Manufacturing Case Study
Client Profile
High volume beverage bottler struggling with effective startups, underdeveloped management systems and decreasing line utilization.
Solutions
- Shutdown/Startup Standard Work (checklists)
- Management Operating System
- Leader Training & Development
- Short Interval Controls
- Pre-Shift Meeting Effectiveness
- Shop Floor Situational Coaching
- Visual Management
- Root Cause Analysis
Challenge
- Lack of understanding on how 1st-hour utilization affects the balance of the day
- Inconsistent line clear outs and cleaning from the previous shift
- Root cause analysis not conducted or effective for top sources of loss at startup
- Lack of maintenance experience leading to longer diagnostic times (average tenure on the second shift is 8 months)
- No clear line priorities for maintenance when addressing simultaneous problems on multiple lines
- Daily Directional Setting Meetings (DDS) not driving actions; just reporting previous day’s results
- Actions to address performance gaps not well defined or followed up on
Approach
- Introduced KPIs and their use in driving actions to address poor performance, highlighting the importance of the 1st hour and its impact on the first shift
- Addressed poor line clear outs and cleaning on the previous shift through the use of shutdown checklists
- Focused on effective pre-shift meetings and starting the line on time
- Coached and audited the effective use of visual management tools and behaviors
- Established line priorities for maintenance
- Coached effective meeting behaviors
- Introduced and coached effective use of a formal action log
- Designed and coached leader standard work for supervisors
- Facilitated post-mortem events on days with 1st-hour utilization below target
Results
- Achieved a 34% improvement over baseline in 1st-hour utilization
- Overall line utilization improved by 19% over baseline
- Pre-shift meetings focus on variances and the actions required to correct them
- Pre-shift actions are added to the main DDS action log
- Supervisors manage consistently across shifts, utilizing leader standard work to ensure active supervision daily
- Hour-by-hour visual boards track performance, changeover times, and GMP/housekeeping compliance
- Recurring issues and top sources of losses are captured and prioritized on the action log
