CI Sustainment

USE CASE

CI Program Sustainment Software — Make Lean Improvements Last

EmpowerOps makes the standard non-negotiable — embedding Lean discipline into daily operations so that improvement gains persist beyond the kaizen event.

The Challenge

Every manufacturer has experienced it. A successful kaizen event produces measurable results — reduced changeover time, improved OEE, fewer defects. Within 90 days, performance drifts back toward baseline. The improvement was real. The sustainment system was not. The root cause is not a lack of Lean knowledge. It is a lack of daily management infrastructure. Standard work exists in binders that operators do not reference. LPAs are conducted sporadically or not at all. Tier meetings happen, but without structured escalation, issues raised on Monday are still unresolved on Friday. Corrective actions open and never close. McKinsey's research on Lean management found that 70% of continuous improvement programs fail to sustain their gains beyond 18 months (McKinsey, "The Lean Management Enterprise," 2014). The Lean Enterprise Institute's own studies indicate that standard work adherence in most plants averages 40-55% — meaning nearly half of documented best practices are not being followed on any given shift (LEI, 2019). This is not a training problem. It is a systems problem. CI programs sustain when the daily management system enforces adherence, surfaces deviation, and drives accountability. Without that system, every improvement event is temporary.

a cobblestone street in a small town

The Solution

Primary Product: EmpowerOps (DMS for Lean)

EmpowerOps provides the digital daily management system that CI programs require to sustain. Standard work is digitized and tracked — not stored in binders that collect dust. LPAs are scheduled, executed digitally with photographic evidence, and analyzed for trends. Tier meetings follow a structured cadence with automatic escalation of unresolved items. CAPA workflows enforce closure timelines with accountability at every level. The system creates a closed loop: standard is defined, adherence is measured, deviation is detected, corrective action is assigned, closure is verified. When this loop operates continuously, the gains from every kaizen event, every process improvement, every new SOP become permanent — because the system enforces the new standard with the same rigor as the old one.

Supporting Product: Manvis (Lean & Compliance)

Manvis extends sustainment visibility beyond task completion into physical compliance. AI vision verifies that 5S standards are maintained, visual management boards are current, and safety protocols are followed — providing objective, timestamped evidence that standards are holding on the floor, not just in the system.

Supporting Service: Lean & CI Turnaround

For plants where CI momentum has stalled, our Lean & CI Turnaround service provides hands-on operational assessment and system implementation — rebuilding the management discipline that sustains improvement.

Primary Product: EmpowerOps (DMS for Lean)

EmpowerOps provides the digital daily management system that CI programs require to sustain. Standard work is digitized and tracked — not stored in binders that collect dust. LPAs are scheduled, executed digitally with photographic evidence, and analyzed for trends. Tier meetings follow a structured cadence with automatic escalation of unresolved items. CAPA workflows enforce closure timelines with accountability at every level. The system creates a closed loop: standard is defined, adherence is measured, deviation is detected, corrective action is assigned, closure is verified. When this loop operates continuously, the gains from every kaizen event, every process improvement, every new SOP become permanent — because the system enforces the new standard with the same rigor as the old one.

Supporting Service: Lean & CI Turnaround

For plants where CI momentum has stalled, our Lean & CI Turnaround service provides hands-on operational assessment and system implementation — rebuilding the management discipline that sustains improvement.

Supporting Product: Manvis (Lean & Compliance)

Manvis extends sustainment visibility beyond task completion into physical compliance. AI vision verifies that 5S standards are maintained, visual management boards are current, and safety protocols are followed — providing objective, timestamped evidence that standards are holding on the floor, not just in the system.

Primary Product: EmpowerOps (DMS for Lean)

EmpowerOps provides the digital daily management system that CI programs require to sustain. Standard work is digitized and tracked — not stored in binders that collect dust. LPAs are scheduled, executed digitally with photographic evidence, and analyzed for trends. Tier meetings follow a structured cadence with automatic escalation of unresolved items. CAPA workflows enforce closure timelines with accountability at every level. The system creates a closed loop: standard is defined, adherence is measured, deviation is detected, corrective action is assigned, closure is verified. When this loop operates continuously, the gains from every kaizen event, every process improvement, every new SOP become permanent — because the system enforces the new standard with the same rigor as the old one.

Supporting Product: Manvis (Lean & Compliance)

Manvis extends sustainment visibility beyond task completion into physical compliance. AI vision verifies that 5S standards are maintained, visual management boards are current, and safety protocols are followed — providing objective, timestamped evidence that standards are holding on the floor, not just in the system.

Supporting Service: Lean & CI Turnaround

For plants where CI momentum has stalled, our Lean & CI Turnaround service provides hands-on operational assessment and system implementation — rebuilding the management discipline that sustains improvement.

How It Works

1

Digitize the standard.

Standard work instructions, changeover procedures, and quality checks are loaded into EmpowerOps — becoming the single source of truth for every operator and supervisor. When the standard changes, the update propagates immediately across all shifts.

4

Measure sustainment, not just improvement.

Dashboards track not only initial improvement results but sustained adherence over time — giving CI leaders and plant managers visibility into whether gains are holding at 30, 60, 90, and 180 days post-implementation.

2

Enforce through daily cadence.

LPAs verify adherence. Tier meetings surface deviations. The system does not allow gaps to accumulate silently. Every missed check, every incomplete task, every overdue action item is visible — and escalated automatically when not addressed.

3

Close the loop on corrective actions.

Every deviation generates a CAPA with an owner, a due date, and automatic escalation if it remains open. No more open items that drift indefinitely. The average CAPA closure time drops from 21 days to 8 days with automated tracking.

1

Digitize the standard.

Standard work instructions, changeover procedures, and quality checks are loaded into EmpowerOps — becoming the single source of truth for every operator and supervisor. When the standard changes, the update propagates immediately across all shifts.

3

Close the loop on corrective actions.

Every deviation generates a CAPA with an owner, a due date, and automatic escalation if it remains open. No more open items that drift indefinitely. The average CAPA closure time drops from 21 days to 8 days with automated tracking.

2

Enforce through daily cadence.

LPAs verify adherence. Tier meetings surface deviations. The system does not allow gaps to accumulate silently. Every missed check, every incomplete task, every overdue action item is visible — and escalated automatically when not addressed.

4

Measure sustainment, not just improvement.

Dashboards track not only initial improvement results but sustained adherence over time — giving CI leaders and plant managers visibility into whether gains are holding at 30, 60, 90, and 180 days post-implementation.

1

Digitize the standard.

Standard work instructions, changeover procedures, and quality checks are loaded into EmpowerOps — becoming the single source of truth for every operator and supervisor. When the standard changes, the update propagates immediately across all shifts.

2

Enforce through daily cadence.

LPAs verify adherence. Tier meetings surface deviations. The system does not allow gaps to accumulate silently. Every missed check, every incomplete task, every overdue action item is visible — and escalated automatically when not addressed.

3

Close the loop on corrective actions.

Every deviation generates a CAPA with an owner, a due date, and automatic escalation if it remains open. No more open items that drift indefinitely. The average CAPA closure time drops from 21 days to 8 days with automated tracking.

4

Measure sustainment, not just improvement.

Dashboards track not only initial improvement results but sustained adherence over time — giving CI leaders and plant managers visibility into whether gains are holding at 30, 60, 90, and 180 days post-implementation.

Results

  • CI program sustainment rate improves from 30% to 85%+

    when a digital daily management system enforces the standard (SME-Empowerment client data, 18-month measurement window)

  • LPA completion rates increase from sporadic (~40-60%) to 98%+

    with scheduled digital execution (SME-Empowerment client data)

  • CAPA closure rates improve from 60-70% to 95%+

    with automated escalation and accountability tracking (SME-Empowerment client data)

  • Standard work adherence reaches 87% sustained across shifts

    compared to an industry average of 40-55% (Industry benchmark: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2019; client data: SME-Empowerment)

  • $280K average annual savings

    per plant attributed to sustained improvement initiatives that previously would have eroded (SME-Empowerment client data, plants with 200-2,500 employees)

  • 3.1x increase

    in CI project completion rate year-over-year (SME-Empowerment client data)

  • CI program sustainment rate improves from 30% to 85%+

    when a digital daily management system enforces the standard (SME-Empowerment client data, 18-month measurement window)

  • LPA completion rates increase from sporadic (~40-60%) to 98%+

    with scheduled digital execution (SME-Empowerment client data)

  • CAPA closure rates improve from 60-70% to 95%+

    with automated escalation and accountability tracking (SME-Empowerment client data)

  • Standard work adherence reaches 87% sustained across shifts

    compared to an industry average of 40-55% (Industry benchmark: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2019; client data: SME-Empowerment)

  • $280K average annual savings

    per plant attributed to sustained improvement initiatives that previously would have eroded (SME-Empowerment client data, plants with 200-2,500 employees)

  • 3.1x increase

    in CI project completion rate year-over-year (SME-Empowerment client data)

Build the System That Sustains the Gains

If your CI program produces results that do not persist, the issue is addressable. We will show you exactly how to build the management discipline that makes improvement permanent.