Impact of continuous improvement at Kenvue Val-de-Reuil

The pharmaceutical and dermocosmetics industry operates in a highly regulated and competitive environment, where product quality and safety, as well as compliance with international standards, are critical factors. Companies in this sector face constant challenges, including process optimization, waste reduction, and the need to increase productivity while maintaining high quality standards. In this context, applying continuous improvement methodologies such as Lean and Kaizen is essential to ensure operational efficiency, sustainable innovation, and consumer trust.

From challenge to performance: The implementation of KOE

Kenvue is a global company dedicated to skin care and health, placing people at the center of its priorities. With over 135 years of experience, the company reaches approximately 1.2 billion consumers worldwide, offering reliable and effective products that support every stage of life, from neonatal care to pain relief and skin protection solutions.

Creating an inclusive and collaborative environment, where employees are empowered to perform at their best, is what drives Kenvue. This is how innovation, competitiveness, and consumer confidence in its brands are strengthened.

To sustain this commitment and support the growth of its operations, the company launched the KOE (Kenvue Operational Excellence) program, which is being implemented across several production units. The project has the following strategic objectives:

• Improve overall team productivity in quality operations.
• Define a strategy to reduce non-value-added tasks.
• Increase the on-time product release rate.
• Improve employee motivation and engagement.
•  Foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Figure 1 – Summary of KOE strategic goals

Integrating operational excellence

The Val-de-Reuil production unit plays a strategic role in manufacturing skin care and health products, being responsible for renowned brands such as Neutrogena and Aveeno. In this context, the KOE (Kenvue Operational Excellence) project was implemented to improve operational efficiency and strengthen team performance on production lines and in the laboratory.

Key challenges in implementing KOE in Val-de-Reuil

Implementing the KOE program at this production unit faced several challenges, reflecting the complexity of applying continuous improvement methodologies in critical production and laboratory operations.

1. Team engagement

One of the main priorities was to encourage employees’ active involvement, thus ensuring collective commitment to the new work practices.

“The first step was to bring the teams together and involve them in the project.” – Gilles Brouillez, Continuous Improvement Engineer

Figure 2 – KOE project teams in Val-de-Reuil

2. Integrating new practices into daily work

The teams had to balance their daily tasks with adopting new methods, without compromising operational continuity and quality.

“We had to continue ensuring our regular work while integrating new tasks, but also a new way of working on a daily basis.” – Gilles Brouillez, Continuous Improvement Engineer

3. Operational complexity

The Val-de-Reuil site manages multiple production lines and laboratory operations, requiring strong coordination across different areas and specialties.

Ensuring operational efficiency and consistency across these various fronts represented a significant challenge.

Figure 3 – Neutrogena and Aveeno production lines

4. Cultural change and adoption of continuous improvement

Creating a culture of continuous improvement and encouraging team proactivity was a major obstacle, requiring employees to engage autonomously in identifying improvement opportunities.

KOE to empower teams and transform processes

To address the challenges of team engagement, operational complexity, and cultural change, the Val-de-Reuil unit implemented the KOE program through a structured strategic approach, encompassing several dimensions:

1. Focus on teams and daily communication

Teams participated in daily meetings that became key moments for monitoring performance, identifying deviations, sharing lessons learned, and reinforcing continuous improvement practices.

This structured communication enabled each employee to understand their role in the improvement process and become directly involved in operational decisions.

“We organized daily meetings at four levels, from operators to top management, to review our daily performance.” – Lucie Legrand-Paris, Lean Engineer

2. Lean and Kaizen methodologies applied to production lines

The Lean methodology was applied with the aim of eliminating waste, improving workflow, and increasing efficiency in production and laboratory operations. The Kaizen methodology complemented this approach by focusing on continuous improvement and encouraging teams to identify and implement small, incremental improvements. Through Kaizen, Kenvue established a team-centered performance model that enabled process standardization and the elimination of inefficiencies.

Implementing this improvement program had a significant impact, as it encouraged active team participation, creating a collaborative environment in which everyone engaged in continuous improvement and assumed a leading role in operational changes.

3. Reducing changeover times and increasing flexibility with SMED

The SMED methodology was used to reduce equipment changeover times by 35%, a crucial factor in increasing production line flexibility and enabling faster responses to brand needs.

By reducing the time required to reconfigure equipment between production batches, the team increased production line utilization, thereby improving output and responsiveness to market needs.

This methodology directly contributed to operational efficiency, enabling more efficient resource utilization and greater production agility.

4. Autonomous maintenance and operational best practices with NILS

The NILS system, whose initials in French stand for Nettoyage, Inspection, Lubrification, Serrage, was implemented to enable autonomous daily maintenance of production lines by the teams. This autonomous maintenance methodology enables teams to detect and resolve problems proactively, reducing unexpected downtime and maintaining uninterrupted production. This approach reinforced team accountability for equipment upkeep, aligning maintenance needs with Kenvue’s continuous improvement culture.

This autonomy of teams in performing maintenance tasks has provided greater agility and reduced production line downtime, making processes more sustainable and efficient.

Figure 4 – NILS system

The application of SMED and NILS contributed to improving OEE, reflecting increased production line effectiveness and more efficient utilization of total capacity.

H3: 5. Structured problem solving with RCPS

The RCPS (Root Cause Problem Solving) methodology was applied to resolve problems in a structured manner, focusing on identifying and eliminating root causes, thus avoiding superficial treatment of their symptoms. This approach enabled the Val-de-Reuil team to resolve more than 60 problems efficiently and effectively, prevent recurrence, and ensure greater operational stability. Using the RCPS methodology contributed to creating an environment in which problem solving is carried out systematically, based on data and precise analysis.

As a result, the team increased process reliability, improved operational quality, and significantly reduced errors and operational failures.

6. Capability building and team engagement

All teams received training in the new operational methodology, enabling them to understand the practices, gain autonomy to propose improvements, and develop the capability to implement sustainable changes.

This training also promoted motivation, collaboration, and alignment with this unit’s strategic objectives.

7. Integration with laboratory operations

The project also covered the laboratory, where processes were standardized, autonomous cells were created, and activities were digitalized.

Digitalization optimized activity planning and control, improving sample traceability and reducing response time, while autonomous cells provided greater agility and efficiency.

This integration increased productivity, raw material analysis capacity, and reinforced consistent quality levels across all laboratory operations.

Figure 5 – Planning and control of digitized activities

This structured approach highlights how the Val-de-Reuil team consistently applied KOE, turning challenges into opportunities for improvement, empowering teams, and aligning operational execution with Kenvue’s strategic objectives.

Results achieved in Val-de-Reuil operations

Applying the KOE program at the Val-de-Reuil production unit delivered tangible and measurable results in both production operations and the laboratory, demonstrating the impact of the implemented methodologies and team engagement.

Results on production lines:

• Increased line throughput and OEE: +13% on production lines dedicated to the Neutrogena and Aveeno brands.
• Reduction in minimum order quantity (MOQ): -50%, increasing order processing flexibility.
• Reduction in equipment changeover time: -35% through the application of the SMED methodology.
• Additional production capacity: 300 additional hours available for production.
• Problems resolved: more than 60 problems identified and solved through the RCPS methodology.

Laboratory results:

• Increased productivity: +30% in executing laboratory tasks.
• Right first time (RFT): +10% improvement, reducing rework and waste.
• Capacity made available: +30% laboratory operational capacity.
• Productivity in raw material analysis and sampling: +20%, accelerating validation processes.
• Employee engagement: 70% of the laboratory team actively participated in continuous improvement initiatives.

These results show that the structured application of KOE, combined with team training and the implementation of Lean, Kaizen, SMED, NILS, and RCPS methodologies, had a tangible impact on productivity, quality, and operational efficiency, consolidating a culture of sustainable continuous improvement.

Lessons learned and next steps in implementing KOE

Implementing the KOE program at the Val-de-Reuil unit made it possible to leverage key lessons learned that go beyond the quantitative results achieved. One of the most important lessons was understanding that active team engagement is essential to the project’s success. As stated by Gilles Brouillez, continuous improvement engineer:

“We are now in a position to continue implementing the program in other areas and to work every day with this new approach.” 

Another lesson was the recognition that continuous OEE improvement is fundamental to ensuring long-term competitiveness. OEE became a key indicator for measuring equipment effectiveness, and continuing this improvement will be a priority in order to maximize production capacity and ensure operational efficiency in future expansions of the KOE program.

Additionally, another fundamental aspect was the importance of standardization and applying structured methodologies such as RCPS, SMED, and NILS, which helped resolve problems consistently, reduce waste, and optimize processes. Integrating production and laboratory activities was crucial to ensuring consistent results, demonstrating that operational excellence depends on collaboration across different departments.

The next steps include expanding the application of KOE to other areas of the company, consolidating team autonomy, and maintaining continuous improvement as a daily practice. The methodologies applied will be refined to ensure sustainable and innovative solutions.

In conclusion, Abed Brighet, Quality and Compliance Director, stated:

“If I had to summarize the project in a few words, I would say that it is, above all, a fantastic adventure, during which the team seized the opportunity, putting its experience at the service of performance improvement.”