Business challenge
An inventory of all 30 manufacturing sites globally revealed that the site in Germany presented opportunity for significant and solid volume increase. The driver for this opportunity was to be found in the operational performance. The requirement was that any improvement would be sustainable (“better for good”) and embedded in process in systems.
Process
An operational assessment highlighted that:
- The organization typically defaulted to technical (capex) projects
- Improvements were often stand-alone and typically did not address root causes
- The primary processes of Production, Maintenance and Planning were not sufficiently robust, leading to daily firefighting
- There was a lack of standard operating procedures and Performance Management
Variable Cost Optimization
A major part of the benefits were realized by elimination of process driven losses. Part of the solution was realized by application of tools like SMED (to reduce the change-over time) and more effective application of Root Cause Analysis techniques to improve uptime.
To make sure all involved were speaking the same language time was spent to allocate losses beter and more consistently.
Asset Lifecycle Management
Uptime was increased through minimization of technical breakages. This involved increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Technical Departments. A strong focus on Asset Maintenance work resulted in much better utilization of available assets.
Program and Performance Management
A robust site PMS (Performance Management System) was implemented. This was underpinned by including an improved Meetings and Communication structure. This structure ensured that sufficient time and effort was invested in tracking and usage of KPI´s. Added focus on applying SIC (Short Interval Control) to KOP´s (Key Operating Parameters) resulted in improved performance management.
This program became the launchpad for Sr. Managementto elevate the Excellence program to global level