On track in revenue and sustainability

The project team was made up of WCOM™ managers and ROI-EFESO consultants. To achieve the project goals at the then 24 locations worldwide, it followed the WCOM™ approach for factories developed by ROI-EFESO. This focuses on:

• Zero-loss principle: The approach is based on the zero-loss principle and encompasses the dimensions of loss detection, loss elimination and loss prevention. The project started with a loss analysis at all sites, which quickly revealed the most problematic points in the production lines. These points were summarized in a master plan, prioritized, and provided with measures to reduce or completely avoid losses.

• Enabling OPEX: At the same time, the project team set up a corresponding OPEX system step by step and in cooperation with all key operational levels. This was not limited to a technology-supported further development of the processes and IT / OT systems. Equally important was the empowerment of employees to use these processes and systems on a day-to-day basis. This enabled them to stabilize their own processes, reduce losses and independently drive continuous improvement in the long term.

Cross-functional improvement teams

A special feature of the approach: solutions to achieve “zero-loss” are developed on two levels. Firstly, directly on site in the teams at the machine/system. These teams are usually led by the operators – after all, it's about their working environment and how they can make their work easier, more stable and more efficient. This perspective is - on the other hand - extended by “improvement teams”, which are made up of representatives from several areas such as operations, maintenance, procurement, or HR.

This approach strengthens the team spirit within the entire corporate culture through jointly achieved results. In addition, the abstract topic of “continuous improvement” comes to life with success stories – at the lines as well as at many other points in the organization. In this case, the improvement teams were already able to achieve clear results on the way to “zero-loss” within three months. Over the entire duration of the project and across the plants, the company achieved these results, among others:

• Claims reduced by 50 %
• Waste reduced by 50 %
• Productivity increased by 30 %
• Converting costs reduced by 37 %

It also far exceeded its original minimum target: not just one, but several TPM awards for the entire plant network - verified and given by JIPM - confirmed the results and pioneering work processes at all levels of production, maintenance, quality, and skill development of employees. The company still benefits from this today, in these areas among others:

• The effects of the program improved productivity so much that the market positioning changed from “defender of market share” to active market leader.
• Better capacity utilization led to savings in the millions in capital goods and an increase in market share.
• The program was fully digitalized and extended to suppliers and customers to improve the performance of the entire value chain.

The improvement teams are still the key “driver” for implementing continuous improvement in the group today. Their success here was based, among other things, on the realization of these guidelines:

Encourage and challenge the team spirit.

One site developed a procedure for the “horizontal expansion” of loss elimination from one line to other lines. This approach could not be easily transferred to all other plants. Nevertheless, this success greatly motivated the team to continue the path they had taken daily – and to make the work process more stable with every loss that was rectified. Anyone who has experienced this a few times is motivated to get actively involved in improvement teams again.

Experimenting with simple, efficient solutions.

In another plant, the team identified losses on the printing machines that give the packaging its appearance. To reduce the time needed for machine cleaning, the employees developed clever solutions, such as refilling the machine with ink or avoiding paper waste during print nozzle tests. This “fiddling around” with their own solutions also proves to be productive in other WCOM™ projects. Employees, who are directly involved in the work steps, have a pragmatic view of such weak points – and usually have very good ideas for remedying them. The costs for this are normally low, but the changes make a big difference in day-to-day work and naturally add up on the way to the zero-loss target.

Visualize processes.

Another example, that could easily be transferred to all plants, is the visualization of inspection points in production. Schematic footprints on the hall floor show the routes and stations for inspections in different colors, e.g., blue for “quality” and red for “safety”. This shortens inspection times and makes them more efficient without compromising the quality of the inspection. A plant in Italy developed this approach further into a digital Poka-system. Minor deviations discovered during the inspection or during work could be entered directly into the Poka-system and followed up with measures to eliminate the losses.

Of course, this is only a very small selection of the numerous ideas and measures that have been implemented over time. The immense value that has been and continues to be generated is illustrated by the number of employees in the improvement teams: during the collaboration with ROI-EFESO, the packaging manufacturer trained thousands of employees in WCOM™ / OPEX.

Consulting projects on efficiency and loss reduction are often one-sided: external consultants are hired to carry out a loss analysis and then manage the implementation of improvements. The main outcome is documentation of results. One of the reasons, why WCOM™ / OPEX projects with ROI-EFESO are extraordinary successful, is that they break up and expand this system. For example, the company's employees should confirm the loss analysis. This requires a direct, intensive exchange with all stakeholders such as plant operators, fitters and maintenance staff. From the outset, this sensitizes employees to the topic – not in theory, but at their workplace.

This approach also brings “pain points”, i.e., sensitive issues, to light. These are often known but are not communicated or consistently followed up – and do not appear in loss analyses. In this project, too, the company identified such pain points in the initial phase and developed solutions. The structure for implementation was created by the mentioned improvement teams with a team constellation proven in numerous WCOM™ / OPEX projects. Together with the methodology experts from ROI-EFESO, team leaders and employees from the plants form this improvement teams, e.g. for production, maintenance and logistics. Methodology and practical expertise are thus combined right from the start.

Consultants with regional experience

In this type of cooperation, enabling the improvement teams to develop independently of the consultant has proven to be a successful model. The consultant's role changes according to the needs and maturity of the program in the organization. As with a tandem ride, the consultant is initially required to act more as a steering process expert, for example, but may be able to hand over this role to the team leader after a short time. So, the consultant switches to the role of coach or auditor, who rejoins the improvement team as required.

In this case, ROI-EFESO's global presence also proved to be the key to success: the packaging manufacturer succeeded in establishing WCOM™ / OPEX in parallel in the plants despite the different languages and (management) cultures. This only works in this form with a team of consultants who have a close regional connection and know the local challenges inside out. The success story continues today: after many years, the system now even serves as an operations management system for the company.