How to Start Your Continuous Improvement Journey

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5 Best Practice Steps

Discover the five best practice steps food manufacturers take when starting a continuous improvement journey, and how you can easily implement them within your organisation.

IntroductionWith tightening margins and the increasing pressure to get more from existing production and packaging lines, it’s no surprise that terms such as “continuous improvement”, “Kaizen”, “waste reduction” and “OEE” are the latest buzzwords to be heard around food factories and management meetings. However, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the jargon, metrics and tools, making it easier to carry on as you are. Unsurprisingly, 35% of survey respondents cited “high costs and resource requirements” as barriers to starting a continuous improvement programme.

We’ve helped many manufacturers implement efficiency and productivity measures. Analysis of successful continuous improvement programmes has shown us that it’s critical to get the foundations right when building a performance-based organisational culture. But how do you achieve that, and where do you start?

Build a Solid FoundationWe’ve taken all our experience in efficiency and productivity and distilled this into five best practice steps for food manufacturers; the building blocks of implementing a successful continuous improvement programme right first time.

1. Get Your Team on Board2. Keep it Cost Effective3. Start Small and Simple4. Analyse Your Results5. Review and Invest

To support these steps, we’ve recently launched our Line Performance Software, a new module for OAL Connected. Line Performance is a simple, cost-effective program to help operation managers record and review real-time factory performance data using automation software.

Read on to find out how these five best practices and OAL can help you take your first steps towards implementing a successful continuous improvement programme in your factory.

Common TermsContinuous Improvement: A sustained programme of improvements to work processes, products, or services by streamlining work and reducing waste.

Kaizen: A Japanese business philosophy of continual improvement in both working practices and personal efficiency, focused on small, daily changes that lead to major improvements over time.

OEE: An acronym for Overall Equipment Efficiency, a method for evaluating how effectively a manufacturing operation is performed.

Waste: In manufacturing, there are typically seven waste activities: overproduction, inventory, over processing, defects, waiting, transport, and motion. However, any activity which isn’t adding value to a process or service could be considered waste.

1. Get Your Team on Board

Every successful business activity starts with your people. People are the most important asset for all organisations – no matter how much you spend on expensive systems, your people need to be on board with using them for them to be effective. Communication is critical to the success of your continual improvement programme. Take the time to identify the key stakeholders in your organisation, consider how they would potentially view the changes, and speak to them about your ideas. Here are some of the teams that you may have in your business, that you’ll want to develop a relationship with for the best outcome.

Key Stakeholder RelationshipsSenior Management TeamThe Senior Management Team are often the ones pushing for productivity improvements. Therefore, having their buy-in to your continuous improvement programme from day one can speed up the implementation process. A top-down approach can help overcome any initial resistance to change and help employees lead by example. The outcome of the programme is increased efficiency, which should correlate with achieving the objectives and targets set by senior management, but speaking to them about your plans and having them on board will help ensure the operation goes smoothly.

Staff & SupervisorsBuy-in from colleagues who work on the factory floor is also essential. Generally, improvement plans will involve analysing their work in detail and identifying areas for development. Because of this, they are the employees who will initially be impacted the most by the programme, and if they don’t see how their contribution fits into the overall strategy they can become a barrier to change. To motivate staff and minimise resistance, we recommend introducing an incentive or recognition strategy, for factory floor teams. This helps encourage, engage and empower them, creating a kaizen-focused attitude and culture.

Technical ManagersWhile technical managers may not be directly impacted by the changes, they’ll want to know about them to ensure quality and compliance are not affected. Technical managers can greatly influence which changes are implemented and how improvements are carried out, so it is essential to have them on board with your programme and keep them informed of progress.

Engineering TeamsEngineering teams may have to maintain new equipment or systems as a result of the continual improvement programme, so they need to be advised of your plans. As a support team, they probably have a good idea of the processes and equipment involved and can be a good source of improvement suggestions.

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2. Keep it Cost-EffectiveWe’ve all heard the horror stories of food manufacturers investing £100k or more in new or redeveloped performance and OEE systems and tools, only for the initiative to fail and the costly expense written off.

The Minimum Viable CostWhen you’re starting out, we believe in a minimum viable cost approach. This means taking the time to consider the answer to this question:

What is the minimum amount I need to spend to increase efficiency while identifying areas that require additional investment?

As you have already invested capital into your current factory set-up, it is clearly more cost-effective to use your existing equipment and tools when introducing your continuous improvement programme, as opposed to transforming your factory. This will also provide a good benchmark to easily – and more realistically – measure future success.

If you’re already working as efficiently as you can with the tools you have, then you know that you’ll need to commit at least some funding to improve further. Some areas may need modernising or upgrading to begin seeing improvements, but remember that small investments can make big returns if implemented effectively. If you’ve only spent £1,000 and delivered a £10,000 saving in the first month, you’ve already delivered a massive return on investment with little initial outlay and great potential for further gains.

Big Solutions, Small InvestmentRather than going for a large capital expenditure that will take years to potentially show a return on investment, we provide a number of cost effective solutions suited to businesses at all stages of their continuous improvement journey with our OAL Connected and Line Performance software.

Train Your TeamsInvesting in your staff by ensuring they are trained in the best practices for your programme can also help them understand the impact of decreasing waste, line stoppages, accidents and human errors on productivity and why the changes are necessary. Don’t forget to present your training as an opportunity for employees’ continuous professional development (CPD).

Make it VisualOnce you’ve decided on your improvement project(s) and key performance indicators (discussed in sections 3 and 4), make sure everyone in your organisation sees it every day. Whether it’s television screens in the canteen, whiteboards in the production area or another method, by increasing the visibility of the programme’s progress, you provide both feedback on performance and motivation to continually improve.

Checklist ■ Have you identified where you are now and your goals to help you get where you want to be? ■ Is everyone aware of the new continuous improvement programme, and how it will affect their daily

operations? ■ Is there buy-in from all stakeholders, from the shop floor to senior management? ■ Has everyone been trained on the new processes, and understands their role in making it a

success? ■ Have you identified what group of metrics you need to measure to achieve your goals? ■ Is there a visual way of communicating progress and performance with all teams?

“We chose the OAL system because it’s a tried and tested solution that provides the compliance we need. It’s easy to use and has helped us focus by accurately recording line stoppages and identifying areas for improvement.” — Julie Rice, Technical Manager, Ichiban UK

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3. Start Small & SimpleWhen starting your continuous improvement journey, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of data available, the jargon involved and the accompanying metrics. At this stage, the key is to keep it small and simple. This will help you maintain buy-in from your colleagues and ensure everyone is aiming for the same outcome.

The Simplicity of Line Performance OAL’s Line Performance software measures and reports the bottom line performance indicators of your production line so you can see if your team has achieved what they set out to complete in that given period. The simple metrics recorded such as the number of completed packs based on run rate and estimated time for completion help identify where initial bottom line improvements need to be made.

Setting Aims & GoalsStart by analysing where you are now and where you want to be in the future, to help inform your aims and goals. Your aims are general statements about what the programme is going to achieve and are likely to be statements such as, “A 5% increase in efficiency.”

Goals are the steps you’ll need to take to get that outcome. Whether it is to reduce wastage or line stops or to increase the factory’s output, these will be the focus of your continual improvement programme. You may have several goals at this stage, so it’s worth prioritising them by order of importance and ease of implementation to help determine what the initial focus will be. Ensuring that your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) will not only help you achieve them but also aid in identifying what metrics from the factory floor you’ll need to collect for analysing performance.

Identify the Quick WinsOnce you know what your goals are, decide which ones you can quickly and easily achieve; in other words, the “quick wins”. Small, simple and early successes will help inspire your teams to carry on with your continual improvement programme and demonstrate the value of the initiative.

Create a TimelineHaving a timeline from implementation to where you want to be – with smaller yet essential goals along the way – will focus the factory. These goals will also act as a motivational tool by showing your team their progress. Ensure you have a few of your quick wins planned for the early stages, to kickstart the programme.

“I would rate this as my simplest implementation and yet it has also been one of the most effective. Over a 7 year period we have had no issues which could be attributed to the system.”— David Cornwallis, Logistics Manager, Bakkavor Caledonian

4. Analyse Your ResultsOnce you’ve got your goals and timeline in place, you’ll need to start collecting data to ensure that progress and performance can be objectively measured. This is where it is easy to get lost in the amount of available metrics and lose sight of your aims. Measuring performance is a key tool in maintaining staff motivation and ensuring that your programme is a success.

Focus on the Bottom LineIf you do enough research, you’re bound to find a massive range of items and metrics that you can start measuring and analysing within each of your goals. While it’s true that what gets measured gets improved, it’s important – particularly at the beginning of a continual improvement programme – to focus on the important areas. Ask yourself:

• Does this metric support our aims (for example, a 3% increase in factory output)?• Will the staff be able to understand what we are measuring, and why?• Will staff be able to take further action to improve this metric?

If the answer is yes to all these questions, the metric is of value and could significantly contribute towards achieving the end goal. If one or more of the answers is a no, then it would not be as effective to focus on these metrics at this time with the current aims as quick wins could take longer to achieve which could demotivate staff.

Report Quick WinsEveryone likes to win, so build confidence in the programme by securing and reporting early wins. Even if you have already identified which goals you think are quick wins, the sense of achievement for the team – however small – can help embed and reinforce a continual improvement culture. This type of culture automatically detects and addresses manufacturing floor opportunities, leading to factory-wide improvements – a massive benefit from a successful continual improvement programme.

Automate Your MetricsThe launch of OAL Connected’s Line Performance provides operation managers with the bottom line metrics they need, based on real-time information. The important questions for food manufacturers when analysing performance is: did we hit our target, was the order correct and did it go out on time? Line Performance gives you that information in a simple, user-friendly way, making end-of-production-line reviews quick and easy.

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5. Review & InvestOnce you’ve got your foundations set, you’ll want to start adding more fuel to the fire to drive further line improvements. It is vital to the sustainability of your new system that multi-functional post-improvement reviews take place, giving users and managers the opportunity to review successes and areas for improvement. It also allows you to adjust the plan accordingly, to ensure you stay on track and continually improve.

Talk to Your TeamIf a particular goal is showing poor performance, use it as an opportunity to discuss with your team the reasons why it’s not working. With a good organisational culture, low scores should be seen as an area to develop, rather than a failure. It may be that the metric needs adjusting to measure the actual benefit, or perhaps this is an area that requires more investment before further improvements can be made.

Record Lessons LearnedTo drive further improvements, ensure that you record the lessons you learned from your improvement project(s) as part of your post-improvement review. Make sure to ask questions such as:

• What went well on this improvement, and what didn’t go so well?

• What outcomes or other unexpected situations did the change create, and how were they dealt with?

• Did we meet our goals for the improvement? If not, why not?

• What could we do differently next time?

It may feel as though taking the time to answer these questions is a waste of your valuable time, particularly if the changes went well. However, it’s important for future projects to understand what did (or sometimes didn’t) contribute to your success, so you can implement it in further improvements or adapt your approach for a better outcome.

“From a technical point of view, OAL understood not only our needs but our customers’ needs as well. This was an invaluable asset that facilitates joint decision making. ” — Eleanor Agnew, Technical Manager, Blue Earth.

Decide Next StepsOnce you have gathered this information, it’s time to close the continual improvement loop by deciding what lessons you can now take forward to implement and improve further. If areas of concern are still present, you can now make an informed decision about how much capital to invest and which area needs it the most.

Plan

Do

Check

ActContinuous

Improvement Cycle

OAL Connected Can HelpWhen you’re ready to invest, OAL Connected can help. Our new Line Performance module for OAL Connected is a cost-effective, easy to implement system that will integrate with your existing systems, such as printers, check weighers, and SCADA. Giving you real-time data that is easy to understand, Line Performance can help you take corrective and preventative action quickly rather than relying on out of date or partially incomplete information after the fact, making it a powerful addition to your continuous improvement toolkit.

“OAL’s Autocoding system had already been tested and proved very successful so the decision to purchase was easy. OAL’s ability to offer 24/7 support and for the single system to offer paperless quality checks, OEE and traceability at a later date were key drivers in our purchasing decision.” — Mike Gee, Head of Engineering, Kinnerton

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Kickstart Your Programme with OAL Line PerformanceGive your continual improvement programme the best chance of success with OAL’s new Line Performance module for OAL Connected.

Using your existing OAL Autocoding terminals, OAL’s Line Performance is a simple and cost-effective upgrade that gives you real-time production data so you can measure and improve your factory’s productivity and output proactively rather than reactively. Line Performance helps you move past focusing on just compliance and start driving improvements for greater efficiency and productivity. With easy to understand bottom line metrics, Line Performance gives you the information you need in a format you can use to help reduce human errors and get your products right first time, every time.

We are so confident in our new Line Performance module’s ability to improve your processes, that we guarantee a 5% improvement in productivity efficiency.

Existing ClientsIf you’re an existing OAL Autocoding client with a terminal installed on your packaging line, upgrading is easy. You’ll get a site visit from an OAL engineer to:

• Install additional trigger sensors onto the packaging line

• Upgrade your existing software, and

• Train your team on using the system and best practices for target setting.

The setup and training is so quick and efficient, you’ll be making improvements by the end of the day.

New ClientsFor new clients, the Line Performance module can be included in your initial install as well as any of our other modular software systems, so you can choose an installation that is customised to your business needs and budget. OAL understands the pressures on the food manufacturing industry, so we have tailored OAL Connected to be a fully-upgradeable system that can be expanded as and when your requirements change.

“What the system has given us is peace of mind and allowed us to regain customer confidence.” — Caroline Smales, Technical Manager, Greencore Leeds

About OAL ConnectedFor food manufacturers, automation is essential to meet the compliance and productivity demands of modern food manufacturing. Paper-based, disjointed automation exposes manufacturers to risks that are easily avoided, and prevents true production excellence.

The OAL Connected suite is a comprehensive system that lets you move towards a fully automated packaging line in small, easy steps. Our ex-industry experts can help you on your automation journey with our best-in-class technology to drive efficiency, productivity and compliance across every product line. OAL Connected currently protects over 1,100 packaging lines with a variety of manufacturers, so you can be assured that we have the experience to provide relevant, tailored advice no matter where you are in your automation journey.

Typically starting with our proven Autocoding system (providing label and date code verification), the OAL Connected system expands to paperless quality checks, traceability, factory performance (OEE and Line Performance software) and machine integrations.

With every food product obliged to meet quality standards and be fully traceable, you can rely on OAL Connected to maintain your quality requirements while helping you reach operational excellence.

“We have seen an approximate 30% rise in OEE on our line since the install of OEE”. - Andrew Horkan, Continuous Improvement Engineer, Wagg Foods (IPN)

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To learn more about how to start your continuous improvement programme with OAL, speak to an expert at:

Tel: +44 1733 349701

Email: sales@oalgroup.com

Website: www.connected.oalgroup.com