How we operate

Above all else, JELD-WEN operates safely to ensure the health and well-being of our associates and our environment. Using a set of lean principles, we are focused on continuous improvement and enabling a problem-solving culture that empowers everyone to better serve our customers. By working together, we create efficiency and productivity in our operations, take care of our customers and protect each other and the environment.

How we operate

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At JELD-WEN, it’s about L.I.F.E. – Living Injury Free Everyone. Through our 12 L.I.F.E. Critical Safety Rules, we focus on promoting a culture of safety and continuous improvement. Sending our associates home safe every day to their families is foundational to JELD-WEN and is embedded in our values.

We have a robust set of systems in place to keep our associates safe and minimize business disruptions. Our Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) Excellence Model, as well as our EH&S Management System provide the framework that enables our vision of zero injuries and illnesses, zero spills and releases, and zero fines or penalties. JELD-WEN lives its commitment to L.I.F.E. by implementing processes that support EH&S, embedding EH&S into everything we do to prevent injuries, and creating a culture where EH&S is valued and people understand their responsibilities under EH&S.

Industry

First there was water and steam power which powered manufacturing from a manual process. Then there were assembly lines which allowed for mass manufacturing. Then came computers to help automate manufacturing. Today, smart technology is transforming manufacturing into a connected and data-driven model – and JELD-WEN is on a journey to implement the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, into its operations.

As Industry 4.0 is adopted at JELD-WEN, we will have greater visibility into key processes by having more access to data from our production lines. Through automation and the use of robotics, we’ll increase production and productivity. Quality concerns will be spotted faster, reducing waste from defects or imperfections in our products. The adoption of industry 4.0 at JELD-WEN creates the factory of the future – connecting the next generation of manufacturing professionals to the next generation of production. Artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and other digital manufacturing technologies will not only accelerate our production quality and quantity, it will also assist our sustainability efforts by identifying ways to reduce waste, electricity use and consumption of natural resources.

Lean manufacturing

JELD-WEN uses a set of principles, tools and techniques to enable a lean manufacturing system across our operations. At the heart of our business operating system is a focus on continuous improvement to create value for our customers, improve our manufacturing processes, and eliminate waste.

Our lean, problem-solving culture empowers everyone to better serve our customers by creating innovative products, eliminating waste from our processes, and delivering on the exceptional standards for which JELD-WEN is known.

Intensive, Lean Manufacturing events like rapid improvement and Kaizen have also supported our sustainability goals by identifying energy and waste reduction opportunities at our plants that have contributed to emission reductions. The events focus on how to improve the engineering process to eliminate or reduce carbon emission waste and increase recycling. At our Rantoul, Illinois, site, for example, a Kaizen event identified electricity reduction and efficiency opportunities that resulted in a two percent reduction in greenhouse gases emitted (CO2e).

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