2018-01-08
LUND, SWEDEN

Embarking a Continuous Improvement Journey

Back in 2011, the customer faced a number of issues. Production costs were relatively high due to excessive waste, setup times were long and equipment breakdowns frequent. To address these issues, we started the Continuous Improvement Journey by implementing a 2-year Operational Cost Guarantee agreement. The results, which included savings of more than €3 million, were positive. The customer decided to expand the continuous improvement activities to the whole factory, and improve all loss areas across the plant.

Expanding existing maintenance services

We expanded the existing Continuous Improvement activities into a full Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) approach. In short, TPM means that everyone within the organisation, from top management to line workers, endeavors to maximise productivity.

The customer chose a 3-year implementation plan, with a Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM) Award as target. The plan included a full TPM structure including 5S and Daily Management System. We helped the customer establish relevant KPI’s and an efficient continuous improvement methodology. This was implemented by training and coaching different teams across the customer’s organisation.

More than €9 million saved

We improved the customer’s efficiency using our expertise to help them get the most from their operations. The accumulated direct savings, not counting benefits from additional capacity, between 2014 and 2016 totalled more than €9 million. The efforts also improved the customer’s competitiveness and core KPI’s. Overall Equipment Effectiveness increased from 70% to 80% over three years, and the high level is sustained thanks to the implemented routines. Additionally, the customer’s productivity (output per workforce) has increased by 230%, and they have secured a production cost saving of 13 percentage points. 

There were also a number of more intangible effects, such as raised engagement and motivation levels, and better alignment between departments.

The customer has applied for the targeted award, and continues their TPM journey with our ongoing support.

Summary:

• More than €9M saved over a three-year period
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) increased from 70% to 80%
• Production costs reduced by 13%

The key principles when implementing Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) are:

• Secure that the current situation in terms of performance, cost and risk is clearly defined
• High focus on the foundations, to enable deployment of methodologies in a sustainable way
• Use Daily Management System (DMS) to create people empowerment
• Involve the whole organisation, from left to right and top to shop floor On-site, hand-in-hand coaching and audits from Tetra Pak
• On-site, hand-in-hand coaching and audits from Tetra Pak