with staggered innovations based on target dates and costs. Its modular character means that you can develop and test additional product parts without risk at any time.” The organization benefits from short, rapid interval times of three to four weeks. These brief stretches—also known as sprints—focus first on the essentials and only then turn to the extras. Employees work on small interdepartmental teams of ten members each. They take a “good enough” approach to producing results, jointly examine the progress of their work every day, discuss interim results with customers on a continuous basis, and incorporate any needed adjustments directly into the ongoing process. “Visual management based on precise indicators makes the progress of the development work transparent to everyone involved,” says Friedrich. It also enables a considerably faster response to any deviations from the plan.
Martin Kühl, who heads HERMA’s Labelling Machines division, confirms that “closer ties with our customers and among our departments have enabled us to go through the requisite development steps in a much more agile way. Thanks to the higher degree of interdepartmental work, we’ve also been shifting from ‘idea monopolies’ and ‘island solutions’ to more collaborative structures.” Comprehensive application of agile principles throughout the division has also enabled us to integrate the assembly process for the new machine in lean and efficient ways into our existing mixed line for other products. Both Schneller and Kühl are convinced that this too will have a positive effect on the bottom line at the end of the year.
