1. INTERFACE
LEAN ANALYTICS
A S S O C I A T I O N
EPFL / LAA
Doroteja Maklin
Myrna Flores
Christopher Tucci
INTERFACE
Billy Ingram
2. Table of contents
Executive Summary���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3
1. Company Introduction���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4
2. Sustainability Journey��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6
3. Lean Product Development Enablers���������������������������������������������������������������������������7
3.1. Strategy Performance��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
3.2. Skilled People Collaboration�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������12
3.3. Efficient Process Knowledge- Based Environment������������������������������������13
3.4. Continuous Improvement Change���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20
4. Impact�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������22
5. Lessons Learned��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23
6. LAA Model Highlights����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23
7. References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25
3. 3
Executive Summary
Interface, Inc. is the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet, with headquarters
in LaGrange, Georgia, USA, and manufacturing sites in six countries worldwide.
Interface created its new business strategy in 1994 when its founder and chairman, Ray
Anderson, started a sustainability journey known as Mission Zero. Through its journey,
Interface established best practices in several aspects of Lean Product Development.
The organization, as a whole, maintains an inviting environment for improvements and
innovation.
Interface produces Make-to-Stock (MTS) and Engineer-to-Order (ETO) flooring
solutions. Interface’s product development area includes a number of functions with
very diverse responsibilities which collaborate cross-functionally and create solutions
for customers.
In the past, Interface achieved several innovation successes which redesigned
commerce. Net Works and Tac-Tiles are innovations which grew from Interface’s idea
on sustainability, involving the use of recycled material as well as the reduction of waste
to introduce new products and offer value for customers.
Lean thinking has been particularly used in the Custom Design Studio which works
on engineer-to-order flooring solutions. The department leveraged lean best practices
to improve the design process from manufacturing at Interface’s Pilot Plant. Through
Kaizen events, the team initiated a continuous improvement process in the Custom
Design Studio where it is crucial that customer needs are understood and their wishes
are translated to the “designers’ language” correctly. Interface frontloaded the design
process and created a Kanban system that allows an administrative person to allocate
work according to complexity and the designers’ level of skills.
To encourage collaboration and co-creation of knowledge, Interface has introduced the
LOOP social media platform that serves as a knowledge co-creation space and sharing
space. Its use is encouraged by top management and it is seen as an opportunity for
positive self-promotion and achieving recognition by peers throughout the company.
A particularly strong practice Interface follows in continuous improvement, is assigning
10% of people’s working time in product development to continuous improvement
activities.
Throughout its journey, with great results reported as associated with lean and
sustainability, Interface has realized that sustainability and lean concepts are not only
compatible, but also complimentary.
4. 4
1. Company Introduction
Interface®, Inc. was established in 1973 by Ray C. Anderson to satisfy the need for
flexible floorcoverings for the modern office environments. Anderson led a joint
venture between Carpets International Plc., a British company, and a group of
American investors to produce and market modular soft-surfaced floorcoverings.
Interface is the world’s largest manufacturer and marketer of modular carpet,
headquartered in LaGrange, Georgia, USA. The company’s modular carpet system,
which is marketed under the established global brands Interface and FLOR, utilizes
carpet tiles cut in precise, dimensionally stable squares (usually 50 cm x 50 cm)
or rectangles (such as planks and skinny planks) to produce a floorcovering that
combines the appearance and texture of traditional soft floorcovering with the
advantages of a modular carpet system.
FIGURE 1
Interface’s carpet tile market
K-12 HIGHER EDUCATION LIBRARY
MULTIFAMILY SENIOR LIVING HOSPITALITY
CORPORATE HEALTHCARE GOVERNMENT
RETAIL PUBLIC SPACE
5. 5
Figure 2
Interface showroom in San Francisco, US
Figure 3. Interface’s carpet tile market share
Interface is a widely spread company and has on-the-ground teams in six continents
with modular carpet tile manufacturing in Australia, China, the Netherlands, Thailand,
the UK and the USA, as well as over 40 showrooms worldwide.
Interface has a Leading Share of the Global Carpet Tile
Market. The company’s business is driven by renovation
and refurbishment of old floorings which holds an
80-90% share in the Americas, Europe and Australian
market, whereas in Asia, 80% of carpet tile flooring are
newly constructed.
Since it was founded in 1973, Interface has grown into
a billion-dollar corporation, named by Fortune as one
of the “Most Admired Companies in America” and the
“100 Best Companies to Work For.” On December 28
2014, Interface employed a total of 3,245 employees
worldwide, 100 of whom are directly involved in product
development. They are led by 8 product development
project managers and guided by 6 chief engineers.
In the past, Interface worked on the Make-to-Stock
principle, however it is now changing the typology to
Engineer-to-Order and Make-to-Order, so as to follow
its sustainability plan.
Source: Interface Investors’ presentation 2015
UNITED STATES EUROPE, MIDDLE
EAST AFRICA
AUSTRALIA SOUTHEAST
ASIA KOREA
CHINA
INTERFACE
6. 6
FIGURE 4
Interface on the ranking chart of Sustainability Leaders in 2015
2. Sustainability Journey
The company’s business strategy shifted in the mid-1990s when Interface’s Chairman
and CEO, Ray C. Anderson, aimed to redirect its industrial practices to include a focus
on sustainability without sacrificing its business goals.
§§ Directive Mission Zero
Interface’s idea on sustainability was summed up in the Directive Mission Zero
statement to shape the future of the company and the world.
Interface has maintained its position in the top three Sustainability Leaders for the
past 11 years and is planning to take leadership before 2020.
“To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial
world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: People, process,
product, place and profits — by 2020 — and in doing so we will
become restorative through the power of influence”.
9
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
6
7
Unilever 33
Patagonia
Interface
Marks Spencer
Nestlé
Natura
Nike
GE
Walmart
Puma
IKEA
Coca-Cola
+8
% of Experts
Arrows denote movement since 2013 (+/- 3% is threshold)
-5
-5
-4
7. 7
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inate Wa
ste
2
Ben
ign Emissi
ons
5R
esource-E
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6
Sensiti
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Ren
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4Clo
sing the Lo
op
§§ The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability at Interface
To accomplish the goal by 2020, the Mount Sustainability framework was
created to guide everybody on the path of accomplishing the company mission
“To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world
what sustainability is in all its dimensions: People, process, product, place
and profits — by 2020 — and in doing so we will become restorative
through the power of influence”. Seven Fronts
of Mount Sustainability were identified and
placed on the mountain framework to
remind employees the fronts through
which the company needs to
pass to reach the top of
the mountain before
2020.
FIGURE 5
Mount Sustainability
and its Seven Fronts
3. Lean Product Development Enablers
A strategy for Interface’s future was initially set in 1994 with Ray Anderson initiating the company’s commitment
to Mission Zero. The entire organization has, since, been involved in improvements to satisfy the conditions for
Mission Zero to succeed.
Interface yearly spends $13.9 million (2014 stats) in research and development. Innovation and increased
customization in product design and styling are the principal focus of Interface’s product development and, thus,
efforts and focus have led to several design breakthroughs that are in line with the Mission Zero concept.
The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability presented in Table 1 were generally defined and can be applied to any
business area in the organization.
3.1. Strategy Performance
3.1.1. Mission Zero
7
8. 8
FUTURE
STATE
CURRENT STATE
FUTURE
STATE
CURRENT STATE
LeanSustainability
Improvement
FIGURE 6. Sustainability and lean bridge to improvements
TABLE 1. Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
The concepts Interface is using to develop new processes are fully aligned with both sustainability and lean thinking.
To be able to cross over to the future state and climb Mount Sustainability, sustainability and lean were combined
to build a bridge and help reach improvements; and even though it sometimes seems the two methodologies are
different, they both lead to improved and more efficient processes and satisfied stakeholders.
FRONT 1 Eliminate Waste: Eliminate all forms of waste in every area of the business.
FRONT 2 Benign Emissions: Eliminate toxic substances from products, vehicles and facilities.
FRONT 3 Renewable Energy: Operate facilities with 100% renewable energy.
FRONT 4
Closing the Loop: Redesign processes and products to close the technical loop
using recycled and bio-based materials.
FRONT 5
Efficient Transportation: Transport people and products efficiently to eliminate
waste and emissions.
FRONT 6
Sensitizing Stakeholders: Create a culture that uses sustainability principles
to improve the lives and livelihood of all of our stakeholders.
FRONT 7
Redesign Commerce: Create a new business model that demonstrates and
supports the value of sustainability-based commerce.
9. 9
Interface is in the process of creating new business value where the customer is even
more taken into account and the product development process is strategically linked
to a customer value proposition.
To do so, the organization relies on the Interface Sustainability Model encompassing
a comprehensive view of the entire product life cycle, as described in Figure 7. In
the center of the model, we find processes, people and capital which are connected
with values. The flow of material and resources is circular, as it follows all products
from their raw material state to the end of their life, counting in all that is needed for
sustainable production and use. Community is strongly considered as both receiver
and contributor, through the people and capital parts of the model.
FIGURE 7
Interface Sustainability Model
RAW
MATERIALS SERVICE
NATURALCYCLE
NATURALCYCLE
PRODUCTS
NATURAL MATERIALS COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS
WAGES$
EMPLOYEES
INVOLVEMENT
SENSITIVITY
TAXES$
INVESTMENTS$
DIVIDENDS$
INVESTMENT
LAWS
$ $
TECHNICALCYCLE
TECHNICALCYCLE
EARTH’S BIOSPHERE
COMMUNITY
SUPPLIERS
PROCESSES
CAPITALPEOPLE
VALUES
SOLAR
ENERGY
MARKET
CUSTOMERS
SUSTAINABILITY
LINK
EARTH’S
LITHOSPHERE
10. 10
Top management support is essential to lead a sustainable organization and
encourage advancement in innovation and processes. A leadership which motivates
improvement, creates and supports an open, non-threatening environment, as well
as an inviting environment for innovation, is part of Interface. The organization bases
its work on people and “the good of the person is more important than the good
of the company”. The organization and its leaders believe that it is important to
understand what people want, and build on people’s strengths to create a sustainable
organization and follow its mission.
The creative on-demand innovation project was launched by Interface to apply
disruptive sustainability and help fulfill Interface’s vision by 2020. Even though the
scope of the project is new manufacturing process, product and process development
is an integral part of it. Considering advanced innovation and manufacturing projects
through the viewpoint of both sustainability and lean concepts, generates radically
different results and more holistic solutions. A current creative on-demand innovation
project advances Mission Zero in multiple ways. The project eliminates several major
process constraints from the current business system, as it creates new industry
standards and value for both customers and suppliers. The project will allow the new
business model to create any length of carpet desired and any yarn color placement
without minimum customer order quantities. Therefore, new value is created by re-
imagining the process through the lenses of sustainability and lean design.
The project was conceived by internally examining both sustainability and lean
concepts when analyzing existing constraints. Considering both perspectives
in constraint analysis broadens the solution to include more than just lean waste
streams. Considering the Seven Fronts of sustainability as additional filters, improves
the final solution. Some of the practically applied lean manufacturing concepts used
in the project include:
§§ One-piece continuous flow
§§ Visual factory management
§§ Line balancing
§§ SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die)
§§ Cellular manufacturing
Interface will take advantage of the radically improved manufacturing system
capability to advance Mission Zero in each front of sustainability. The new system,
with its greatly expanded capabilities, can be implemented additionally to minimize
its cannibalistic nature. The change management process will become much simpler
and easier by applying the concept in this manner. Some of the ways creative on-
demand innovation affects each front are found below.
3.1.2. Creative On-Demand Innovation
11. 11
TABLE 2. Creative on-demand innovation project’s impact
TABLE 3. Expected savings in US operations only
FRONT 1
Eliminate Waste: Reduce cycle time and improve process reliability through
deductive reengineering.
FRONT 2
Benign Emissions: Move from the economies-of-scale make-to-stock business
model to the customer-focused make-to-order business model.
FRONT 3
Renewable Energy: A highly utilized compact process design makes 100%
renewable energy sourcing possible.
FRONT 4
Closing the Loop: Invest process cost savings in purchasing more bio-based raw
materials which can be reused at the end of the product life.
FRONT 5
Efficient Transportation: Enable practical urban revitalization while delighting
customers through geographically distributed manufacturing.
FRONT 6
Sensitizing Stakeholders: Lead by example encouraging customers and partners
to collaborate and learn through excellence.
FRONT 7
Redesign Commerce: Create a new business model which disrupts the industry
and encourages the most sincere form of flattery-imitation.
FRONT 1 Eliminate Waste: $16 million in operational cost avoidance.
FRONT 2 Benign Emissions: $50 million inventory reduction.
FRONT 3 Renewable Energy: 100% renewable energy used.
FRONT 4
Closing the Loop: Recycled and bio-based raw material content
increased from 50% to 75%.
FRONT 5 Efficient Transportation: Reduce transportation costs by 30%.
FRONT 6
Sensitizing Stakeholders: Connect customers and vendors
through Interface, positively influencing both.
FRONT 7
Redesign Commerce: Disrupt competitors and raise customer
expectations in the industry. Sell 30% more at 15% higher margins.
12. 12
The list below represents some of the expected results for Interface’s creative on-demand project aligned with the
seven types of waste according to the lean thinking philosophy:
§§ Over-Production – Make-to-order processing reduces or eliminates the need to make stock early
§§ Over-Processing – Over-Processing is not required in a balanced system
§§ Excess Inventory – With less Over-Processing you need minimal raw material, WIP between processes and
finished goods to service customers
§§ Defects – Lower raw material, WIP and finished goods inventories hide fewer defects
§§ Transportation – Small operational footprint and reduced capital costs allow for more geographically
diverse, urban facilities and thereby, less transportation
§§ Wasted Motion – Smaller footprint means less motion when moving orders and materials
§§ Waiting Time – Balanced process cycle times have minimal, if any, waiting time
§§ Not Using Employee Genius – By using the lean cellular manufacturing concept in the equipment layout, job
duties can encompass the full system rather than specialized, disconnected subsystems
The product development area at Interface includes a
number of functions with very diverse responsibilities.
The product development functional area includes New
Product Development, Custom Product Development,
Pilot Plant operations (custom sample production),
a NAVLAP accredited product testing laboratory and
Technical Services. Each area relies on the rest for an
accurate and timely information transfer to maintain the
reliable and short product development cycle times.
Recent improvements in the creation of product recipe
information provide an example of positive cross-
functional team collaboration at Interface. The initial
state of the process included multiple documents in
various formats without a clear understanding of the
end use of the information for each of the functional
areas. There was also a gap in understanding how
each group used the information passing through the
system. To improve the system, a cross-functional team
of experts first documented the current state process.
They considered current and future requirements for
their own area of responsibility as well as that of the
broader team during the documentation process. They
paid particular attention to the sequence of events,
the desired end goal and redundant processes and
data. The end result was a better understanding of
the entire process through each area by the group as
a whole, a more reliable and accurate information and
documentation flow, less redundancy and an abundance
of grace between the groups.
At Interface, there is no formal training on lean product
development. Designers and the Design Studio team
learn to apply lean tools by example during sessions/
Kaizen events provided by a lean product development
coach.
3.2. Skilled People Collaboration
3.2.1. Cross-Functional Collaboration
13. 13
Interface has in the past achieved several sustainable successes that redesigned
commerce and introduced imitation to its relationship with competitor organizations.
Net Works is a collaborative project where Interface works together with the
Zoological Society of London and Aquafil (global producer or Nylon 6 yarn) in an
innovative, cross-sector initiative designed to tackle the growing environmental
problem of discarded fishing nets in the world’s coastal communities, whilst at the
same time support Interface’s Mission Zero goal to source 100% recycled materials
for its carpet tiles.
WIN FOR BUSINESS.
WIN FOR PEOPLE.
WIN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
The program has established a community-based supply chain for collecting discarded
fishing nets in rural coastal areas in the central Philippines. Interface provides the
business strategy, the startup capital and a global network. ZSL provides conservation
expertise, local community organization and local partner development, and Aquafil
provides an innovative regeneration process that recycles the nets into yarn.
TacTiles®
TacTiles is Interface’s carpet tile installation system that integrates lean thinking to
reduce waste and provide value to the customer. TacTiles are small adhesive-backed
squares that connect carpet tiles securely to form a floor that “floats” to improve
flexibility, easier replacement and long-term performance without permanent
adhesion to the subfloor.
TacTiles are a result of research and design using lean and sustainability concepts
to reduce the environmental footprint and waste generated during the process, to
save space and to cut transport costs compared to previously used glue adhesives.
TacTiles have been imitated and adopted across the industry as a good practice of
carpet tile installation, fulfilling Interface’s mission of redesigning commerce while
leading by example.
3.3. Efficient Process Knowledge-
Based Environment
3.3.1. Product Differentiation Through Sustainability
14. 14
The Design Studio is an Interface department, where 22 people work on engineer-
to-order flooring solutions. Designers are ranked in 9 different levels of seniority
depending on skills and knowledge.
Interface is not only designing flooring solutions for visual beauty purposes, but also
to sell a value added product of highest quality. Some of the general goals Interface
is pursuing in product development are moving from physical to digital samples,
designer skill saturation at the senior level and designer engagement at the highest
level.
Interface is currently engaged in the process of introducing the Stage Gate process to
the product development department to formalize the standard product development
process. The high level of the process that will be followed in the future is outlined in
Figure 8. Customized individual projects moving through the Custom Design Studio
do not follow this process and are treated individually.
Generally, nowadays in the Custom Design Studio, only one design cycle is required
from the customer requirement to the supplied sample and approved flooring design,
which counts as a 90% first pass yield. But it has not always been like that. In the
past, several iterations of design processes were needed as the voice of the customer
was not understood from the beginning. Several repeated communications with
customers resulted in long cycle times and low efficiency of the department. However,
the Design Studio has undergone significant process improvements since. As the
Pilot Plant had already benefited from the lean manufacturing process improvement,
product development leveraged best practices to improve the design process.
3.3.2. Use of Lean Thinking to Reduce
Waste in Product Process Development
Idea
Development
STAGE 1
Concept
Development
STAGE 2
Product
Development
STAGE 3
Implementation
Validation
STAGE 4
Launch
Commercialization
STAGE 5
GATE 1 GATE 2 GATE 3 GATE 4 GATE 5
FIGURE 8
High level Stage-Gate process for
standard product development.
15. 15
PREPARATION
· Top management support
· Historical data search
· Team selection and invitations
· Facilitation session preparation
PRIMARY CURRENT
STATE VALUE
STREAM MAP
· Primary Current State Map drawing
· Primary root cause identified (administrative issues at the front end of design process)
· Action plan for improvements developed
· KPIs developed and communicated
DETAILED
PROCESS MAP
· Detailed Process Map with activity and data movement to identify additional constraints
· Future state map developed
· Action plan agreed to resolve secondary constraints
CUSTOMER
NEEDS ANALYSIS
· Formal customer surveys created distributed and analyzed
· A gap analysis completed to understand customer expectations versus current state
· Demand analysis completed and demands categorized in a complexity index
· Shared folder with multiple flooring designs created for sales persons to inspire
customers and explore their needs
DESIGN STUDIO
PROCESS
IMPROVEMENTS
· Front end administration position created to reduce designers initial interactions with
clients, allowing them to concentrate on creative part of their job
· Formal Kanban created to sort incoming request by complexity
· Skill-gap analysis and software gap analysis completed
· Formal cross-training implemented
· Project plans for software upgrades and advanced training created, funded and
implemented
· Weekly continuous improvement team meetings initialised
· “What would we like to do” list of activities created
· Shared folder to be shared with custom sample order customers created and updated
FIGURE 9
Initial improvement process
at Interface’s Design Studio
Toinitiatetheimprovementmovement,topmanagement
encouraged and invited all competent department
leaders and the Design Studio to participate in a Value
Stream Mapping session. A week before the session,
7-8 competent members of staff (department owners)
were selected and invited for a short (half-day) session
where initial coaching and facilitated value stream
mapping was conducted. The short session appeared to
be a good practice as people’s concentration is crucial
throughout the mapping.
Long cycle times and often enquiries back to customers
were identified as outcomes of the design process, and
improvements were urgently needed. The preparation
of the improvement event lasted two days during which
historical data on effectivity, cycle times and detailed
process information was collected. The entire process is
drawn in Figure 9.
First, after a preparation phase, a current state Value
Stream Map was created using data selected through a
2-3 year period, and the root cause of long cycle times
was identified through analysis. The current state Value
Stream Map identified administrative (incomplete/
inaccurate information) issues with request submissions
as a primary root cause constraint.
To resolve them, a future state map and action plan were
developed. To measure success and communicate with
all parties involved, KPIs were discussed and created.
A process map detailing activity and data movement
was completed to provide more insight into additional
constraints. When those were identified, an action
plan was created. The Interface product development
team also created formal customer surveys, which were
distributed and analyzed to better understand customer
expectations. As a part of the process, a gap analysis
was completed to understand customer expectations in
comparison with the current state.
FIGURE 10
Current State Value
Stream Map
16. 16
A demand analysis was completed for the Design Studio, and demands were
categorized into an internal complexity index to work with the formal Kanban created
as a visual factory tool to communicate demand and complexity to the designers and
the Pilot Plant. The Design Studio’s operators, when receiving a customer order, they
categorize it into one of five categories depending on the complexity of the tasks
related to the request. Designers are categorized according to their skills, from the
most junior designer responsible for only simple modifications on existing products,
to senior designers that take over complicated new product development orders.
Kanban has significantly helped improve efficiency and the ability to assign work to
those designers that are able to efficiently complete the order.
When operations were improved, a skills’ gap analysis was completed to identify
weak spots in designers’ tools. Cross-training was implemented to fill in the skill gap
and help junior designers advance faster and enrich their experiences and knowledge,
so as to help with Interface processes by completing tasks more efficiently.
Designers at Interface are strongly dependent on software they use and need.
Therefore, a software gap analysis was made to identify weak spots in the software
used that was followed by the project’s plans for software upgrades, purchases and
advanced training which were created, funded and implemented. With new software
and knowledge, capabilities to create product prototypes that can be virtual or printed
without the need to produce physical samples have increased. Customers can now
sign-off digital samples, which significantly reduces physical sample numbers and
the time required to produce a sample. To advance process improvements, weekly
continuous improvement team meetings were initialized.
FIGURE 11
Interface’s Design Studio
“Sustainability and lean concepts are
not only compatible, but also complimentary”.
17. 17
FIGURE 12. Digital prototypes produced by the Design Studio for customers
The Studio and the Pilot Plant are creative parts of Interface where work under
pressure significantly influences the output. As designers sample cycle times were
reduced through improvement initiatives, a ‘What we would like to do’ list of activities
was created to prioritize additional value added activities like creative floor designs
and customer specific product application solutions.
TheentireimprovementprocessattheDesignStudioandPilotPlantwasacollaborative
process as development teams accepted lean as their own and started to use it on
a day-to-day basis to pursue improvements. The skill of waste identification was
imbedded in their day-to-day work and they learned how to hear the voice of the
process and identify root causes.
To encourage collaboration and co-creation of
knowledge, Interface included the development and
implementation of a functional collaborative knowledge-
sharing space. Loop is a social media platform, based on
Jive SBS, where formal and informal information, data
and knowledge is shared. Collaboration is encouraged by
top management and occasionally led by example from
the CEO. While the IT department and co-innovation
group work on the platform’s maintenance, several
administrators with different permissions depending
on their level and ownership of groups, take care of
day-to-day activities and keeping discussions alive and
on-topic. Administrators assume tasks of admin work
as extra activities next to their assigned work activities,
without being formally appointed to the admin position.
Collaboration through social media is a part of
Interface’s culture and expectation that employees will
share and be recognized for good contributions. The
Loop platform is seen as an opportunity for positive
self-promotion and achieving recognition by peers
throughout the company.
Informal training sessions are offered to staff and
newcomers on how to use the platform. Participation
is not obligatory for staff, but it is encouraged by top
management and regulated with generalized guidelines
on what can and should be uploaded. A screen capture
of Interface’s Loop platform is shown in Figure 13.
Loop collaboration platform
3.3.3. Knowledge Management
18. 18
FIGURE 13
Loop, Interface’s knowledge management platform
To enable powerful search options on the platform, users are trained in the tagging
of published content. Project outcomes and lessons learned are saved and published
using internally developed templates that simplify searches.
The Loop platform benefits from a built-in functionality that allows the owner of
the space or place to define the group’s users and privacy, they can, thus, choose
between the options of only including people from one department or everybody in
the company and external partners.
To encourage collaboration and engagement to knowledge-sharing and reuse through
social media, Interface uses gamification. Not only can posts be liked, commented or
marked that they require action, but every employee is also ranked through a points
system and awarded a badge and title when a certain number of points is achieved.
Award points can be gained through posting in discussions, leading discussions,
commenting, liking content and cross-functionally collaborating in projects.
Co-creation through social media is, for now, not formally awarded, nor is it a part of
the annual staff performance appraisal; but through collaboration, employees enjoy
gained recognition in their area and build informal networks in the organization.
FIGURE 14
Gamification in the Loop platform
19. 19
For Interface, the Loop platform helps build on transparency, traceability and integrity.
Data analytics to trace activity is built-in and administrators can trace activities in
their own spaces
DISCUSSION
GROUPS
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DOCUMENTATION
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SOLUTIONS
SEARCH
TAGGING
ANALYTICS
HOW-TO
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LOOP
COLLABORATION
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EDGE CREATED
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TOP
MANAGEMENT
ENCOURAGEMENT
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FORMS
TEMPLATES
BUILT-IN
APPS
FIGURE 15
Interface’s Loop
platform architecture
To extract useful knowledge from discussions in groups on the platform, advocates
(early adopters and super users) document it formally using templates and move it
to dedicated sections on the platform where HOW-TO manuals are stored and can
easily be searched by everyone.
Recently, a library of product designs or catalogue using Google Drive was created and
shared with the sales teams to inspire new clients, and allow them to see Interface’s
capabilities as well as visualize new designs. This has, so far, shown positive results
and has been well-accepted by customers and sales representatives worldwide.
20. 20
Continuous improvement at Interface is a vital part of climbing Mount Sustainability.
10% of people’s working time in product development is assigned to continuous
improvement activities.
Several different goals are set for the product
development department (Design Studio). One of them
is to elevate the group skills to a higher level. To do so,
several actions were undertaken, as mentioned above,
and it appears that weekly improvement results,
in particular, are much appreciated
by the Design Studio. Weekly
improvement meetings
offer the opportunity to discuss the current state
performance that is shared informally at the moment.
Interface is, however, planning to improve and
formalize the reporting and evaluation of the current
status to encourage product development team
members to innovate and build a
continuous improvement culture
with the use of visual tools.
Desired improvements in
product development tackle all
areas of the Design Studio’s operations
and are not only related to skills, but also to software
updates, methods used to achieve output and individual
improvements that could benefit
the team. The top management
team encourages improvements and,
by enabling weekly improvement meetings, it also
creates an environment that invites innovation.
3.4. Continuous Improvement Change
3.4.1. Weekly Improvement Meetings in the Design Studio
ACT
CHECK DO
PLAN
Improvement
cycle at
Interface
• Product development standardizes
the process if the improvement was
achieved or follows the PDCA again.
• Progress is presented at the weekly
meeting where success and future
steps are identified.
• An individual designer identifies a
challenge in the process.
• During the weekly improvement team
meeting, the team discusses the issue.
• An action plan is created and roles are
assigned.
• An individual or a team of senior and
junior designers follow the action plan
and try to improve the process.
FIGURE 16. PDCA cycle for continuous improvement at Interface
21. 21
FIGURE 17
Weekly Improvement team meeting at the Design Studio
Improvements are not only made by
the Design Studio team internally,
but also with external collaboration.
Interface is strongly connected with
its primary suppliers who undergo a
vigorous selection process assuring
that they understand and follow
sustainability and lean thinking. The
final selection of primary suppliers
is made not solely but also based on
sustainability aspects. As described in
the Net Works section on the recycling
of fishing nets, the primary supplier
(Aquafil) is preferred as it collaborates
with Interface in ensuring a high
recycled content of yarn material.
Collaboration with external partners is
made through formal collaboration with
the Georgia Institute of Technology
(Georgia Tech) where internships at
Interface are offered to recruited teams
of students from primarily business and
engineering disciplines. The Capstone
Project is an annual corporate-funded
project that is taken as a whole
semester course at Georgia Tech.
The Capstone Design course provides students the opportunity to work
with real-world, open-ended, interdisciplinary challenges proposed
by industrial and research project sponsors. They learn and apply
the engineering design process: defining functional requirements,
conceptualization, analysis, identifying risks and countermeasures,
selection, and physical prototyping. Interface collaborates every year
with students and seeks for improvement ideas that may be useful for
the product development department, as it has happened in the past.
Through the project, Interface also observes, selects and recruits new
employees.
3.4.2. External Collaboration
FIGURE 18. Interface’s Capstone 2012 project team
“Sustainability and lean skill sets grow best in authentic,
cross-functional, failure-friendly cultures”.
22. 22
After the Design Studio started to measure the
benefits of using lean thinking to improve custom
design processes at Interface, it has been observed
that the number of custom samples created increased
from 30,750 in 2013 to an estimated 32,250 in 2015,
as shown in Figure 19. This is not only reflecting the
higher market demand, but also the result of efficient
processes enabling designers to work more efficiently
and produce more samples with the same resources.
Thanks to the process waste elimination after the
first Kaizen event and the continuous improvement
initiative, digital sample cycle times were reduced
from 1.7 days per sample produced to an estimated
0.5 days in 2015, which significantly contributed to the
results shown in Figure 19. Even though the number of
physical samples is lower thanks to improved digital
sample technologies and the fact that customers often
sign off digital samples instead of physical ones, cycle
times for the production of physical samples have
also decreased significantly from 3 days to 1.8 days as
shown in Figure 21.
Find below the Design Studio performance charts,
showing significant improvements in selected KPIs.
4. Impact
FIGURE 19
Custom samples figures
FIGURE 21
Physical sample cycle time
FIGURE 20
Digital sample cycle time
2013 2014 2015
28,500
29,000
29,500
30,000
30,500
31,000
31,500
32,000
32,500
YEARS
COUNT
2013 2014 2015
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
-
YEARS
DAYS
2013 2014 2015
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
-
YEARS
DAYS
*
*
*
*Annualized
23. 23
5. Lessons Learned
1. Don’t wait for the entire company culture to improve before you begin. The ‘right’
culture can exist in smaller group ‘bubbles’ with supportive leadership.
2. Administrative improvement targets are the softest. Attack them first.
3. Continuous improvement and disruptive innovation are not the same. Both are
important and should be pursued but they are nurtured and grown differently.
4. Protect and support introverts, early adopters, dreamers and those who don’t fit
into the mainstream. Make sure their voice is heard. Disruptive innovation is often
hiding in plain sight.
1. Strategy and performance
2. Skilled People and collaboration
3. Efficient processes and knowledge-Based Environment
4. Continuous Improvement and Change
6. LAA Model Highlights
Following the good practices implemented so far at Interface:
25. 25
7. References
Globescan (2015). Sustainability Leaders The 2015 A GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey.
[online] Available at: www.globescan.com [Accessed 17 Aug. 2015].
Interface Corporate Websites:
www.interfaceglobal.com
www.interface.com
Interface EcoMetrics 2014
Interface Investors presentation 2015
Interface, Inc. Annual Report 2014
Interview 23 June 2015 in LaGrange (Billy Ingram and Design Studio team)
Net-Works official website:
www.net-works.com/2015/03/23/surprise-encounters-of-the-trike-kind-in-talibon
26. Authors
EPFL / LAA
Doroteja Maklin
Myrna Flores
Christopher Tucci
INTERFACE
Billy Ingram
Graphic design by Genera Studio | www.generastudio.com
LEAN ANALYTICS
A S S O C I A T I O N
