Negotiating Terms During Cash Shortage
Challenge
Major national company had chronic waste issue within one of their key processes. This waste was measured, but not visible due to high standards of housekeeping which focused on cleaning up waste points several times during each shift.
Solution
-Identified process waste as a major opportunity for improvement.
-Stopped all cleaning of catch pans for waste and let it accumulate from shift to shift so as to create a visual measurement of waste over time rather than bulletin board reports.
-After several days of production, the amount of waste was readily apparent and since left in place, the waste points were easily identified including a clear understanding of which area was the most significant generator of waste and which ones were minor contributors.
-Developed a targeted waste reduction action plan focusing on largest generators first.
Results
The chronic waste which had been present for years was no longer viewed as un-actionable or a part of the process. Upon implementation of fairly simple corrective actions, waste was reduced by over 60%. This resulted in over a 1% reduction in product cost.