Process Improvement Proposal Presentation

Helmut Jilling

Auditor / Consultant
#31
.... As requested previously, do you have any examples of low hanging fruit that you have identified and improved etc?
There are countless kinds of "low hanging furit." It would be impossible to guess what they might be in your company, without knowing your organization. Perhaps you should do some internal audits, and review the process metrics for each process. This should show you some of the opportunities in your company.
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor
R

Red4165

#32
Yes thanks, I was just wanting some examples of how other people identified low hanging fruit, more importantly what they were and how they fixed them. I realise that knowone can do that for me at my own factory but just wanted some examples as mentioned above.
Cheers
 
R

Red4165

#37
Well hi all again

Just thought I would give you all an update. I was offsite today and unavailable for the CEO to contact me, however I have received an email that he has sent to our Directors and Executives advising them of his decision. I have decided to copy some of the info so you can get the gist of the outcome of my proposal. Tomorrow, the finer details will be sorted out and he has requested to meet with the whole production site at 2pm to convey some info and news (I am assuming this may have something to do with it however I won't knoe until tomorrow) Anyway, please see below for the edited extract from his email (I have deleted names for confidentiality reasons) I will keep you posted of what happens tomorrow????

Hello,

Everyone is aware that we have taken on the significant challenge of meeting an 08 budget profit that is ambitious but achievable. To achieve it we will all need to produce results that exceed any other year in the company’s history.

Sales will need to be at record levels, production costs per unit will need to be minimised, wastage cut out, productivity greatly improved and raw material cost reduced. Additionally, all discretionary expenditure will need to be based on essential requirements and terms of trade closely monitored.

The current state of play is:

· Sales budgets have been ramped up

· Expenditure items minimised and a process put in place to ensure personal expenses are monitored consistently

· COGs - raw material costs are being reviewed

· Productivity initiatives are in the process of being rolled out

· Global requisitioning processes are now live

· Our monthly profit performance is monitored weekly allowing for timely adjustments to costs and other “triggers”



Whilst the above will help, the journey is long and we need to ensure that any and all positive initiatives are not only recorded but that there are processes put into place to make sure that we don’t drift back into old unacceptable ways. To this end I have decided – after discussion with the Ops director – to implement a strategy of continuous improvement aimed initially at production bottlenecks and waste.

(Red4165) will be charged with the responsibility of identifying (in the first instance) bottlenecks and wastage in production and designing processes to eliminate same. Prior to any change process being developed (Red4165) will present a change plan outline to the Business Support Executive who will in turn discuss and refine this plan to the point of approval with the Executive responsible before bringing to the Executive committee for final sign off.

The above process, whilst not definitive, allows (Red4165) to move on to the next area needing examination whilst the detail (and or acceptance or not of the need for a change process) is worked on by business support to the point of recommendation to the executive committee. Ops Director is also left to continue with his production imperatives. There will no doubt be some “spill over” from a production “change” to another department area and this will be finessed by business support to the extent that there may be other change initiatives required.

The roll out of this will identify other areas across the company that need to be closely looked at and these will be actioned in consultation with the executive committee.

I will talk with the Ops Director about replacing (Red4165) for the period of this secondment.
 
R

Red4165

#38
Further to the above communication, today it was announced to the company. I start on Monday, I am handing over my QA Manager responsibilities tomorrow and moving offices. My replacement will do a great job and I have no concerns.

After discussions today with various people in relation to my new role, it seems that people are trying to force me to do some quick fixes and they have the perfect problem for me to solve. This puzzles me because if it is this easy, then why not just go ahead and do it. He also might be just being supportive in providing me with some obvious choices to show some cost savings etc etc.

One of my first tasks is to sort out an issue with stretch wrapping of pallets. We sometimes use stablisiing glue depending on which palletiser we use however we stretchwrap regardless of whether we use glue or not. We require the stretch wrapping for pallet labellling requirements for our customers but one of our problems is that we have a palletisation issue using the pinwheel process and there is a gap in the centre of the pallet and one or two cartons fall into the middle during transit damaging the stock. We cannot apply stabilising glue when using a robotic palletiser at present therefore we are trying to identify how to overcome this issue. I am looking at different palletisation sytles whilst maintaining a high effeciency per pallet. We may also be able to use waste cartons to shove down the centre however that means that a forklift operator has to get off the forklift to complete this task. I will keep thinking on this one.

Seperate to this, the cost of stretchwrapping is approx $2.00 per pallet, we wrap approx 30 times on one pallet which is ridiculous. I was thinking that if we could source a different micro of stretch wrap at the same price then we could reduce the number of wraps on one pallet and can save approx $50,000 per year. (TBC)

What are all your thoughts on this as my first process improvement task??

Red4165
 

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#39
Sounds great but a word of caution on reducing the shrink wrappages.

You know, I would prefer doing some sort of studies to check if the reduced number has any effect on dispatch conditions.

Sorry, my mind is towards pharmaceuticals / medical devices and thus I always would prefer doing some validation before any change. ;)
 
R

RickT

#40
Hi Red,

Things seems to be moving along at a great pace. The high level of confidence you have in your replacement will be a significant asset for you as you move forward.

I suspect qualityalways is suggesting that the actual saving for the shrinkwrap project may end up being less than predicted and I would agree with that idea.
In this case there are 3 sets of activities that will have a significant influence on the (potential) saving
1) internal activities in the packaging/shipping shipping area over which you should have direct control,
2) those activities that occur during the actual delivery process(es), over which you have only an indirect control, and
3) those sctivities at your customer locations over which you will have even less control.
You will certainly want to establish trial runs that include specific measurement criteria with a shipper you know & trust quite well and a customer with whom you have a good rapport.
Although the goal of this project may seem to many to be improved shipping costs, the real goal must be one that imroves (in a very real way) customer satisfaction. I cannot emphasize too strongly that it is the happy customer who will make your cash register ring -- an activity that will be much simpler for your new CEO to notice.

On the positive side of this project, it sounds like there will be considerable internal support which will go a long way toward the potential for success.

A quick comment on the seemingly long list of "pet projects" you are getting about from others. Take all that as positive - it will give you a shopping list for identifying low hanging fruit. Make a list, attach a potential saving to each item, add a risk factor for achieving that saving, then add onother factor to account for the ability to confirm results using simple metrics.
Consider a similar approach that you may have used to clarify data captured for measuring the critical control point established in your HACCP program.

Hope this helps
RickT
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
optomist1 Rates Daily or Hourly Process Improvement Training Consultants and Consulting 2
D Process Improvement and CAPAs ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 5
A A Question about Continual improvement process in AS9100 AS9100, IAQG, NADCAP and Aerospace related Standards and Requirements 4
M CMQ/OE or SSGB? I'm Quality management rather than process improvement oriented Career and Occupation Discussions 1
R Difference Process Objective/Opportunity for improvement ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 9
N FDA Guidelines for implementing Continuous Improvement Process US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 5
C Customer Satisfaction Process - Audit "Suggestion for Improvement" General Auditing Discussions 14
C Work Sampling Method for Induction Melting Process Improvement Six Sigma 3
L Material Requisition Process - Improvement Needed Manufacturing and Related Processes 4
T First Pass Yield - Welding Process Improvement Manufacturing and Related Processes 3
Q Need guidance new APQP and PPAP Process Improvement Software Idea Quality Assurance and Compliance Software Tools and Solutions 1
T QIP (Quality Improvement Process) for CAPA Process. Nonconformance and Corrective Action 5
K Can you Suggest KPIs for a Business Process Improvement Team? Pls. Benchmarking 4
L Stability of the Process vs Improvement during Auditing General Auditing Discussions 8
B Pouch Sealing and Peel Testing Process Improvement ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 10
Q Process Approach & Continual Improvement Clauses and Evidence of its Effective Use ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 9
H What kind of training would you recommend to start on the process improvement world? Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 8
L Supply Chain and Product Creation Process Improvement Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 1
D ISO/TS 16949 Calibration Control and Process Improvement IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 7
S Application of Six Sigma on Process Improvement Six Sigma 3
P Interview for Manager of Process Improvement position Career and Occupation Discussions 30
S Trend Review and Process Improvement help needed Capability, Accuracy and Stability - Processes, Machines, etc. 6
C Certified Quality Process Analyst vs. Certified Quality Improvement Associate Professional Certifications and Degrees 3
1 Template Showing Before and After Improvement Process Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 8
P SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination) Certification Software Quality Assurance 3
I Process Improvement/Continual Improvement "Idea Stage-gate" process? Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 3
somashekar Temperature Cycling Process - Continual Improvement and ISO 13485 ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 6
B Continuous improvement and Management review process links ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 19
K FMEA is the Best C.I approach for process improvement? Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 3
B What other activities should be included in a Continuous Improvement process? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 1
A Process Improvement Team - Where to Start - Looking at Casting Inclusions Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 19
C Improving Small Diameter Cable Length Measuring Techniques - Process Improvement Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 3
K Savings Yield of Process Improvement over Product Improvement Six Sigma 8
R Jump Start Continual Improvement Process - What works? Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 9
W Process approach - Auditor issued OFI (opportunity for improvement) on clause 8.2.2 ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 10
J Looking for Possible Continuous Improvement initiatives for the CI Process? IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 7
S Getting started with statistically based process improvement The Reading Room 12
F Continuous Improvement Process Map - As an individual process? Process Maps, Process Mapping and Turtle Diagrams 5
C Manufacturing Process Improvement as required by TS 16949: 8.5.1.2 IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 2
F QMS (Quality Management System) vs. Process Improvement Framework Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 3
M Continuous Improvement Process: Revamp required - advice on the way forward request Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 7
C Process Goals - Stretch or "Do-able": Corrective Actions or Continual Improvement Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 6
T Process Internal Audit - Requirement on Monitoring Objectives & Improvement ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 5
B Sidebar meetings - Good or Bad? Our most productive source of process improvement Career and Occupation Discussions 7
S Annex B examples of Continuous Improvement Process ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 3
J ESP + Process Improvement Form (Kinda) ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 2
S Supplier Performance Improvement, Inspection Process Supplier Quality Assurance and other Supplier Issues 6
B Draft Online Process Improvement Guide - Comments wanted Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 9
S What are the Components of a Good Continuous Improvement Process Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 6
Marc The Continual Improvement Process (vs. Continuous Improvement?) Book, Video, Blog and Web Site Reviews and Recommendations 6

Similar threads

Top Bottom