SALTO: Lean transformation for growth

Founded in 2000, SALTO is now a leading international name in technology solutions for access control and smart building management, with a presence in more than 100 countries and headquarters in Oiartzun (Gipuzkoa).

In 2019, a sharp rise in demand revealed that its manufacturing processes could no longer absorb the growth or meet the demanding quality standards of its electronic locks. That same year, with the support of ASENTA, SALTO embarked on a programme to transform its operations towards Operational Excellence.

The company’s starting point was the need to:

• • Gain space in an overcrowded factory to accommodate future growth
• • Reduce work-in-progress hours in the assembly cells
• • Make it easier to locate the components needed for production
• • Stabilise a weekly schedule subject to numerous changes
• • Systematise continuous improvement
• • Eliminate the one-day lag between manufacturing and shipping, during which finished products had to be stored

To this end, a phased transformation programme was designed, based on a Lean strategy, in which each project addressed the challenges that arose as the organisation grew, with the aim of moving towards a more efficient, flexible and sustainable model.

The solution drew on advanced Lean methodologie:

1. Pilot assembly cell with One Piece Flow, progressively rolled out to the rest of the factory
2. Kaizen daily management routines, based on facts and data and on structured problem solving
3. Pull system for daily planning to synchronise production with actual demand
4. Just-in-Time strategies with key local suppliers
5. Macro Layout to redesign the factory floor plan and bring coherence to internal logistics
6. Kaizen and Kata as an ongoing improvement practice, led by the people closest to the processes

The transformation has enabled SALTO to double its growth within the same facilities, consolidate a culture of continuous improvement and empower its teams, who are the ones who overcome obstacles and achieve the objectives. The company is now preparing to extend this experience to its supply chain, starting with its closest key suppliers.