The Company

The company is a multinational leader in the food industry, dedicated to revolutionizing the market with innovative, high-quality products, always prioritizing consumer needs. Its business model is based on a constant commitment to innovation, providing the best and latest solutions for both the market and consumers.

The Challenge

The company faced the challenge of maintaining its commitment to innovation and quality in all its processes. To address this, it was essential to tackle issues like modernizing production lines, improving equipment reliability, reducing product accumulation that leads to rework and efficiency loss, and managing the growing need for effective maintenance.

The lack of operator training due to constant updates proved challenging, as did the definition of the changeover processes (setup) and the specific tasks assigned to each employee.

In response to these challenges, and to maintain its leading position in the industry and continue to fulfill its mission of revolutionizing the food industry, the company implemented an improvement project to improve productivity, reduce costs, and ensure agility in an ever-changing market environment.

The Approach

The company developed a continuous improvement project across all its operations, optimizing production and logistics processes. This ambitious initiative aimed to optimize operational efficiency and improve the quality of the company’s processes.

Aligned with its mission of technological innovation and continuous improvement, the project unfolded in several phases to overcome the challenges identified below:

Analysis of Efficiency Losses

The first phase involved identifying the main causes of inefficiencies on the production line, enabling a precise and targeted diagnosis.

Autonomous Maintenance Routes

An autonomous maintenance plan was implemented in the second phase, creating autonomous maintenance routes and reinforcing planned maintenance routes.

Analysis, Optimization, and Standardization of Changeover Processes (Setup)

The third phase consisted of a detailed analysis of the setup tasks associated with changeovers in the production lines, optimizing the task sequences to reduce idle time. The SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) tool was applied to improve changeover processes and the company’s operational efficiency.

Definition of Production Sequencing

In the fourth and final phase, an ideal production sequencing was established and adjusted for formulas and formats to minimize the number of necessary changeovers as much as possible.

After an exhaustive diagnostic phase, which identified and corrected workflow inefficiencies, the project shifted its focus to optimizing productivity, reducing costs, and ensuring that the company remained agile in a constantly evolving context.

Results

This approach led to significant improvements in the company’s internal processes. In addition, the focus on continuous innovation allowed the company to maintain the quality that sets them apart in the market. These changes reinforced its position as a leader in the food industry, consistently prioritizing the consumer’s benefit.

Energy efficiency was one of the pillars of this project, resulting in an average reduction of 10.98% in electricity consumption and 11.99% in gas consumption.

Beyond energy efficiency, another key goal was to improve operational efficiency in production processes. In one of the production lines covered by the project, the company achieved an increase in Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) from 54% to 77.97%, marking a 44.38% improvement.

This progress increased productivity and significantly reduced the average changeover time on the production line, which dropped by 53% from approximately 10 minutes to 4 minutes.

These results reinforce the company’s commitment to operational excellence and sustainability, improving energy efficiency and overall production performance while increasing employee engagement. This has fostered a culture focused on continuous improvement.

Today, following the project’s success, the company has become more agile, efficient, and competitive, improving its operational processes and strengthening its commitment to sustainability and the well-being of its employees and customers.

This case study demonstrates how an approach based on Kaizen principles can transform the way a company operates, fostering a culture of commitment to operational excellence.

We are committed to respecting our clients’ confidentiality. While we have altered or omitted their names, the results are genuine.