Stan’s NoTubes
“You [Thomas Enderby] can take great satisfaction in the knowledge that the energy and ideas the team have are a direct result of the guidance and training you’ve provided through the year. I would very much like to have you stop in the shop in early December to review the changes we’ve implemented and see the improvements that you helped foster.”
— David Bassett, Vice President of Operations
RESULTS
As a result of the Value Stream Mapping Project, Stan’s NoTubes has improved their operations and increased their productivity to be more efficient.
The projects resulted in:
- Retained Jobs: 25
- Jobs Created: 2
- Increase in production capacity: 25%
- Increase in inventory turns: Up 25% with 2024 goal to increase another 20%
COMPANY
Stan’s NoTubes founded in 2001 and located in Horseheads, NY has 25 employees. They developed a method to replace inner tubes with a liquid sealant to repair punctures instantly. With the removal of the inner tube, off-road riders also gained increased traction, control, and comfort. Channeling knowledge accumulated from sealing conventional rims for tubeless use led the brand to develop its own line of rims and wheels explicitly designed for tubeless use. For over two decades, Stan’s NoTubes products have set entirely new performance standards while creating new product categories, redefining what others thought was possible.
SITUATION
Stan’s NoTubes wanted to maximize value and minimize waste to create a pipeline of continuous improvement activity within their organization. The areas their team wanted to focus on were Sales Order Entry to Work Order Creation for the Shop Floor and Warehouse Operations and Inventory Control.
SOLUTION
Stan’s NoTubes has encouraged and enabled their team to embrace continuous improvement methodologies. One way they have done this is by utilizing AMT’s Principal Consultant, Tom Enderby to assist with Value Stream Mapping (VSM) events in Sales Order Entry to Work Order Creation for the Shop Floor and Warehouse Operations and Inventory Control.
Each VSM event consisted of a cross-functional team, lasting 3-5 days, and included data collection, clear communication and collaboration, future state map, current state map, and value stream plan populated with improvement activities. The improvement activities were prioritized using an impact effort matrix.
Both VSM events were successful in the identification of waste, reducing of process cycle times, and the implementation of process improvements. Additionally, these VSM efforts helped to create a pipeline of continuous improvement activity within Stan’s NoTubes organization, while also showing personnel how to see their operations from a value stream perspective.
