Sewn products manufacturers often rely heavily on manual labor. While some degree of automation is typically involved—usually early in the value stream such as spreading material and cutting markers—this approach often results in large work-in-progress (WIP) batches, high inventories and long lead times as bundles of materials sit idle.

One of Stream's clients is a manufacturer of specialty apparel and personal protective equipment for emergency responders and military personnel around the world. The client was facing several critical business issues when Stream first started working with them.

Stream worked with this client to dramatically transform their main production facility. Stream used a three-step approach to document the current state and implement innovative improvements across four major value streams producing firefighter protective gear.