We have been fortunate to work with several of the largest companies in Colombia during these 10 years, such as Tecnoquímicas, Colombina, Harinera del Valle and Carvajal among others, accompanying them in an improvement process that continues today.
Durante este tiempo hemos evidenciado situaciones que frenaban en algún punto la producción y que, gracias al análisis de datos precisos, se han convertido en oportunidades de mejora que han incrementado la capacidad de manufactura entre un 12% – 14% cada año (a 12% improvement in a company that produces 10,000 million a year, translates into an increase of 1,200 million in production).
Doing an analysis of the reason that most causes a loss of productivity, we find that "Failures in Internal Logistics"is the one that is most repeated. It is presented in 73% of the 31 companies examined. Its main reasons are:
- Delay in en listments
- Lack of planning
- Poor quality of raw material
- Lack of raw materials
As several of these companies had not started the automatic capture process, these reasons were hidden until software was implemented where the real impact of these stops could be evidenced and strategies were implemented that allowed the growth we mentioned above. Below we will explain what these failures consist of and how to fix them.
- Delay in set-ups:Failures during the set-up process happen when the necessary elements to start production are missing or are not arranged in the optimal way and generate delays.
Solution: Divide the enlistments by types, since some products need more time and operations than others (some need a complete change of raw material and others only a change of presentation). After identifying and coding them properly, the next step is to make a Pareto of Stops, where it will be found that 20% of the reasons are those that cause 80% of the delays, giving visibility to which are the problems that will give you the most results. if they are solved. (See how to get a Pareto stops).
For these improvements to be effective, you must use an automatic information capture tool that provides exact data on the time spent in enlistment, since if manual reports are kept, operators will always enter the same (and incorrect) values.(See an example in: When to automate data capture?)
- Lack of planning when producing:This happens when there is little communication between the sales team and the plant team or when there is no planning that aligns with sales objectives. This can cause shortages or oversupplies that generate waste due to expiration (in the case of food companies) and take up more space than necessary in warehouses. Some situations that alter planning are impossible to avoid, such as lack of raw materials, order priorities (urgent and last-minute), behavior of external markets or unavoidable unforeseen events.
Solution: Set up a planning team from different areas and disciplines that can consult production statuses in real time, make decisions based on accurate information, and respond in real time and reschedule as necessary to avoid customer dissatisfaction or loss of important business. This is one of the most important steps to achieve World Class Production(See the 6 steps to operational excellence).
- Poor quality of raw material:It can be observed when the raw material generates waste and it is necessary to slow down to keep it as little as possible (causing slow production). The problems that this generate are: The machine needs more setup time at start-up, it takes longer to produce the first good unit generating start-up waste, raw material is wasted and causes the machine to have to work at a lower than optimal speed, micro stops are generated due to raw material adjustments, damage to it or unnecessary replacements.
Solution: First, the lost time and waste that is being generated by the poor quality raw material, lost time such as machine adjustments, raw material changes, bursting or misalignment of material, among others, must be measured. Product waste must be classified by quantities and concepts, to identify if they correspond to poor quality of raw material, they must be classified in the 5 most common cases (poorly packaged product, dirt, porosity, cracks, appearance, etc.). This information must be collected accurately and in real time, to prevent the problem from spreading throughout the shift or subsequent shifts. Once this information is used, a prioritization is made and measures can be taken to solve them. As a result of this information, these two aspects can be looked at:
1. When there are a very large number of small stops (less than 4 minutes), it is extremely important to have automatic capture, as it is very difficult to keep manual control of these small times. An example of these small stops are that the raw material bursts, the packaging material causes the product to spill. In these cases, the machine must be adjusted and the product must be adjusted to continue production. In some of the companies studied, it was successful to carry out a pilot with another supplier of raw materials with better quality conditions and evaluate whether the stoppages that we thought were caused by their quality, decrease in time and frequency (and if the cost justifies the change). In other processes, what was economically successful was to modify the machine and make it make a softer treatment of the raw material and the product, without sacrificing the speed of the process, and thus use the same raw material and even use more economical materials with this improvement in the machine.(Read our experience with the 6 big losses, see the section "Quality" in the Colombian industry.)
2. In the case where waste is prioritized by type and weight, you must do a Pareto where 80% of the waste problem is identified (example: dirt in the product), then you must meet with the work team and identify the root cause of the problem, to find what to improve. It is important to verify that they are not internal storage or transport problems. In the end, it comes down to piloting with other suppliers and modifying the process to see if there is really an impact and thus propagate the solution throughout the plant.
- Lack of raw material:This error is repeated so many times that it becomes part of the landscape, the operator arrives at the machine and has no material with which to start production, causing delays and non-compliance in scheduling. The most recurrent reasons for this to happen are: Inventory errors, lack of material planning, lack of planning by the purchasing department and that the material is not prepared.
Solution: When these stoppages have been measured and are considered to generate a significant loss of time, we recommend the following actions: Make periodic inventories depending on the frequency of this error, Prepare raw materials separately for each planned production order, implement warehouse readiness procedures, schedule to have raw materials ready before stopping the machine.
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The proposed solutions can be implemented manually and will generate a visible impact on your production, however, the adoption of an automatic information capture system will allow more accurate results to be obtained, in less time and using fewer personnel resources, but the real value of these systems is that you can follow up on the proposed solutions, evaluate the impact they have had and make adjustments to them in real time.
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