Rui Castro about Lactogal’s of Continuous Improvement with KAIZEN™

Rui, how did you first learn about KAIZEN™?

In 2010, I had the privilege of actively participating in a KAIZEN™ project to continuously improve the operations of a large Portuguese industrial company. As head of one of the production units, I was directly involved in implementing various projects, which allowed me to experience how transformative a Continuous Improvement project can be when embraced by the whole team. Although I was already familiar with the methodology and had been involved in the implementation of specific improvement projects on selected production lines, I had not implemented such a comprehensive project.

What problems or circumstances led you to start using lean and continuous improvement methodologies?

At Lactogal, Continuous Improvement projects had already been carried out, namely in partnership with Kaizen Institute in the Logistics area. In Production, we identified our cheese factory in Oliveira de Azeméis as a priority for action. We can’t say that Ǫuality or even the factory’s waste was a concern. The high-quality control standards that are part of the identity of all Lactogal processes and products already guarantee us extremely high performance in these areas. When we looked at the process, we identified two pillars that required attention, action and development: the process yield of transforming milk into cheese and the optimization of post-production operations such as processing and packaging.

Cheese yield (amount of milk necessary to produce 1 kg of cheese) because we knew it could be improved and that it would bring economic benefit to the project. And the operations optimization because all the processing of the multiple cheese references has several stages, not all strictly sequential, which are labour-intensive and involve many different references. This type of process is prone to inefficiencies and highly discretionary if not properly standardized, as it relies heavily on human actions and decisions. Moreover, our product is a living organism whose evolution between the various phases is not always the same. Since it is impossible to standardize our product’s behavior during the process, we feel the need to standardize our people’s decision-making processes, the organization of workstations, cleaning processes, etc.

What aspects of Continuous Improvement are most important for your organization?

Certainly, achieving robust operations that guarantee the total quality and food safety of our products every day. At Lactogal, we are aware that improving processes, with everyone’s involvement and commitment, is the best and most reliable way of guaranteeing compliance with all the requirements we set for our products, thereby honoring our commitment to consumers.

What help and inspiration did you receive from Kaizen Institute?

We chose Kaizen Institute as our partner for implementing Continuous Improvement projects after having visited and learned about success stories in other industries. We knew we could count on an experienced team focused on achieving results. At the same time, we were concerned about implementing the initiatives on site. If it’s true that Continuous Improvement is done with the teams, with all the employees involved and in the Gemba, it was also clear to us that we didn’t want consulting services in the classic sense of providing “high-level” training, knowledge and methodology that then doesn’t reach the shop floor or, if it does, is seen as something that “they’ve been doing there”.

Kaizen Institute’s approach to project implementation is grounded in a solid technical foundation but strongly emphasizes practical execution – demonstrating how it’s done and actively engaging in hands-on work. This is one of the success factors of these projects in the industry: setting an example through action. Surprisingly, on the first day of work, when the project started at the cheese factory, the entire team of consultants showed up wearing safety shoes. This may seem like a minor detail, but it actually says a lot about their attitude towards the challenge at hand. The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Who you are speaks so loudly that I can hardly hear what you say”. A truth that flourishes in KAIZEN^TM culture.

How did you first know that your Continuous Improvement efforts were successful?

It would be easy to mention the mathematical evolution of any of the project’s various indicators. But I prefer to paint the picture of an episode. On one of my visits to the factory, I saw an area manager asking the material supplier why he had placed so much product on the line for her to process. The number of pallets was higher than specified and, as such, already taking up space outside the proper markings. The problem wasn’t lack of space – _there was plenty of it. The reason behind this was that the standard wasn’t being respected. It would have been a lot easier to have ignored it than to debate the error and the necessary correction. She chose what Scott Peck calls “the road less traveled”. Not the most comfortable, but the right one. That day, in person, I realized that we were on the right track.

What advice can you offer other organizations that are exploring KAIZEN™?

It’s often said that the gym is perhaps the most democratic place in the world. To get results, you have to put in the personal effort. It’s not enough to pay the monthly fee. Good, consistent results over time require commitment from the entire organization. From top management all the way down the production chain. You can’t buy Continuous Improvement. It’s an investment, has a return, and is perhaps the best investment a company can make. But it’s not a tradable good for which you pay a price against delivery. It’s not even a service that an external entity performs and delivers a result.

Continuous Improvement must start, strengthen itself, reinvent itself, and feed itself. And all of this must happen with the commitment of the natural teams in the Gemba combined with the example, proximity and commitment of top management. Continuous improvement is a perishable product if it is understood as something that can be traded by management decision. But if properly supported by the entire organization and with everyone’s effort and commitment, it becomes a transformative force that adds value and prepares the organization to maintain the required level of performance over time.