Situation
New Gen Design & Fabrications (NGDF), now operating as Miller|NGDF, is a Victorian manufacturer based in Tullamarine, specialising in the design, manufacture, repair, and refurbishment of earthmoving attachments such as buckets, quick hitches, and customised heavy fabrication.
Founded in 2011, NGDF has grown steadily to a team of around 14 staff and has built a reputation for delivering quality, reliable earthmoving solutions. Since joining the Miller Australia group in 2022, NGDF has strengthened its market position and is poised for further expansion.
With in-house manufacturing capability — including cutting, CNC milling, welding, lathe work, and drilling — NGDF provides customers with an end-to-end solution, supported by robust aftermarket service. The business is driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture and is eager to capture further market share by providing faster lead times and reliable delivery performance.
Challenge
NGDF had reached a point where sales growth was outpacing operational capability. While demand was strong, the operations team struggled to keep up with orders. The absence of formal systems and standard processes meant that work was often prioritised reactively, resulting in delays, inefficiencies, and uneven productivity.
The business objectives were clear:
- Boost Productivity: Increase the number of orders completed per week without increasing labour cost, thereby improving profitability and customer responsiveness.
- Strengthen Foundations for Growth: Create standard work practices and reliable delivery performance so that as the business scaled, profitability would scale with it.
Key pain points included:
- Workplace Organisation (5S): Tools, materials, and equipment lacked clear organisation. This slowed production, created wasted motion, and affected safety and quality.
- Factory Layout & Workflow: The layout had evolved organically and was not optimised for flow. New equipment (plasma cutter and lathe) provided an opportunity to redesign the layout for efficiency.
- Standard Work & Timings: There were no standard cycle times or work instructions for key processes, causing inconsistent output and longer lead times.
- Sales & Estimation Processes: Quoting and job estimation processes were not standardised, leading to delays and errors that flowed through to production.
- Performance Measurement: Quality, delivery, and cost performance were not systematically tracked, limiting management’s ability to drive improvement.
- Planning Reliability: The business achieved only 65% of its two-week production plan on time, reducing customer confidence and limiting growth.
The challenge was to address these issues without disrupting the entrepreneurial, “can-do” culture that had been critical to NGDF’s success to date.
Action
OE Partners designed and led a comprehensive Lean transformation program to build operational capability, streamline processes, and unlock capacity for growth.
1. Value Stream Mapping and Future State Design
The engagement began with a whole-of-business value stream mapping exercise, involving both management and frontline staff. This created a shared understanding of the current state, identified key bottlenecks, and prioritised improvements needed to achieve NGDF’s growth and profitability objectives.
A future state design was then developed to set a clear vision for what “good” would look like, focusing on faster throughput, better workflow, and reliable delivery performance.
2. Lean Manufacturing Training
All staff were trained in Lean manufacturing principles, ensuring that the team had a common understanding of waste elimination, standard work, and continuous improvement. This training created buy-in and prepared the team for the changes ahead.
3. 5S Workplace Organisation Program
OE Partners rolled out a full 5S workplace organisation program that involved:
- Training and coaching production staff
- Creating visual standards and shadow boards
- Setting up 5S audits and team-led improvement meetings
- Establishing management review processes to sustain gains
This program transformed the cleanliness, safety, and organisation of the factory, providing a foundation for improved flow and efficiency.
4. Factory Layout Redesign
OE Partners worked with NGDF to redesign the factory layout to minimise double- and triple-handling, reduce walking distances, and improve access to tools and materials. This redesign optimised the placement of equipment, raw materials, and workstations to create a more logical, efficient flow of work.
5. Production Planning System
A standard production planning process was introduced, using standard cycle times for common processes (welding, fabrication, cutting, cleaning). This allowed management to create realistic, reliable schedules, improve on-time delivery performance, and communicate accurate delivery dates to customers.
6. Hands-On Coaching and Project Support
OE Partners provided ongoing coaching and support to Pat Davis and David Aldridge, ensuring that improvements were implemented effectively, staff stayed engaged, and the new systems became part of the business’ daily rhythm.
Results
The transformation delivered significant operational and financial results:
- 40% Reduction in Production Hours per Dollar of Sales: This dramatic productivity improvement lowered costs, increased margins, and created capacity for additional work without adding labour.
- Improved Customer Service: With more reliable production planning and clearer communication, customer confidence increased — a key factor in capturing new business.
- Transformed Workplace: The factory became safer, cleaner, and more organised, improving morale and creating a professional environment aligned with NGDF’s growth ambitions.
Capacity for Growth: The business is now positioned to double in size with confidence that operations can keep pace with sales.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Client Perspective
David Aldridge, General Manager, praised OE Partners’ structured yet practical approach:
“I really liked OE Partners’ ability to convey their ideas and their communication skills, and the contact that we had out onsite with them. Also, their ability to draw on paper and then put it into practice kept our belief in the system moving forward. I think the hardest part in bringing in a new system into a workplace is being able to convey that system but keep people on the journey. We certainly have a much more efficient, much more organized workplace. I like their structured approach to organizational workplaces.”
This testimonial reflects the cultural and operational shift that has taken place — not just implementing systems, but bringing the whole team along on the journey.
Conclusion
The partnership between NGDF and OE Partners demonstrates the power of combining Lean manufacturing principles, workplace organisation, and structured planning to unlock capacity and enable growth.
By investing in 5S, factory layout redesign, and standardised planning, NGDF dramatically improved productivity, reduced waste, and positioned the business for the next phase of expansion.
For a business with strong market demand, these operational improvements created the confidence that delivery dates can be met, lead times shortened, and sales growth converted into sustainable profit growth.
