Services

Continuous Improvement Consulting

Turn one-time wins into how your plant runs—every day.

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Most plants have run improvement projects. The problem isn’t finding wins, it’s keeping them. Without the right management systems, standard work, and leadership habits, gains erode and the next project starts from scratch.

CBS continuous improvement consultants build the operational infrastructure that makes improvement a daily function of the business, not a periodic event.

Proven Expertise in Driving Continuous Improvement

CBS has built continuous improvement systems across hundreds of operations: manufacturing plants, distribution centers, and multi-site enterprises. The work spans shop floor implementation through enterprise-wide CI program design.

  • Thousands of operational improvement projects delivered across manufacturing and distribution environments
  • Continuous Improvement consultants with deep hands-on experience, from plant floor to executive level
  • Measurable improvement in operational metrics and financial performance at both the top and bottom line
  • 90% plus referral and repeat business: most CBS CI engagements come from organizations that have worked with us before

What CI Looks Like When It Works

CBS builds the simplest system that solves the problem… one your team actually owns. We don’t deliver binders or run events that fade out after we leave. We co-create the processes, routines, and standards that compound week over week:

  • Consulting teams who coach accountability and drive urgency at the right level
  • Solutions designed around your specific operation and challenge, not a standard playbook
  • Seamless integration with your leadership team, not parallel to it
  • Measurable improvements in EBITDA, operating metrics, and cash generation
  • We get in, deliver results, and leave your team capable of sustaining them.

Faster problem-solving on real work

Clear processes and systems (built with your team)

Results that stick and compound

How We Get Results

Deploy with Speed and Purpose

  • Rapid assessment of the current state with a clear, prioritized roadmap
  • Leadership alignment established early. Improvement without leadership buy-in doesn’t hold
  • Solutions shaped around what the client’s team can actually execute and sustain

Build Internal Capability

  • Deliver solutions at point of impact
    (learn by doing)
  • Coach all levels of leadership including first line supervision
  • Identify and develop change agents within the client 

Transfer with Sustainability

  • Establish an on-going business management system and cadence
  • Ensure leadership and change agents are living the new processes

Service Offerings

Continuous Improvement System Design

Building or rebuilding the daily management routines, standard work, visual controls, and CI cadence that make improvement a permanent operating function, not a project.

Lean Deployment

Implementing waste elimination, value stream mapping, TAKT/flow/pull, and related lean methods within specific production environments. Includes lean for high-mix, low-volume and engineer-to-order operations.

Six Sigma and Variation Reduction

Applying statistical process control, root cause analysis, and Six Sigma methodology to reduce variation, eliminate defects, and stabilize process performance.

CI Program Design for Multi-Site Operations

Designing and deploying enterprise-wide CI programs (including project selection frameworks, CI leader development, and governance structures) for organizations operating across multiple locations.

CI Leader and Workforce Development

Training and coaching for frontline supervisors, CI leads, and plant managers. Focused on building the internal capability to run CI without external support.

Rapid Improvement (Kaizen) Events

Structured kaizen and problem-solving events targeting specific constraints or quality issues, typically run in 3–5 day intensive formats with immediate implementation.

Continuous Improvement Consulting Case Studies

Aerospace: Program Turnaround in 90 Days with PIT Team Model

Overview

A midsize aerospace supplier specializing in general aviation jet wing manufacturing was struggling to meet delivery schedules, quality expectations, and cost targets on a key customer program.

Challenge

Program delivery was consistently late

Supply chain design and ownership transitioned from a previous vendor

Quality and labor performance were below contractual requirements

Workforce turnover exceeded 40% annually

Cost overruns and high rework hours threatened program viability

Solution

Deployed CBS’s 90-day Program Improvement Team (PIT) model

Established shared vision, goals, and cadence for accountability

Aligned cross-functional teams around business-critical metrics

Implemented standardized leadership routines and frontline training

Introduced targeted improvements to quality, labor, and equipment uptime

Results

On-time delivery improved from 77% to 100%

Total labor hours reduced by 15% (1,990 hours)

Rework hours reduced 60% (from 2,900 to 996 hours)

Quality defects reduced 43% (1,532 fewer defects)

CNC uptime improved from 68% to 98%

42% of craft workers trained through basic skills program

100% of program leaders trained in CBS’s standard work model

Continuous Improvement: Reducing Product Variation to Recover $600K+ Annually

Overview

established portfolio brand producing a wide range of frozen and ambient packaged foods was facing margin erosion despite year-over-year growth in sales.

Challenge

Profitability was declining with no clear root cause identified

Traditional cost control and sales analysis methods failed to isolate the issue

Leadership suspected operational inefficiencies but lacked data clarity

Margins were steadily eroding across high-volume production lines

Solution

Analyzed slicing processes and identified cumulative inefficiencies

Focused on protein management as the most significant cost driver

Ensured product slicing met—but did not exceed—regulatory minimums

Restored slicing equipment to original design condition

Introduced data-driven process control to reduce variation

Results

Product variation reduced significantly within one week of stabilized production

Over $600,000 in annualized savings recovered

Precision and process discipline restored margin performance

Continuous Improvement: Driving Enterprise-Wide Impact Across 62 Sites

Overview

A Tier 2 aerospace portfolio company with over 14,000 employees across 62 locations was underperforming investor expectations on key metrics like cash, margin, and growth. Leadership lacked the systems and capability needed to deliver a turnaround.

Challenge

Financial underperformance across multiple business units

Lack of consistent leadership or management systems

Low customer satisfaction and weak CI maturity

No centralized strategy for scaling improvements across locations

Solution

Deployed a comprehensive continuous improvement system across the enterprise

Delivered a full training and development program for CI leaders

Created a structured selection and deployment process for high-impact projects

Provided ongoing coaching and mentoring for sustainability

Facilitated 800+ CI events and trained 300+ employees in execution

Results

Cash performance improved by over $150M

More than 800 CI events implemented across all business units

Over 300 employees trained in CI project execution

$68M+ in savings generated in the first year alone

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this just lean, or something broader?

CI at CBS draws on lean, Six Sigma, daily management systems, and organizational development depending on what the operation actually needs. We don't lead with a methodology, we start with the problem. If the constraint is flow, lean tools apply. If it's variation, Six Sigma applies. If it's leadership behavior, the work is different. Most engagements use more than one approach.

How is continuous improvement consulting different from operational excellence consulting?

Continuous improvement focuses on building the systems, habits, and culture that make daily improvement a permanent function of the operation. Operational excellence is the broader framework; it includes CI, but also encompasses strategy deployment, quality management systems, and organizational design. CI consulting is typically more focused on implementation at the plant or site level. For system-level work that spans the whole organization, see our Operational Excellence Consulting page.

How fast will we see results?

Most sites see measurable improvement in a pilot area within 4–8 weeks. Enterprise-wide impact takes longer... typically 12–18 months to see results compound across the operation. CBS structures engagements to deliver quick wins early while building toward durable improvement, so you're not waiting 18 months for the first data point.

How do you keep results from slipping back?

The short answer is that sustainability isn't a phase at the end. It's built into how we work from day one. CBS coaches management routines and standard work at every level of the organization throughout the engagement, not just before we leave. The goal is leadership and frontline teams who own the system, not teams waiting for CBS to come back and fix it.

What size operation is this right for?

CBS has deployed CI systems in single-site operations of under 100 people and enterprise-wide programs spanning 60+ locations. The approach scales. What changes is how the program is structured, how CI leaders are developed, and how governance works across sites.

Do you provide interim CI leadership if we don't have someone internally?

Yes. CBS can provide interim CI leadership (plant-level CI managers or enterprise CI program directors) on a temporary basis while an internal candidate is developed or hired. This is a common engagement pattern for companies early in their CI journey.

Continuous Improvement Consulting Insights

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