auxiell | Case History Marcolin Covering

Industry

Manufacture of transport covers and event tent covers

Headquarters

Pordenone, Italy

Marcolin Covering faced a twofold challenge: redesigning the layout and, more broadly, improving production performance. The significant increase in sales volumes in 2019 led to extended lead times for deliveries and shipments. It was therefore necessary for the company to take action to realign with the timelines required by the market. The purchase of a second production plant and the need to define its layout created additional stress and internal conflicts between departments. This situation was further complicated by the imminent arrival of a major machine, which had to be placed in its final position within a month. This need led to the first contact with the auxiell team: first, the processes had to be designed, and then the layout was defined. Once the new layout was correctly implemented on schedule, lead time was halved from 10 to 5 working days, and punctuality improved by 19%.

Building on the success in Delivery, the focus then shifted to Demand, with an emphasis on engineering and standardising the sales process to make it measurable, controllable, and more efficient. The objective was to increase its effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability to support the company’s growth.

In Development, efforts were directed towards accelerating product development to meet market speed requirements and maximise the impact of innovations.

Despite individual optimisation of the Delivery, Demand, and Development macro-processes, there was still a lack of overall alignment – three high-performing ‘engines’ that were not yet fully integrated. The Deployment phase completed the lean transformation, aligning processes with the company strategy and fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement across all levels of the organisation.

Performance Achieved

Production lead time

on-time delivery

incomplete orders
(without extra shipments)

turnover in 6 years

Federica Sartor

CEO - Marcolin Covering

Genes Della Libera

Delivery Manager - Marcolin Covering

Massimiliano Colussi

Development Manager - Marcolin Covering

Alessio Giusti

Demand Manager - Marcolin Covering

Marcolin Covering was founded in 1968 in Pordenone, where it is still located today with three production plants. It specialises in the processing of PVC, a technical fabric that can be used to make a wide range of products. Over the years, it has also added in-house production of mechanical components to create increasingly complex products.

In 2019, the company undertook the transformation of its processes with a focus on lean and agile management, achieving significant results in terms of reduced delivery times, costs, and improved quality. The project involved all the company’s collaborators, placing the company's values at the centre of the processes.

The Research and Development process has enabled the company to be the leader in the industrial vehicle cover sector today, in terms of product and process innovation, with a series of patents active throughout Europe. The company’s core business is the design, sale, and installation of transport covers for the European market. Another important sector is the rental and sale of modular tensile structures and accessories for public and private events, logistics, industry, and sport.

Employees

Turnover (2023)

EBITDA (2023)

Delivery

Demand

Following this, we shifted the focus to the Demand macro-process, which involves sales and demand management. Specifically, we refined the sales process to enhance efficiency and optimise the previously freed-up production capacity. Additionally, the project aimed to gather customer needs and transfer key insights to the R&D team to develop products that effectively meet their requirements.

Development

Deployment

SCAN

Lean Gap Analysis® in Delivery

To analyse the current state of the processes, the auxiell-Marcolin team carried out a Lean Gap Analysis®. In this initial phase, the team worked to ‘capture’ the current state of the production – from the moment the order is received to the shipment of the product to the customer.

Lean Gap Analysis®

An essential phase for measuring and analyzing current processes and defining the gaps between the current state and the desired one. In this first phase, we “photograph” the current state of the processes in terms of quantifying waste, identifying any problems and opportunities for improvement, as well as timing all phases. Having a clear vision of the process performance is necessary to identify the most correct countermeasures aimed at removing the root cause of the problem and designing, with a view to the future, the activities to be done – and which KPIs to measure – to make it more efficient.

Identified gaps

High effort required to manage and plan the activities of individual departments

The production process was initially managed on a departmental basis. Department heads invested significant time coordinating activities, assigning tasks, and focusing only on the efficiency of individual process phases.

Excessive material movement between phases

The departmental structure of the production process required frequent material transport between phases.

Insufficient warehouse space

Overproduction of semi-finished products led to excess stock and occupied potentially reusable space.

Overproduction in anticipation of unexpected machinery maintenance

Machinery breakdowns and malfunctions disrupted production flow. These disruptions were compensated for through overproduction and stockpiling.

Frequent rescheduling due to urgent requests

Despite differing delivery time requirements, all orders were handled the same way, causing urgent requests and production delays.

PLAN

Lean RoadMap® in Delivery

Once the gaps had been identified through the Lean Gap Analysis®, we moved on to the next phase, namely PLAN. Using the Lean RoadMap®, we defined the sequence of implementing the most suitable lean techniques to achieve the objectives agreed upon with the Marcolin Covering team. The Lean RoadMap® outlines the techniques and methods applied throughout the project

Lean RoadMap®

Phase in which the future state of the process analyzed in a multi-scenario perspective is designed. Once the most correct scenario from a technical-economic point of view has been chosen, we move on to planning the path to take to achieve it. The Lean RoadMap® shows the activities on which to focus and the timeframes in which to complete them.

The path forward

Lean layout

To design the best possible layout – both macro and micro – from a multi-scenario perspective, considering the requirements and constraints of the new plant. In this phase, it was essential to involve the team in defining the various possible scenarios. The best choice was made through an objective evaluation of the musts and wants, thus removing subjectivity and conflicts.

Lean project management

A technique applied to support the team in implementing the new layout.

5S

To involve the team, promote a culture of order, and transfer the necessary materials to the new plant, starting it up with the new standards. This technique was applied in both the new and old plants, including the offices. The entire Marcolin Covering team – both managers and operators – participated in the activity.

SMED

To reduce set-up times in phases that generated overproduction by linking them together and creating a continuous process flow.

Pull system

To connect the phases of the process in FIFO mode where possible and implement Kanban logic between internal phases, also linking them to external phases in relation to suppliers.

DO

Delivery Overall Transformation

Which lean activities and techniques enabled us to achieve our goal?

Lean layout

The detailed layout of the individual workstations was designed and implemented with the involvement of the team.

Lean project management

The layout of the new plant was designed using project management guided by lean principles, a necessary technique for effectively managing unforeseen events and decisions related to the details of implementation. The process redesign then led to its sizing: each area was sized based on expected production volumes and the connection between the phases. To better visualise it, the new layout was initially positioned on a greenfield site and then integrated into the new building, taking architectural and logistical constraints into account. Among the various scenarios that emerged, the optimal one was selected based on objective considerations.

5S

The Marcolin team – consisting of operators and managers – responded with engagement and enthusiasm to the activities applying the 5S technique to organise and clean the workspaces in both the offices and the new and old plants.

The training sessions on the technique involved the team in lectures and experiential games. Thanks to their participation in the 5S application activities, the management and directors were able to experience firsthand the challenges and critical issues of the operational team, gaining a thorough understanding of them.

SMED

A tooling technique applied to centres with long set-up times that created obstacles to the flow of operations. In addition to analysing and redesigning the set-up times, considerable work was done to simplify operators’ tasks, making them less tiring, and to eliminate the variables that made the set-up unstable.

Pull system

By reorganising the process from a pull perspective, the downstream phase ‘signals’ to the upstream phase what and how much to supply – specifically for the assembly phase.

Skills and growth plans

The evaluation and growth metrics for individuals were redefined to align personal growth in terms of skills, capabilities, and values with the company’s improvement. To foster growth, it is essential for individuals to be multifunctional, possessing the knowledge and skills to take on different roles.

CHECK

Have we achieved our goals?

The company successfully positioned the new layout within the agreed time frame.

Lead time was significantly reduced – from 10 working days to 5 days – and punctuality improved from 80% to 99%.

The management team’s awareness of how to handle problems has increased.

Management tasks by coordinators have been simplified, freeing up capacity for continuous improvement activities.

Measurement systems have been implemented to stabilise and monitor processes.

From Delivery to Demand

Following the activities carried out and the high level of engagement seen in the various projects, management independently launched several initiatives to improve processes, applying what they had learned from their experiences with the auxiell team.

SCAN

Lean Gap Analysis® in Demand

To analyse the current state of the processes, the auxiell-Marcolin Covering team carried out a Lean Gap Analysis®. In this initial phase, the team worked to ‘capture’ the current state of the sales process, involving the entire sales force and the complete product range.