How Alcon Johns Creek Improved Manufacturing Performance
INDUSTRY
Medical Device
Manufacturing
From reactive firefighting to a tiered operating system connecting critical metrics, accountable owners, and corrective actions—with a reported $20M increase in production output.
LOCATION
Johns Creek,
Georgia
SOLUTIONS
Process Based Leadership®
& Visuant®
SCALE
2,000+ associates
875,000 sq ft
THE CHALLENGE
Plenty of data. Too much firefighting.
01
Reactive escalation
Engineering & senior leaders were repeatedly pulled into war rooms and tactical issues, leaving less room for proactive problem-solving.
Downtime, material scrap, and unplanned line stoppages affected performance. Communication gaps and inconsistent ownership made issues harder to resolve.
02
Competing priorities
Unclear site-wide priorities and communication silos created bottlenecks and resource misalignment across functions.
03
Inconsistent follow-through
Performance gaps lacked consistent owners, due dates, and a centralized history of corrective actions.
01 Focus each tier on the critical few metrics
Identify the measures each organizational level directly controls. Connect those metrics to site priorities so teams can focus their attention where it matters.
02 Give every performance gap an owner
Assign accountability and document the corrective action, due date, and expected result. Make follow-through visible rather than relying on informal commitments.
03 Build a disciplined tier-meeting cadence
Use structured meetings to review progress and corrective actions. Address issues at the level closest to the work and escalate support when needed.
04 Connect the work in Visuant
Bring scorecards, meetings, corrective actions, and results into one system, with a permanent record of actions and decisions.
HOW CSI HELPED
One system. Visible ownership. At every level.
CSI helped establish a leadership system modeled by the senior team and replicated throughout the operation. PBL provided the operating discipline; Visuant connected scorecards, actions, meetings, and results.
MEASURED RESULTS
What changed once every metric had an owner?
PRODUCTION OUTPUT
$20M
increase in production output
Alcon reported financial and operational improvements following the introduction of PBL and Visuant.
EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS
$20M
7.4%
OEE gains on Line 1
MATERIAL EFFICIENCY
$1M+
in annual raw material savings
QUALITY
23%
increase in production output
DIRECT SPENDING
$10M
reduction in direct spending
EQUIPMENT RELIABILITY
26%
improvement in mean time between failures (MTBF)
EXECUTION
100%
projects delivered on time
SAFETY
80%
fewer recordable safety injuries
BEFORE: Reactive and Leader-Dependent
Repeated war rooms and reactive escalation
Broad review of all available KPIs
Senior Leadership pulled into tactical issues
Inconsistent ownership and follow-through
No centralized corrective-action history
BEFORE & AFTER
Operational Transformation: before and after implementing PBL + Visuant
Implementing PBL and Visuant shifted Alcon Johns Creek from broad data review and reactive escalation to focused KPIs, tiered ownership, and documented corrective action.
AFTER: Reactive and Leader-Dependent
Structured tier meetings and proactive issue resolution
Critical metrics filtered to the appropriate level
Problems resolves at the level closest to the work
Named owners, due dates, and documented actions
Permanent record of actions, decisions, and results
“The CSI team has truly changed the way our sites work. Through Process Based Leadership and Visuant, we’ve reduced operating expenses by over $20 million, improved OEE, and increased output. Today, whether you ask someone on the shop floor or senior leadership, everyone knows if we’re winning or losing, what’s driving the business, and how we’re marching to the same beat.”
TAKEAWAY
Alcon Johns Creek built a repeatable leadership system that connects performance data to the people, meetings, actions, and accountability needed to improve results.
About Red River Army Depot
Alcon helps people see brilliantly. As the global leader in eye care with a heritage spanning over 75 years, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve people’s lives. Our Surgical and Vision Care products touch the lives of more than 260 million people in over 140 countries and territories each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors. Our more than 25,000 associates are enhancing the quality of life through innovative products, partnerships with Eye Care Professionals and programs that advance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.
YOUR NEXT STEPS
What’s powering performance in your operation?
Talk with US about the gaps between your metrics, meetings, and follow-through, and how PBL and Visuant could help your teams turn insight into action.