How We Do It

1) Align

What: Cambian's first step is always to understand exactly what the goal is and to ensure absolute clarity on what the needs and expectations are.

How: After you reach out to us, we will expediently get back to you to set up a time for a preliminary conversation to explore status, goals, and expectations. This discussion can be in person or virtual- whatever you're most comfortable with.

Why: Most companies, at some point along their journey to excellence, set goals. Sometimes these goals take the form of Key Process Indicator (KPI) targets. Some organizations provide commission for their sales team based on some sales metric or other. One metric sometimes employed, for example, is units sold. If a salesman makes more money based on units sold, guess what action he will take. Guess what incentivizes him. What happens if every unit sold is sold at a price that generates a loss for the company? The salesman makes a lot of money right up until the business goes bankrupt. What happens if the salesman sells thousands of units that production doesn't have the equipment to make? What happens if the salesman commits to selling 1000 units within 6 weeks, but production can only make 10 per week? These scenarios all seem comically exaggerated, but they play out in businesses both small and large around the world every day.

We can help you make sure that the outcomes you expect are the outcomes you get.

3) Act

What: With a clear goal, an understanding of what it takes to get there, and the knowledge that the goal is worthwhile, we will execute of the required steps to achieve the desired outcome.

How: There is an entire spectrum of possibilities here. If, for example, you're seeking help managing the General Contractor on your behalf for the full span of a 2-year construction project, we may allocate one dedicated individual for 20 hours per week for the full two years. As another example, if you're looking to design, build, and commission a brand new quality lab then hire the team, establish the processes, train the team, and then hand over the keys, we may dedicate a team of full-time employees for 6 months. If your supplier isn't performing and you wish there was an alternative, we can create a full-time manufacturing presence to meet that need. If you desire, we can set up the plan, make sure everyone is trained to it, and then have a daily 1-hour status update call to verify the project is moving forward as desired. Though it isn't our preference, if you want to take the plan and execute it with your team, and meet with us monthly to ensure everything is moving forward as expected and get help with any surprises along the way, we can make that work too. Ultimately we will help you get to the finish line no matter what- you get to decide where the finish line is.

Why: This is the step that really makes the difference. Every professional baseball player knows that their job when they step up to the plate is to hit the ball. Their mission is clear. They're the best trained in the world. There are direct financial consequences to them personally and professionally if they fail. And yet they will succeed less than half the time. There is a pitcher standing 60 feet away whose job is to make sure they fail.

But that batter isn't completely alone. He has family who has supported and loved him. He has friends in the stands cheering him on. He has the equipment that he knows and relies on to help him do his job and protect him no matter what happens up there. He has a team cheering him on and that has practiced with him over and over. He has coaches who have trained, drilled, mentored, and held him accountable. As of 2022, he could even have a designated hitter if the circumstances call for it.

Cambian may not be able to pull off a blood-relation, but for anything else, we can help. Up to and including stepping into the box for you if the circumstances call for it.

2) Analyze

What: With the goal clearly defined, the next step is to thoroughly understand what factors contribute to the attainment of that goal.

How: At this stage, we will come on site, meet your team, and evaluate your data including an analysis of the integrity of the data. We will bring in technical experts as needed, establish baselines, and start laying out a plan of attack. Once the approach is drafted, we will review with you and your team (ensuring alignment!) and adapt as needed.

Why: One company decided that their goal was to increase one of their products' throughput. They reviewed their input parameters and found that some of them, like line speed, were far below some other products that they ran. So they cranked the speed up. They then proceeded to scrap every part they ran for the next two hours. That part had a historical scrap rate of 15% and they ran it about once every three months for two hours. Ultimately they were able to get it running 5% faster, but it took three sessions of 100% scrap to get there. With the material they scrapped out, we calculated it would take over 20 years to recognize any financial gains from their throughput improvement.

Another company was attempting to improve their scrap rate for a specific product. They dedicated a team of engineers to studying the next several runs, dissecting the scrap to understand how it was produced and how they could prevent it. They did structural analyses, ran simulations, and performed trial runs to verify their hypotheses. By the time all was said and done, they had spent about $150,000 to reduce the scrap. And they did so successfully! The only problem was that it was forecasted to save $3000 per year and their learnings weren't applicable to any other products. Their customer went out of business the following year.

We can help you make sure that the outcomes you want are worth it.

Our Approach

If improvement is the goal, change is the requirement. After all, if you always do what you always did then you'll always get what you always got. But if it isn't broken, don't fix it… right? Just one problem: the world is always changing, and the speed at which it does so is constantly increasing. VHS rental stores were extremely successful and ubiquitous. They didn't need to be fixed because they weren't broken. Until they were. They didn't change, but the rest of the world was changing around them and they were left behind. New competition was born that took advantage of technological innovations that the world was embracing, and now those stores are relics of a bygone era.

Although there are countless examples of unrecognized existential threats, the stakes don't have to be quite that high to make action worthwhile. Nobody likes to leave money on the table. If you could buy an identical product from supplier B at a lower cost and with better customer service than supplier A, why wouldn't you? Perhaps you didn't know about supplier B. Perhaps you were afraid to change because something might go wrong. After all, it isn't broken. Perhaps your Quality Management System is good enough. Your people are trained well enough. Your digital tools are advanced enough. Your processes are robust enough. But if they were better, would you be more profitable? You know your business. It's a perpetual challenge staying up to date on the technical, commercial, financial, and logistical requirements of running your business, but you do it. Unfortunately, that doesn't always leave a lot of bandwidth for all the other things you want to do. We can help.

Cambian means change.

Sometimes that means bringing innovation- teams are usually experts in their specific field, but they aren't necessarily experts in global manufacturing best practices or emerging digital tools and systems.

Sometimes that means analyzing which changes will be the most significant- you want to focus your time, money, and energy into the projects that will have the greatest impact.

Sometimes that just means making things happen. Everybody has ideas and opinions, but those don't solve problems. There is no shortage of people who would gladly offer advice. At Cambian, we're all about execution. We get things done, and we help drive others by leading from the front-lines. We don't just recommend solutions, we implement them.

We've all been stuck in traffic staring at orange cones, watching people content to talk about the problem, to stare at the problem, to think about the problem, and to complain about the problem. Unfortunately, sometimes even extremely competent and well-meaning teams fall into the same trap. But if you're looking to get out of it quickly or just make sure you avoid it, we can help. At Cambian, we only have one philosophy about problems:

Cambian solves.