SUSTAIN
DEVLOPING A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CULTURE
​
Improvements can only occur once performance is measured. We created digital & automated KPI dashboards for production - KPIs were carefully selected to align with strategic aims and motivate teams on metrics they had direct influence over.
​
Operators now have daily CI huddles, review their key metrics and uncover additional improvement opportunities.
​
Through Lean Six Sigma training, we aligned teams with what ‘best-in-class’ looks like - helping promote engagement and giving confidence to team leaders to solve the problems most critical to their area KPIs.
INTRODUCTION
Our client. an electronics manufacturer based in Swindon, reached out to us with a specific problem to solve – the reliability of their equipment.
Multiple FlowPlus Consultants conducted a free assessment through a site visit & audit to better understand the problem and quantify the potential benefits.
​
The assessment revealed the primary root causes for poor equipment reliability was related to a combination of insufficient visual management, unstable process control & no TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) strategy.
Our clients primary aim was to increase the daily throughput of the site by 20% within 6 months.
Find out how FlowPlus helped them achieve this and much more…
THE PROCESS
THE FLOWPLUS TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
​
The 3-step FlowPlus transformation cycle is a tried & tested way to achieve sustainable, long-term results. Following the transformation cycle, FlowPlus & our client worked as one-team on the journey towards Operational Excellence.
ASSESS
WORKING AS ONE-TEAM
​
Our client's transformation process started with a thorough assessment phase to uncover areas for improvement and gain insight into current practices.
​
Working as one team, we collected data, observed operations, spoke with operators and mapped the processes. Using specialist tools we transformed data into insights, uncovering large untapped improvement opportunities that reduced waste, maximised productivity & increased throughput.
IMPROVEMENT STARTS WITH DATA.
​
We make data-driven decisions, using facts and insights to guide our solutions.
That’s why we have confidence we can make such a big impact.
PAVING THE WAY TO OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE.
The assess phase is all about identifying & quantifying problems, with the support of data. Taking a holistic view of the entire production operations, we used discrete event simulation to uncover bottlenecks & quantify improvement potential. The primary metrics measured include; OEE, Throughput rates, MTTF, MTBF & process variation.
​
Once all the improvement opportunities had been identified we developed a transformation roadmap – prioritising the most impactful projects on their journey to Operational Excellence.
INITIAL STATE PERFORMANCE (BEFORE):
OEE:
64.9%
(Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
Maximum Daily Output:
186
(Maximum number of products produced per day)
Process Control
6.3%
(Quality Defects %)
Operator Productivity
58%
(Value Add %)
IMPLEMENT
EXECUTING THE ROADMAP
​
Following the transformation roadmap outlined in the assess phase, the projects with greatest impact were launched. (These can vary significantly for different clients)
1.OEE improvement workshops
2.Installation of process control measures
3.Poke-yoke (error proofing) devices/jijgs installed
4.Automated Maintenance (TPM) & visual management solutions installed
5.Continuous Improvement Structure & Culture Development
​
DEVLOPING A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CULTURE
Improvements can only occur once performance can be measured. That is why we created digital & automated KPI dashboards within the warehouse & production operations. Now operators have daily CI huddles, review their key metrics and uncover additional improvement opportunities. Working closely with the client, we trained all supervisors to hold these effective daily meeting, engage all team members and promote a continuous improvement culture in everything they do.
AUTONOMOUS PROBLEM SOLVING
Within the first month of introducing daily CI huddles with team KPIs, 5 initiatives have been launched and results are already improving. Identified by one of the operators – a new process for checking in stock has saved an estimated 60 hours manual handling per week.
FINAL STATE PERFORMANCE (AFTER)
OEE:
88.7%
+37%
(Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
Maximum Daily Output:
249
+34%
(Maximum number of products produced per day)
Process Control
6.3%
-200%
(Quality Defects %)
Operator Productivity
73%
+26%
(Value Add %)
OEE WORKSHOPS
​
OEE is a well-known but frequently miscalculated metric. Many organisations use their own interpretation to provide inflated OEE values that negate the importance of the metric – the ability to quantify the contributing factors. We work with a technical partner to install the required devices/sensors/counters that provide the greatest insight at the lowest cost. This enables us to easily target the factors that matter most – installing countermeasures that increase Availability, Performance and Quality factors. Our client had many metrics already available, we simply installed new IOT devices and collated the data into an intuitive dashboard. By holding focused OEE workshops we increase the bottleneck equipment by 36.7%.
CI AND CULTURE DEVELOPMENT
​
Introducing a Continuous Improvement program across an entire Organisation can be a challenge. Over 80% of employees hadn’t been actively engaged in continuous improvement prior to FlowPlus’ involvement. Using team specific KPIs and developing routines that enabled improvement suggestions to be raised and solved rapidly helped build confidence that the continuous improvement journey was a long-term change. Over the space of 6 months FlowPlus tapered off our involvement and ensured the client was fully self-sufficient to drive improvements themselves.
​
ELIMINATING & MINIMISING DEFECTS
Through the design and installation of Poke-yoke jigs, certain processes became error-proof – uncapble of producing defects. Embedding quality into processes provides confidence in results and eliminated the need for inspection. Machines that couldn’t be error-proofed had visual management aids (andon system) to allow errors to be easily detected and countermeasures taken as soon as possible.
SUSTAIN
WE BELEIVE EVERY ORGANISATION CAN BE IMPROVED
