VITIUK FURNITURE is a Lviv-based family business with a history spanning more than 25 years, specialising in the production of custom cabinet furniture. Over the years, the team has struggled with common production hurdles: materials were lost, hours were wasted searching for tools, equipment sat idle, and workers spent energy correcting recurring errors. The impetus for change came from a simple realisation: production processes were not working systematically, the space was disorganised, and a lack of instructions and material accounting led to constant failures.

The team realised that it would be impossible to overcome these challenges without a systematic approach. "To put it very modestly: the best solution was to attend training and immediately apply the principles of lean production in practice," says Oksana Tsymbala-Vitiuk, the head of VITIUK FURNITURE.

A new production philosophy

To address these issues, the company chose the training programme “Lean Production for Exporters” at the Smart People Business School, organised with the support of UNDP and funding from the Government of Sweden. Even the initial analysis demonstrated that a significant portion of the problems was related to material loss, equipment downtime, and human error. Instead of putting up with the chaos, the team decided to change their production philosophy.

During the training, employees began to apply lean production tools – from the “5S” method to the “5 Whys” analysis and value stream mapping. They organised the workspace according to the five basic principles of waste-free production: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain.

Then, the company identified the root causes of their problems by repeatedly asking "Why?" and visualised all the steps in their processes – from the initial customer request to order fulfilment.