Immediate Improvement Examples in a Food Factory

Able to Envision the Ideal State
This is the shortcut to improvement

Results
From 277 pieces per hour 　→　 450 pieces per hour
Productivity Increase by 62%

When visiting the site of Company B in Southeast Asia, I observed numerous inefficiencies. The essence of improvement activities lies in eliminating waste. Any work within the operation that does not add value is considered wasteful.

Improvement cannot occur without everyone recognizing what constitutes waste. At the kickoff for improvement activities, to enable envisioning the ideal state of the workplace, everyone from the plant manager to all management and working staff learned about various forms of waste.


～various wastes～

waste of transportation  　waste of inventory  　waste of movement
waste of equipment   waste of defects   waste of layout
organizational waste   waste of waiting   waste of management
waste of inspection  　 Waste of work itself・・・・

Industry Details
Meat processing
Country
Japan
Company size
100 employees
Assignment
Increase Profit Margin, Reduce Accidents to Zero
Purpose
Profitability improvement
Industry
food
Schedule
  1. On-site diagnosis
  2. Training
  3. Implementation of improvements
Improvement Case Study
Before Improvement
Operator A’s work

  1. Carry empty boxes to the front of the mincing machine. (Two steps one way)
  2. Lay a vinyl sheet in the empty box. (Two steps one way)
  3. Press the switch of the mincing machine.
  4. Carry the box containing 10 kilograms of meat wrapped in a sheet from in front of the machine. (One step on foot)
Transport vehicle B work

Transporting empty boxes and boxes containing meat
layout

Improvement points

  • Changed layout to eliminate operator A’s walking
  • Eliminate the need to transport empty boxes by using a chute.


    • After Improvement
    Operator A’s work

    1. Walking has been eliminated.
    2. Transportation has been eliminated.
    Work involving transportation cart B

    Empty boxes are inserted into the chute.
    layout
    TPS DOJO
    Specialist in On-site Improvement
    ITO, Akihiro

    Process improvement consultant

    He worked for JIT Institute, Tokyo for 20 years.( JIT: Just In Time).
    During this period, he has learned Just In Time philosophy and method of improvement of productivity in manufacturing plant.
    Continuously he has been engaged in effective introduction process of Production Management System to small and medium enterprise and even big enterprise.

    Consultants from major companies
    with experience in over 40 countries will respond.
    Please feel free to contact us.

    Online/remote Assessment
    Download documents
    Contact us

    If you are in a hurry, please call us.

    +81-3-5783-3571
    （Japan time）
    Open 08:30 – 17:30
    Except for Saturday, Sunday, holidays, Year-End and New-Year holidays
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    3 reasons why we are chosen REASON

    REASON 1

    Improvement experience of
    more than 1,500 companies in 40 countries

    There must be the shop floor issues that cannot be solved by your own company alone. Improvements and reforms for manufacturing industry to survive, regardless of country or industry, need development of your human resources through practical experiences of improvement, and strengthening of your production system base.

    REASON 2

    Consulting that shop floor workers
    acknowledge our superiority and be pleased

    In conventional consulting styles, there was a distance between consultant and the shop floor because it was promoted mainly consultant and management executives. Our consultant can provide a guidance without a distance between consultant and the shop floor through the guidance based on the “seeds of improvement” in a concrete way, instead of “finding fault” like a critic.

    REASON 3

    Continuous improvement will continue
    even after the end of guidance

    While strengthening “human resource development”, we focus on the “overall flow” from design to purchasing, manufacturing, logistics, and production control, and provide guidance that matches the actual situation of your company. Continuous improvement will continue even after the end of guidance through the guidance that is acceptable to the shop floor workers.

    Consultants from major companies
    with experience in over 40 countries will respond.
    Please feel free to contact us.

    Online/remote Assessment
    Download documents
    Contact us

    If you are in a hurry, please call us.

    +81-3-5783-3571
    （Japan time）
    Open 08:30 – 17:30
    Except for Saturday, Sunday, holidays, Year-End and New-Year holidays