Solving production mysteries, raising productivity
Background
A leading producer of high performance materials wanting to keep up with global demand was investing heavily in new production capacity. At the same time the capacity of the existing facilities needed to be maximized within less than a year, without extra capital investments. R&G was asked to lead these improvement projects both in the US and in Europe. This case relates to one of these projects at a European plant.
Approach
Analysis of production output data showed a big variation in two of the four production lines, indicating stability issues. Analysis of the internal processes and equipment behavior showed them to be inadequate. Our analysis ultimately pinpointed the cause of instability in daily output, enabling us to unravel a complex mystery and to take remedial action.
Results
By improving the stability of the Production Processes our client achieved a 15% - 20% output increase in under a year without extra capital investments and with the same number of operators. The company additionally benefited from higher revenues from extra sales and more efficient production planning.
