Customer-driven optimization of a process industry
One factory in a large packaging group lagged behind in the benchmark rate to other factories. They had already made major structural changes, but it was not enough. All investments in spite, it worked far from optimal. Closure was at stake. Ortelius got the responsible to help in this devastating situation. We took a holistic approach of the production process. A business model covering the whole chain was developed, from incoming raw materials, process variables in manufacturing equipment, operators, team work, external factors and quality parameters from the lab, to the finished product. The business model was translated into an optimization solution that allows the management to monitor, optimize and bring knowledge to the process at all times to deliver better quality, tailored to each customer’s specific quality requirements and with less waste.
Results:
- The factory advanced from a record low in the benchmark rate to become one of the leading production units and is still at the top.
- Status and history of production is visualized easily and at any location in the factory.
- Deviations are analyzed continuously from a holistic perspective.
- Continuous quality improvement based on the transfer of knowledge from specific successful manufacturing batches is shared.
- Traceability - faulty material can be tracked and stopped before it leaves the factory.