Leveraging Lean at Dakota Storage Buildings


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Results

50% reduction in Work-In-Process

30% increase in revenue

$350,000 in cost savings

Testimonial

“We enjoyed working with MTS. Their ability to come in and look at our processes and find bottlenecks was outstanding. Keith’s ability to challenge our thinking and provide a different viewpoint on our process was great! 80% of our problems were in 20% of our processes.”

- Lenny Stahl, General Manager

    About

    Do you ever wish you had a custom-built shed in your backyard to house all your yard equipment and summer fun? Perhaps you have always wanted a Man Cave to watch the big game in or a custom-built cabin to place on the lake. Dakota Storage Buildings can make it happen. With locations in Sioux Falls, Madison, Brookings, and Milbank South Dakota, the family-owned company offers people the ability to order customizable quality sheds, kennels, garages, and chicken coops. The company has 25 employees wired to work hard and provide the best solution to meet your storage needs.

    Challenge

    As word spread, the demand for their storage buildings increased and the company was having a hard time keeping up with the influx of orders. Dakota Storage Buildings wanted an outside perspective to analyze its production process and systems to see if there was a better way to organize its operations and maximize their workforce.

    Solution

    MTS started by identifying the organization’s bottlenecks and problem areas with value stream mapping. The activity helped Dakota Storage Buildings visualize waste in their processes and gather critical information to improve their operations. They also did some project work with MTS to iron out other inefficiencies and position their company for growth. Employees attended training and the annual South Dakota Manufacturers’ Day Summit to learn more about continuous improvement and Lean strategies. By investing in the growth and development of its employees, Dakota Storage Buildings was able to gain support for adopting new processes and procedures. Any skepticism previously held quickly vanished when employees started seeing the results from their changes. Throughout working with MTS, Dakota Storage Buildings was able to increase its capacity and productivity. The company continues to leverage Lean and its employees to serve their customers quickly and efficiently.

    Results

    • 50% reduction in Work-In-Process
    • 30% increase in revenue
    • $350,000 in cost savings

    If you are interested in how MTS can help you get started on your continuous improvement journey, please contact us today.