Case Study: Leading Refining and Chemicals Company achieves dramatic cycle-time and backlog reductions with Planview LeanKit

Leading Chemicals Company Digitizes Kanban Boards, Resulting in Massive Cycle Time and Backlog Reductions

A leading U.S. and Canada‑based refining and chemicals company (about 5,000 employees) sought to advance Lean practices but was hampered by physical Kanban “war rooms,” long cycle times (over 100 days), growing backlogs, frequent status calls, and rising costs across its Maintenance group. The existing paper‑based process made it hard to see work status, prioritize, and respond quickly, creating inefficiencies and resource constraints.

The company deployed Planview LeanKit digital Kanban boards, standardized workflows across five Maintenance areas, and integrated LeanKit with their work‑order system and Power BI for real‑time reporting. As a result, cycle times fell from 180 to 27 days, backlogs dropped from roughly 9,000 to about 3,000 work orders, emergency requests decreased, contractors were reduced in favor of insourcing, and teams delivered faster with better quality and lower costs.