- Led the application of Cellular Manufacturing at a Neoprene synthetic polymer plant. The results were dramatic:
- Lead time through the process was reduced by 28%
- Finished product inventory was cut in half.
- Yield losses were reduced by 30%
- Average changeover time was reduced from 8 hours to 3 hours
- Time to reach aim viscosity after a changeover was reduced from 5 hours to 5 minutes
- Usable capacity was increased by 3.6MM pounds per year
- Benefits to the business total $9.4MM annually
And all of this was achieved with no capital expense – only a change in flow
- Led and coached a team designing and implementing product wheels on a vitamin tablet packaging operation. Organized products into families with similar processing characteristics and assigned each family to a specific packaging line, reducing the number of major changeovers by 42%. Product Wheels increased useful capacity by 35%; saved $1.5MM in operating cost; brought stability and predictability to the operation.
- Led the development of product wheel scheduling at an ethylene co-polymer plant. Put wheels on four extruders. The resulting reduction in changeovers reduced yield losses by $2.4 million per year. Reduced inventory and working capital. Created predictability of production operations and preventative maintenance windows, resulting in less chaos and frustration on the plant floor.
- Led a lean analysis of a global chemical supply chain. Created a high level Value Stream Map which identified several opportunities for significant inventory reduction. Result: a working capital reduction of $9MM.