An application of lean manufacturing techniques to improve Line Utilization at the. presented to. The Graduate School of Business

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1 An application of lean manufacturing techniques to improve Line Utilization at the Lilongwe plant in Malawi A Research Report presented to The Graduate School of Business University of Cape Town in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Business Administration Degree by Abduraghmaan Mamat December 2008 Supervisor: Fatima Hamdulay 2009/05/28 Page 1 of 64

2 Note of acknowledgement Firstly thanks must be given to Fatima Hamdulay for her support given during this research. Her inspiration, guidance and feedback on short notice really helped in completing this research report. Thanks must also go the staff at the Lilongwe plant in Malawi. During my numerous visits there it was clear that they were working under very stressful conditions, but still had time to assist me with completing this research report. Lastly thanks must be given to my company Coca Cola who sponsored the various trips to the Lilongwe plant in Malawi and also making information available on Coca Cola s new Operational Excellence model that includes principles of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. Signed: Abduraghmaan Mamatt (MMTABD001) Date: 12 th December /05/28 Page 2 of 64

3 Abstract The Lilongwe plant in Malawi has experienced significant growth in demand for the products they produce. Sales demand has exceeded sales forecast by 50% and is up 40% on prior year sales. This has resulted in the plant being unable to supply their customers with sufficient product. The plant is however plagued by low Line Utilization and production capability which further worsen the situation. Plant management is concerned about the sustainability of this high demand and hence are reluctant to invest in capital expenditure until the current low Line Utilization and productivity issues has been resolved. The aim of this research study was to address these areas of concern and to identify if value stream mapping could be used to identify areas of waste and also if lean manufacturing principles and tools can be used to improve Line Utilization and reduce waste. An Action Research Methodology was used to determine the validity of this report s hypotheses. The research study found that value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling process and also to identify areas of waste. Implementation of some of the lean tools also helped in improving Line Utilization and reducing waste. A further outcome of the research was that for the plant to achieve further improvements further research needs to be conducted on the implementation of the other lean tools and also to expand further on continuous improvement tool. This will aid the plant in achieving even better results. 2009/05/28 Page 3 of 64

4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction Area of study Background Problem statement and motivation for research Research Questions Objectives of the research Research Hypothesis Literature Review Value stream Mapping Lean thinking Methodology Assumptions Hypothesis testing Hypothesis Value stream mapping Conclusion Hypothesis Quick set-ups or changeover Conclusion Continuous improvement (Kaizen) Current reality prior to implementing experiment Conclusion References...48 Appendix 9.1 Meeting Transcripts...49 Appendix 9.2 Training on Lean Manufacturing /05/28 Page 4 of 64

5 1. Introduction The Lilongwe bottling plant in Malawi currently bottles (under licence) Coca Cola products for resale in the Malawi market. The plant has experienced a significant increase (50% above sales forecast) in demand for the products it bottles. Due to this sudden jump in demand this plant has been unable to supply all its customers. As it is not clear whether this jump in demand is sustainable and also due to lack of capital funding plant management has been hesitant to expand production capacity through capital investment. This research report sets out the result of an investigation into the feasibility of using lean manufacturing principles or techniques in a beverage manufacturing plant to improve the line utilization of one production line. The Action Research Methodology has been used to systematically plan, implement and analyse the outcomes of the research interventions. 2009/05/28 Page 5 of 64

6 2. Area of study 2.1. Background The Lilongwe plant in Malawi is part of the Southern Bottling Company of Malawi. This plant currently produces Coca Cola products, under licence, for consumption in the Malawi market. The plant produces a range of the Coca Cola carbonated soft drinks and all products are packaged in a 300ml returnable glass bottle. The Coca Cola World Class manufacturing standard for line utilization for a 300ml returnable glass bottle line is 80% with 65% being acceptable performance (Productivity Improvement Guidelines for The Value Chain 4 th Edition 1996 The Coca Cola Company). Currently the Lilongwe plant is running at 45% line utilization. Production started at the Lilongwe plant in At the time plant equipment consisted of both new and second hand equipment. Due to neglect plant equipment is currently in a poor condition. The research study focussed on the production of the 300ml carbonated soft drinks at this plant. The bottling process is a continuous batch process consisting of various stages thru which each bottle goes. These stages include: Removal of empty bottles from the crates Removal of caps from empty bottles Bottle washing Empty bottle inspection Mixing and carbonation of the soft drink Filling and capping of the bottle Fill height detection Date coding of bottles Packing of filled bottles into crates Packing of crates onto pallets 2009/05/28 Page 6 of 64

7 The focus of this research was only on the actual production process and all external factors, which may have impacted on line utilization, was ignored 2.2. Problem statement and motivation for research The Lilongwe plant was currently operating below the Coca Cola Standard of 80% for Line Utilization. The plant was currently operating at 45% line utilization. During this same period demand for Coca Cola products in Lilongwe increased by 100% of sales forecast for 2008 and hence the plant was unable to supply the market. Product had to be imported from Blantyre Malawi and South Africa to satisfy the customer demand. As this increase in demand was unforeseen no capital expenditure was planned for 2008 to increase capacity. Hence alternative methods were investigated for improving line utilization so that customer demand can be met. Why Lean Thinking? At the beginning of 2007 the Coca Cola Company embarked on a productivity improvement process called Operation Excellence. Core to this program was the Lean Thinking philosophy. Initially some elements of lean thinking were trailed at the Cairo plant during 2008 During the early stages of this process early gains were noted in terms of waste reduction and improvements in line utilization. The Operation Excellence process was scheduled for implementation in the rest of Africa during 2009 and Hence it was decided to investigate if lean principles can be used to improve line utilization and reduce waste in a bottling plant in Malawi prior to the implementation of Operation Excellence. Any learnings from this research could then be used to improve the successful implementation of Operation Excellence Research Questions The researcher will make use of the principles of Value stream mapping and lean manufacturing and also the tools of lean manufacturing to answer the following research questions: 1. Can value stream mapping be used to describe the bottling process in a bottling plant and can it be used to identify waste effectively? 2. Can Lean techniques be used to increase line utilization and reduce waste? 2.4. Objectives of the research The research questions will be answered while keeping the following research objectives in mind: 2009/05/28 Page 7 of 64

8 1. To define the soft drink bottling process using Value Stream Mapping. 2. To improve line utilization and reduce waste using Lean Principles Research Hypothesis This research project will have the following primary hypotheses: 1. Value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling flow process and can assist in identifying areas of waste. 2. Lean principles/techniques can be applied to soft drink manufacturing industry to improve line utilization and reduce waste. 2009/05/28 Page 8 of 64

9 3. Literature Review The literature review focus mainly on Lean Manufacturing principles and the tools associated with this. Hence the review will also cover value stream mapping. Lean Thinking originated from the Toyota Production System and although it is not covered in the review in detail, reference may also be made to it as some components of the Toyota Production System forms the cornerstone of Lean Thinking Value stream Mapping A value stream is defined as all the actions required (both value adding and non value adding) to bring a product through the main flows of the process and finally into the hands of the customers. These flows include production flows from raw material into the hands of the customers and the design flow from concept to raw material. The value stream map is a graphical representation of all these flows and helps the user to see and understand the flow of material and information as a product makes its way thru a value stream. A value stream is an effective tool to seeing value and especially the sources of waste in a process. A further component of value stream mapping is to draw a map of a future state where all or most of the waste has been eliminated and of how value should flow Lean thinking The concepts of lean thinking were born out of the severe resource constraints in post World War 2 Japan. Being short on resources Japanese manufacturers were forced to operate with minimum waste and this principle was spread to all areas of their business. This process of minimizing waste was derived mostly from the Toyota Production System. The term lean thinking was first coined by Professor James P Womack and consultant Daniel T Jones. Womack and Jones (1996) identified five stages associated with lean thinking. The five stages are: 1. Precisely specifying value by specific product and from a customer s perspective. 2. Identify the value stream for each product. Create the value stream map and identify the sources of value for the customer. 2009/05/28 Page 9 of 64

10 3. Make value flow without interruptions. This involves minimizing delays, inventories, defects and downtime, while ensuring simplicity and visibility. 4. Letting the customer pull value from the producer the process is initiated only in response to customer demand. 5. Striving for perfection after the 4 steps of above have been achieved continuous improvements should be made in effort, time, space, cost and mistakes in an effort to achieve perfection. In Lean Thinking seven waste are identified. These seven wastes were first identified by Toyota and formed part of the Toyota Production System. The seven categories of waste are: 1. Over production This has been identified as the greatest source of waste and entails producing more than what is required by the next process in the operation. 2. Waiting Involves the waiting time of machines and labour waiting on materials to be processed and hence standing idle. This is normally measured by machine and labour efficiency. 3. Transport- Unnecessary movement or transporting of material around the plant including double handling that does not add any value. 4. Inappropriate processing The process itself may be a source of waste as some process only exists to accommodate poor component design. 5. Inventory Inventory normally hides area of waste in the process hence it becomes a target for elimination so that areas of waste can be identified. 6. Motion- Operators may look busy but no value is added thru the unnecessary motion. Simplification of work is a source of reduction in the waste of motion. 7. Defective goods- The total costs of defective goods are very high. The goods may require rework or have to be destroyed completely resulting in huge losses. It is therefore critical to attack the sources of defective goods at all costs. Lean thinking is applied by drawing a value stream map of the process, identifying and quantifying the seven wastes and then developing and implementing systems to reduce or eliminate this waste. As waste is eliminated the quality of the product improves while production time and costs are reduced. 3.3 The lean practices In lean manufacturing there are many practices that aids in achieving swift even flow. Pieterse (2006) identifies and define the following lean practices that can be used for implementing lean manufacturing. They are: 1. Flexible resources: Machines and personnel can be used for various purposes and can be adapted for different applications. 2009/05/28 Page 10 of 64

11 2. Cellular layouts: Arrange small multi-purposemachines in a U-shaped cell so that one or more workers can complete the manufacture or assembly of a complete sub-unit. 3. Pull production: Parts are only manufactured when required and there is no build up of stock 4. Kanban production: Using of a signal to inform the previous manufacturing step that it can produce what is required 5. Small lot production: No big batches are waiting between stages of production. A single piece flow from one stage to another. 6. Quick set-ups: Machine are easily setup to manufacture different parts 7. Uniform production levels: Smoothing of the output of the production process so that all models required are manufactured daily in aregular pattern 8. Quality at source: Everyone on the production line is responsible or quality and are responsible for working in teams to eliminate the root cause of the problem 9. Total productive maintenance: First line maintenance is carried out by production staff 10. Supplier networks: Creat close working relationships with fewer suppliers to ensure a steady flow of quality supplies 11. Continuous improvement: Involving all employees in continuously improving current processes, layouts and systems. 12. Line-stop authority: Employees have the authority to stop the line when a defect is detected so that the root cause can be identified. 13. Standard tasks: Develop standardised procedures so that work can be carried out consistently 14. Autonomation: Installing self correcting steps into the machine or process 3.4 The lean tools to start flow 1. Single piece flow One of the main changes of lean manufacturing is to change from a batch manufacturing process to single piece flow. The advantage of this change is that there is no build up of inventory between the various stages of production resulting in huge costs savings. Single piece flow cannot be achieved in isolation. For this to be effective it is necessary to stabilize customer demand, shorten set ups dramatically, maintaining machines in an excellent condition and will require more flexibility from workers and machines. 2. Quality at source Quality at source requires that quality inspection is done by the production personnel at each stage of production. Personnel must be given authority to stop the line if defective product are identified. The root cause of the problem is then identified using various problem solving techniques such as 5 whys. 2009/05/28 Page 11 of 64

12 Quality at source is heavily dependent on the philosophy of kaizen, the Japanese term for continuous improvement. Continuous improvement is required to eliminate all waste and requires the input of all employees. Achieving employee involvement is a culture change that may take many years 3. Pull scheduling Pull scheduling is based on the principle that an item is made only when it is ordered by the customer. This means that no safety stock is build up and will result in savings in terms of low inventory levels. Pull scheduling normally works by using a signalling system that will inform the previous production process to manufacture a new unit. This signalling system i also called kanban in Japanese which was developed by Toyota. It should however be noted that kanbans are not effective for single piece or batch production, safety stock, long range planning tools and operations with significant setups. 4. Quick set-ups Quick set-ups are critical to ensure changing from one product to another. If set-ups take long or is costly it will not be possible or easy to achieve the principle of single flow and flexible resources. Long costly set-ups will mean that the manufacturing lines will have to run longer and produce safety inventory to make the production process cost effective and to increase the efficiency of the machine. Quick set-ups can be achieved by making use of smaller and simpler machines that can be easily setup or changed over by production personnel. Set up time can be reduced further by doing all preparation work before the changeover will happen. Bolts, nuts and screws that require specialized tools and that needs to be removed during setup should be replaced where possible with clamps or fasteners that will require either basic or no tools to remove. Setup times can be reduced by monitoring the current procedure and identifying what work can be done up front. All upfront work should then be completed prior to the setup or changeover. When the new setup procedure has been agreed on they should be practised until they are perfected. It is critical that those employees who are involved in the setup process also be involved in the redesign of the process. 3.5 The lean tools to enable flow The lean tools that will enable flow include total productive maintenance, uniform production levels, continuous improvement, visual management and supplier networks. 2009/05/28 Page 12 of 64

13 1) Total productive maintenance is proactive in nature and focuses on involving everybody in the organisation in the maintenance process. This increase awareness of potential breakdowns and frees up maintenance personnel to address more critical breakdown problems. The approach used in total productive maintenance is a team approach involving both production and maintenance personnel. As the production personnel are the most affected by poor maintenance they are normally the first line of defence in the maintenance strategy. Consequently operating staff normally becomes responsible for the first line maintenance of equipment. 2) Continuous improvement refers to improving performance with many small incremental improvement steps. The focus is not in the improvements being small but more on the fact that these small improvements can be further improved on very easily. Continuous improvement implies a never-ending cycle of repeatedly questioning the basic workings of an operation. The continuous improvement cycle consist of four steps which include the PLAN stage, the DO stage, the CHECK stage and the ACT stage. During the PLAN stage the current method of operation or problem is studied. When a plan of action is identified we move to the DO stage where the new plan is tried out. The CHECK stage is used to determine whether the newly implemented plan has achieved the desired results. In the ACT stage the newly implemented plan is standardized if it was successful and if not the cycle restarts again. The tools of continuous improvement includes problems solving techniques which includes the 5 Why s (which involves asking 5 why s until the problem has been resolved), brainstorming, PARETO charts (which is a bar chart that list the frequency of occurrence of events or defects. The PARETO principle states that 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the equipment) and cause and effect diagrams (also called fish bone diagrams or Ishikawa diagrams. This diagram is used to determine the causes of a defect or a problem. The 5 why s technique is a very simple but powerful technique for identifying the root cause of a problem. When a problem occurs the team will come together and ask why questions, until the root cause has been identified. The answer of the first why question becomes the question of the next why question. Brainstorming involves generating ideas in a group without any idea being prejudiced. The brain storming session starts by developing a problem statement. Based on the problem statement possible solutions are identified for the cause of the problem. Brainstorming is also a powerful problem solving technique, but it is critical that the problem statement is clearly and correctly defined at the start to steer the group in the right direction. 2009/05/28 Page 13 of 64

14 PARETO charts is a bar chart that lists the frequency of occurrence of events or defect. PARETO charts in itself is not a problem solving technique, but is a useful tool to highlight the magnitude of the problem. The Pareto principle states that 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the equipment. Hence these charts will highlight not only the main problem, but also underlying problems that are as big or that may contribute to the main problem. Results from the Pareto chart is used as input to the other problem solving techniques such as the 5 why s, brain storming and cause and effect diagrams. Cause and effect diagrams or fish bone diagrams are used to identify the cause of a problem or defect. The name stems from the fact that the diagram use is in the shape of a fish skeleton. The diagram is drawn with normally 6 branches which is labelled as the possible cause of the defect of the problem. Possible labels would include things like man, machine, environment and money that is all factors that could possibly cause the problem. At the end of the bransh the problem is stated. Each branch is then labelled with a list of possible causes under each heading. A solution to the problem is found by turning the fish bone around and using the input as an ouput. Effective problem solving is achieved by using a combination of the various techniques. 3. Visual management centers around communication within an organisation. In terms of lean the purpose of visual management is to show a group how its performing against its set goals. It can also be used to show the performance of the whole plant. 2009/05/28 Page 14 of 64

15 4. Methodology This research focused on the collection of data and after which theory was developed for this specific situation. The Action Research Methodology was used to conduct this research. Action research cycles was completed and analysed and based on the outcome of the analyses theory was developed in the area of lean manufacturing in a bottling environment What is Action Research (AR)? Coughlan and Coghlan (2002) define action research as research in action, rather than research about action. Furthermore this research is participative, concurrent with action and is a sequence of events and an approach to problem solving. Action Research uses a scientific approach to resolve social or organisational issues together with those involved in these issues. Action Research uses a cyclical 4 step approach of planning, taking action, evaluating the results of the action and then leading to further planning and a repeat of the whole cycle until the issues has been effectively resolved. For the AR process to be effective it is critical that those involved in the system being studied also participate in the cyclical process identified above. This makes AR different from traditional research, where members of the system were the objects of study. Thirdly AR is research that happens together with action. The goal of the research is to make the action effective whilst building up a body of scientific knowledge. AR is also both a sequence of events and an approach to problem solving. 4.2 The AR steps The AR cycle can be grouped into 3 types (Coughlan and Coghlan, 2002). These steps are: 1. A pre-step that clarifies the context and purpose of the research. 2. Six main steps that is used to gather data, feed back and analyse data and to plan, implement and evaluate action 3. A meta step to monitor the whole process and which is the focus for the academic dissertation 2009/05/28 Page 15 of 64

16 Graphically the AR steps can be illustrated as follow: Figure 1: The action research cycle (Source: Coughlan and Coghlan, 2002) The 6 steps are detailed as follow: 1. Data gathering: Achieved thru active involvement by the researcher in the day to day activities of the organisation relating to the AR process. Data is gathered thru participation in and observing teams at work, problem solving and making decisions. 2. Data feedback: After gathering the data the researcher feedbacks the information to the organisation with a view of making it available for analysis. 3. Data analysis: Gathered data is analysed by both the researcher and members of the team involved in the research. This ensures involvement and ownership of the data and plans that may be generated. 4. Action planning: After the data has been analysed the team will together plan what needs to change, in what part of the organisation, what type of change, whose support is required and how is resistance to be managed. 5. Implementation: Plans generated are implemented by the client 6. Evaluation: This step involves reflecting on the outcome of the plans implemented in the previous step. What worked and what did not work and what needs to be changed for the next cycle. Saunders (2003) recommends for action research at least 2 cycles be completed. Hence for this research project the researcher will be directly involved in the completion of at least 2 cycles. During this process capability will be developed amongst the plant staff to ensure that they can continue with 2009/05/28 Page 16 of 64

17 process with further cycles in other areas of the plant. During this phase the researcher will continue to monitor the process to ensure its effectiveness. 4.3 Is AR appropriate for this project? AR is appropriate when the research relates to describing the actions of a given group over time, understanding as a group member why their actions can improve the working of a system and to understand the process of change so that they can learn from it. Furthermore as per Dick (2002) AR is used when you wish to achieve understanding and change at the same time. In the case of the Lilongwe plant there was an urgent need to change the current situation of poor performance i.e. low line utilization and high waste. This change could only be achieved by actively involving all the role players needed to achieve the change. By introducing lean principles into the bottling process changes were achieved and by involving the key role players and understanding of the lean principles were achieved. By witnessing the effect of the change the role players gained further understanding of how lean principles can help in improving the plant performance and how it can be applied in other areas. The aim of AR was to generate knowledge specific to a certain area and hence in this case the knowledge generated in one part of the plant could be applied in other areas of the plant. 4.4 The role of the researcher in AR O Brien (1998) describes the main role of the action researcher as someone who nurtures local leaders to the point where they can take responsibility for the process. This point is reached when they understand the methods and are able to carry on when the initiating researcher leaves. Furthermore he also indicates that the role of the action researcher includes the following: planner, leader, catalyzer, teacher, listener, synthesizer, facilitator, designer, observer and reporter. Lewin (Bumes, 2004) reaffirms that and indicates that the role of the action researcher is to develop those involved in the research and to create a learning environment that would allow them to understand themselves and their circumstances. It is clear that this approach required (as stated by O Brien) a teacher and mentoring approach to this research. For this research to be effective it was critical for the researcher to involve the role players right from the start. The need for change was clearly explained and the researcher was required to coach and mentor the role players continuously to ensure that capability was developed and that the role players was be capable and willing to continue the process when the researcher left. 2009/05/28 Page 17 of 64

18 4.5 Procedure followed for collecting data Taking into consideration the lack of technical capability at the Lilongwe plant it was decided right from the start that the researcher will drive the whole process until 2 AR cycles were completed. The research followed a process of implementing lean manufacturing principles for the one line and based on the results of the implementation data was gathered from which conclusions and theory were drawn. The steps in the implementation process were as follow: 1. Opening meeting held with senior management to agree and discuss their lean vision Recorded minutes of meeting signed by all present. 2. Obtained agreement that researcher will be the project leader for the first 2 AR cycles. 3. Communicated plan and vision to the workforce operating the line. 4. Identified key role players from various departments who formed part of the implementation team and appointed them in writing. 5. Trained the implementation team in the various lean tools. 6. Selected a pilot project that assisted in achieving the objective of this research. 7. Drew the Value Stream Map of the process and identified the areas of waste. 8. Brainstormed in conjunction with the team possible solutions to the waste. 9. Implemented the top 5 ideas. 10. Monitored results and made changes where required. 4.6 Data to be gathered The implementation team decided from the start the type and frequency of the data to be gathered. Based on the research question it was recommended that the following data be gathered by the line staff and production manager: 1. Line utilization Line utilization compares the actual number of standard physical cases produced during paid time, to the theoretical number of cases that could be produced: it is a measure of the overall efficiency of the production operation [Productivity Improvement guidelines for the value chain, 1996]. Line utilization will be further defined in the report under section 6. Operating staff will be trained on calculating line utilization. Line utilization figures will be calculated on an hourly basis, captured on a spreadsheet and then summarized on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. 2. Equipment downtime This is a key measure of waste. Spreadsheets were developed that were used to record equipment downtime as it occurs. This was completed by the production operator. Captured information was summarized on a shift, daily and weekly basis. 2009/05/28 Page 18 of 64

19 3. Product and equipment changeovers Downtime due to changeovers was captured on a shift basis and was summarized on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. 4. Other downtime Categories for other downtime were identified in conjunction with the implementation team. Information was captured on a shift basis. Data captured was summarized on a weekly basis and was discussed with the management team and the lean implementation team. Corrective action was brain stormed, implemented and monitored to assess the effect it will have in improving Line Utilization. During the first 2 weeks of the implementation process the researcher was present at the plant to monitor that information was recorded accurately, identified problem areas with the capturing of the information, interviewing staff members to identify concerns and proposed solutions and also to chair the weekly meetings. After the initial two weeks information was e mailed to the researcher on a daily basis so that he could keep track of what was happening. 2009/05/28 Page 19 of 64

20 5. Assumptions The research will be based on the following assumptions: 1. The research will focus on the second process in the bottling plant namely the packaging process. Hence it is assumed that most waste and productivity loss occurs here. 2. The first process namely syrup making will have minimal impact on the speed of delivery in the packaging process 3. It is assumed that improvements in the packaging process should have minimal impact on logistics and warehousing and that any increase in productivity will be easily handled by these functions. 6. Hypothesis testing Findings and analysis of findings for this research report was done by testing the various hypotheses as indicated in item 2.5 above. Hypothesis testing was done in accordance with the AR steps set out in figure 1. Specifically each hypothesis testing will be illustrated by what AR step was used, what actions were taken by the researcher and proof of the source material and finally how the hypothesis was tested. In each instance a detailed description of the process is included for clarity. 6.1 Hypothesis 1 Ho : Value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling flow process and can assist in identifying areas of waste Value stream mapping Value stream mapping was conducted on the returnable glass bottle line with purpose of Data Gathering on bottling lead time. The process was started by identifying key personnel who plays an active role in running and managing the bottling process. Personnel identified included 2 production/line operators, /05/28 Page 20 of 64

21 maintenance artisan, 1 quality inspector, 1 maintenance supervisor and 2 production managers. As there was limited understanding of either value stream mapping or lean manufacturing, the process was started doing training on lean manufacturing and value stream mapping. Training took place over a 2 day period firstly to convey the theory and to check understanding. The value stream mapping process was started by firstly drawing a simplified layout of the packaging line. (See figure 6.1.1). A detailed drawing was also sourced from the plant s archive so that personnel could visualize the actual line. Although line and equipment speed ratings were available it was felt that it would be better to check physically how long it will take for one bottle to go thru the whole packaging process. (It was decided early on to only do the value stream for the packaging process and only include the syrup making process as a raw material). Due to variations in stop starting of the line it was felt that the test will be done 4 times and the average of the test will then be used as a representative of average time it will take for a bottle to go thru the whole packaging line. Test were conducted over 2 days on the 29 th and 30 th of October The results of the test were as follow: ID Process Duration 1. Loading full crate onto conveyor 3 seconds 2. Conveying to uncaser and uncasing 48 seconds 3. Conveying from uncaser to entry of bottle washer 7minutes and 36 seconds 4. In and out of Bottle washer 30minutes and 20 seconds 2009/05/28 Page 21 of 64

22 5. Bottle washer to bottle inspection 2minutes and 10 seconds 6. Bottle inspection (manual) to bottle inspection (electronic) 1minutes and 17 seconds 7. Electronic bottle inspection to filler 22 seconds 8. In and out of filler and capper 26 seconds 9. Capper to caser 2 minutes and 9 seconds 10 Caser to loaded onto pallet 25 seconds Total time 45 minutes and 10 seconds Table 6.1.1: Test results for measuring the time it takes for one bottle to go thru the whole packaging process After conclusion of the test the team came together to discuss the findings and to draw a value stream map of the process. Figure graphically illustrate the value stream map for the bottling process. 2009/05/28 Page 22 of 64

23 plant Figure 6.1 Value stream map for the bottling process at the Lilongwe 2009/05/28 Page 23 of 64

24 A brief description of the process and the key findings are listed below: Process 1: Crates filled with empty bottles are manually lifted from the pallet onto to conveyor. Several full pallets are brought to the loading area via a forklift truck. Empty pallets are manually stacked to one side by the loading operators. Two operators are used to load the conveyor and they are rotated every hour with the bottle inspectors. The loading area is fairly crowded with full and empty pallets. Loading area is located in the warehouse close to the palletising area Process 2: Filled cases are conveyed on a roller conveyor to the uncaser. Conveyor is approximately 10 meters long. Uncaser removes dirty empty bottles from crate and loads it onto the bottle conveyor. An accumulation table is fitted at the outlet of the uncaser to accumulate bottles so that the bottle washer can be fed with bottles consistently. Uncasing machine misses 2 bottles every 2 crates making it necessary for an additional operator to remove the bottles from the crate. Empty crates are sent to the crate washer and empty bottles are conveyed to the bottle washer Process 3: Empty bottles are conveyed to the bottle washer on a stainless steel slat band conveyor. At the time of the trial there was no conveyor lubrication available, resulting in the bottles falling over continuously. The plant made a make shift arrangement by putting blocks of soap onto the conveyor in an attempt to lubricate the conveyor. This was not very successful and made it necessary to employ an additional operator to pick up fallen bottles. Several jams occurred at the inlet of the bottle washer due to the inlet guides either missing or bent. An accumulation table is also fitted to the front of the bottle washer to act as buffer for process interruptions on the bottle washer Process 4: Empty glass bottles are loaded into the pockets of the bottle washer and are then washed with hot water that is mixed with caustic. It was noted that on each row of the bottle washer lifter bars at least 3 pockets were empty due to problems at the inlet of the washer. This reduced the capacity of the bottle washer. At the outlet of the bottle 2009/05/28 Page 24 of 64

25 washer the transition between the outlet of the washer and the transfer conveyor was uneven resulting in bottles falling over frequently. During the trial several jam ups were observed at the bottle washer outlet resulting in the line stopping frequently. It was necessary to employ an additional operator to clear the jam ups at the bottle washer outlet. The production manager indicated that this transition was supposed to be fixed, but they have been unable to stop the line, for the annual maintenance shutdown, due to high product demand Process 5: Bottle washer to bottle inspection had no problems. Two bottle inspectors were employed to inspect the condition of the clean bottles. A high number of bottles were rejected and had to be sent back to the bottle washer. An accumulation table was fitted prior to the bottle inspection table to accommodate slower bottle inspection speed and process interruptions Process 6: Conveying from manual to electronic bottle inspection had no problems. An accumulation table was also fitted before the electronic bottle inspector to accommodate any process interruptions Process 7: Electronic bottle inspection. During the time of the trial the electronic bottle inspection was faulty and was being bypassed. This resulted in quality problems further down the line Process 8: Filling and capping: Premixed carbonated soft drinks are filled into the bottle. It was observed that several bottles foamed excessively making it necessary to run the filler slower. This did not happen across all the flavours that were observed during the trial. Capping process was problem free and few jam ups were observed Process 9: Conveying from capper to caser: A manual bottle inspection takes place between these two machines. Several filled bottles were rejected due to either foreign matter in the bottle or due to underfills. Two inspectors inspected the bottles and an additional operator was required to remove to full cases. An accumulation table was fitted prior to the manual bottle inspection to accommodate slower inspection speeds. 2009/05/28 Page 25 of 64

26 Process 10: During the casing process filled bottled are automatically lifted into the clean crate. Process went of smoothly with few problems. An accumulation table is installed in front of the caser to accommodate any process interruptions. Filled cases, with ml bottles of cold drink are then manually loaded onto a pallet for storing in the warehouse. Two operators are used for this. These operators also rotate with the bottle inspectors. After completion of this test the information gathered was used to draw a value stream map of the process. The production personnel played an active role in drawing of the value stream map. It must be however indicated that not all participants were convinced of the need or understood the reason for drawing a value stream map to identify areas of waste on the production. Principles of value stream mapping had to be re-enforced to ensure that there was clarity. The value stream map is depicted in figure The initial test identified the following areas of waste which is tabled below: Process Number Description of waste area Waste type 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10 Accumulation table for process interruptions Waiting and Inventory Over production 1 to 10 Lengthy conveyors to move product Transport and waiting 5, 6, 8 and 9 Reject and rework of bottles Defective goods Inappropriate processing Table 6.1.2: Waste areas identified during the value stream mapping process 2009/05/28 Page 26 of 64

27 6.1.2 Conclusion Based on the findings of this experiment it is clear that we cannot reject H0. Value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling flow process and can assist in identifying areas of waste. It must be stressed however that in some areas difficulty exists in accurately identifying waste areas. During the experiment it was difficult to incorporate waste due to incorrect product quality and the associated time loss due to rework. This was mainly due to the fact that out of spec product was not reworked immediately or in one go. Breaks during production, such as flavour changes, size changes and maintenance work were used for reworking of product. The bottling process in itself is a continuous batch process. Each machine step is connected via fast moving conveyors and accumulation tables. These conveyors and accumulation tables in itself can hide machine inefficiencies and can be seen as similar to a staging area as per the batch process. Hence also there is a need for conveyoring and accumulation tables effort should be made to reduce their length and size so that the true machine inefficiency can be determined. 2009/05/28 Page 27 of 64

28 Figure 6.1.2: Simplified layout of bottling process Crate Loading Uncasing Bottle washing Bottle inspection Filling and capping Bottle inspection Casing Palletizing 2009/05/28 Page 28 of 64

29 A brief description of the bottling process at the Lilongwe plant: 1. Crate loading: In this process this involves manually loading crates with empty cold drink bottles onto a conveyor. 2. Uncasing: Involves the automatic removal, by a machine called an uncaser, of empty bottles from the crate. Empty bottles are then conveyed to the next stage, whilst the empty crates are conveyed to the washing bay for cleaning. 3. Bottle washing: Empty bottles returned from the trade are normally dirty and need s to be washed before it can be reused. The bottle washer uses hot water (at 60 degrees Celsius) mixed with low concentration of caustic soda to clean the bottles. 4. Bottle inspection: After the bottle washer bottles are manually or electronically inspected to check if they are clean. After filling bottles are checked to ensure that fill heights are consistent. 5. Filling and capping: This process involves filling the bottle with the final carbonated soft drink. Filling happens on a 72 head filler. Capping involves force fitting a metal cap onto the filled bottle to seal it. 6. Casing: Filled bottles are automatically packed into clean crates with a casing machine. 7. Palletising: Manual operation of loading filled crates onto a pallet for storing in the warehouse. 2009/05/28 Page 29 of 64

30 Figure Detailed layout of Returnable Glass Bottle line (Drawing not to scale) 2009/05/28 Page 30 of 64

31 6.2 Hypothesis 2 H o : Lean principles can be applied to the soft drink manufacturing industry to improve Line Utilization and reduce waste Definition of line utilization: Line utilization compares the actual number of standard physical cases produced during paid time, to the theoretical number of cases that could be produced: it is a measure of the overall efficiency of the production operation [Productivity Improvement guidelines for the value chain, 1996]. A bottling line should be theoretically able to produce x number of cases, but due to various reasons including machine downtime, lack of utilities, slow running and quality issues to name a few, the line is only able to produce y number of cases. In this case line utilization =y/x. Line utilization differs from line speed, line production speed plays an important role in line utilization, in that the product quality aspect of the product produced also plays an important role. So even if the line is running at a line speed of 100%, but all the product is rejected then the line utilization of the line is zero. A case of product is defined as one stock keeping unit that is how one unit of stock is defined in the warehouse. In the Lilongwe plant one case of product consist of a crate of 24 bottles of soft drink. Theoretically Line Utilization is defined as = (Earned Time/Paid Time)*100 where earned time = Net production/rated filler speed. Net production = the number of standard physical cases of saleable product (correct quality and appearance) produced on the line Rated filler speed = the manufacturers rated speed, in standard physical cases, of the filler installed on the line Paid Time = total time paid for the crew 2009/05/28 Page 31 of 64

32 In the filling process the rated speed of the filler determines the speed of the line. Equipment upstream of the filler is in increments of 10% slower than the filler and downstream of the filler in increments of 10% faster than the filler Waste: Waste is defined as any activity or behaviour that does not add value to the product. The initial investigation for this part of the research centred around identifying what lean tools are available that can be used to improve Line Utilization and reduce waste. A meeting was held with the team on the 6 th of October to discuss the various the various lean practices and tools as identified in the literature research. The team agreed that some of the practices were not relevant to the bottling process because of the semi continuous mass production nature of the bottling process. After discussion it was decided that the following two practices and tools will be implemented at the plant to determine if principles of lean can assist in improving bottling speed. The reasons for selecting these practices have also been agreed on by all parties. The two practices that were implemented included quick set-ups or change overs and continuous improvement Quick set-ups or changeover The Lilongwe plant was in a situation where product demand outstripped production capability. 80% of the plant s production consisted of manufacturing final beverage in 300ml returnable glass bottles. The plant manufactured both Coca Cola products and their own brand. Unfortunately the bottles used for each brand had different dimensions necessitating the need to do size changes on the filling and capping machines. These size changes normally took approximately 3 hours. As mentioned demand for the plants products were very high. However bottles being returned from the trade came back erratically and in most cases insufficient quantities were received to manufacture a minimum batch of liters of product. This made it necessary for the plant to change over the filler and capper 2009/05/28 Page 32 of 64

33 frequently to manufacture small batches based on bottle availability. These frequent changeovers resulted in enormous delays and loss in production capability and ultimately line speed. The question that the team asked was: How can we reduce machine changeover times so that we can still manufacture small batches, but reducing downtime due to changeovers During the meeting the following was agreed by the team: 1) Observe the current change over practice and measure how long each step takes. 2) Identify areas of waste of time and movement 3) Brainstorm possible solutions for eliminating waste areas. 4) Identify further improvement opportunities It was agreed from the start that the operators would be involved in the process to ensure transparency and buy in to the whole process. The following were the findings and observation Current practice The following table details the steps and time taken to do a size change over on the filler and capper: At the time of the experiment all changeovers were done by the maintenance personnel. Test was done for 3 changeovers to identify consistency or variation. Again the average was taken of the 3 test as representative for the whole procedure. 2009/05/28 Page 33 of 64

34 Action Time (minutes) 1 Empty filler and wash out 15 2 Search for artisan 5 3 Artisan arrives and assess what needs to be done 5 4 Artisan fetch tools in workshop 10 5 Artisan removes covers of infeed and outfeed starwheel of filler and capper, strips valves of filler 35 6 Operator searches for changeparts (correct starwheels and scrolls and valves). Parts stored in factory, workshops and store room area 15 7 Artisan installs new change parts and fit back covers 35 8 Test run of equipment and making of final adjustment 15 9 Sanitising filler and capper after valves handled by artisan Start preparing filler for production by filling with product and CO 2. Run first test samples Search for quality inspector 5 12 Quality inspector inspects products and clears for run 15 Total 185 (3hrs) 2009/05/28 Page 34 of 64

35 During the test the following observations were also made: 1) During changeover all operators went either on a lunch on tea break. Only one supervisory production personnel was present to observe artisan 2) Artisan normally works on his own whilst doing size changeover 3) Specialized tools are required to do changeover 4) Instruction for sanitation only given when work completed, After all the information was gathered the team came together again to analyse the information and also make recommendations as to possible solutions. During these sessions both the operator and artisan was involved in the discussion Outcome of first test after changes made The following table illustrates the outcome of the first post test discussion held. Action plans were also drawn up on what must be done to eliminate certain steps. Step Action Old time Corrective action New time 1 Empty filler and wash out 15 Same 15 2 Search for artisan 5 Production supervisor informs artisan close to end of run. Artisan assess job and arrives with tools. 0 3 Artisan arrives and assess what needs to be done 5 Eliminate 0 4 Artisan fetch tools in workshop 10 Eliminate /05/28 Page 35 of 64

36 5 Artisan removes covers of infeed and outfeed starwheel of filler and capper, strips valves of filler 35 Modify covers and fit quick release catches. Filler operator assist with changeover 20 6 Operator searches for changeparts (correct starwheels and scrolls and valves). Parts stored in factory, workshops and store room area 15 Store changeparts in a cupboard in the filling area. Operator search for parts in cupboard and identify correct parts. 7 7 Artisan installs new change parts and fit back covers 35 Operator assist artisan. Quick coupling used to speed change over 20 8 Test run of equipment and making of final adjustment 15 Same 15 9 Sanitising filler and capper after valves handled by artisan 15 Prepare sanitation liquid upfront and have ready as soon as filler is ready Start preparing filler for production by filling with product and CO 2. Run first test samples 15 Same Search for quality inspector 5 Production supervisor ensures quality inspector is present close to the end of sanitation cycle /05/28 Page 36 of 64

37 12 Quality inspector inspects products and clears for run 15 Same (3hrs) 117 (1hr 57minutes) Based on the findings of the first test change over time was reduced by an hour. The team decided that we wanted to investigate the possibility of reducing the changeover time even further. The whole process was brainstormed again and new areas were identified that could be implemented to reduce changeover time further. The team came up with the following options that could be used to reduce change over time further: 1) Change parts to be clearly labelled and mounted on a shadow board with each part clearly labelled with machine and size specific data. 2) Changepart settings to be recorded on each changepart and work instruction so that setup time could be reduced. 3) Lab testing procedure was modified so that results could be obtained quicker. Approval from Coca Cola was obtained to do this change Results of test after second set of changes made During this discussion the researcher acted as facilitator and chairman of the meeting. As the time period was very short the plant personnel were not familiar with the process and struggled with the problem solving techniques. Further training was identified as a further future requirement. After these changes were implemented test were run to see if there was improvement in time. The initial 2 test showed no improvement and it was necessary to tweak some of the practices specifically changepart settings and lab testing. The third test showed some improvement and results are listed in the following table: 2009/05/28 Page 37 of 64

38 Step Action Old time Corrective Action New Time % Improvement 1 Empty filler and wash out 15 Change procedure so that wash out liquid is available sooner 10 33% 2 Modify covers and fit quick release catches. Filler operator assist with changeover 20 Same 20 0% 3 Store changeparts in a cupboard in the filling area. Operator search for parts in cupboard and identify correct parts. 7 Changeparts stored on shadow board and are clearly labelled. No searching required 2 71% 4 Operator assist artisan. Quick coupling used to speed change over 20 Same 20 0% 5 Test run of equipment and making of final adjustment 15 Changepart settings marked and recorded on change part and in the work instructions 8 47% 6 Prepare sanitation liquid upfront and have ready as soon as filler is ready. 10 Same 10 0% 7 Start preparing filler 15 Same 10 33% 2009/05/28 Page 38 of 64

39 for production by filling with product and CO 2. Run first test samples 8 Quality inspector inspects products and clears for run 15 Test procedure changed to speed up changeover 8 47% 117 (1hr 57minut es) 88 (1 hr and 28 minutes) 25% Based on the third test further improvements were achieved. By making a few changes it was shown that lean principles can be used to improve line speed. After implementation of the third test steps Line Utilization increased from 40% to 55%. The team felt that it would be possible to improve even further on this. It was felt that the following avenues needed to be investigated further to identify if there was an opportunity for further improvement: 1) Operators to be trained to do changeovers themselves. 2) Time saving opportunity during sanitation. Change of sanitation procedure and practice could further reduce the time. Look at possibly using dedicated sanitation tanks for sanitation of equipment. This will however require some extensive capital investment 3) Start up and shutdown procedure to be further investigated to identify how it can be changed to reduce time further Learnings from this test The following learnings were achieved during the test of this hypothesis: 2009/05/28 Page 39 of 64

40 1) Problem solving capability is very low across plant personnel. Employees in management positions and qualified as engineers have training on problem solving techniques such as 5 whys, cause and effect diagrams, but have a very limited understanding of how to implement these principles on their own. 2) Some concerns exist surrounding the sustainability of the interventions listed above. It is clear that extended coaching will be required of senior management until these principle have been fully entrenched. This test has however proved that line speed can be improved using lean principles Conclusion Based on the findings of this experiment it is clear that we cannot reject H 0. Lean manufacturing principles can be applied to the soft drink manufacturing industry to improve Line Utilization and reduce waste. Some concerns however do exist around sustainability of these interventions in an emerging market plant specifically the Lilongwe plant in Malawi Continuous improvement (Kaizen) Continuous improvement is defined as improving performance with many small, incremental improvement steps. The emphasis is not on the improvements being small but rather that they can be followed by other small improvements resulting in overall plant improvement. One of the reasons why the team decided on using this lean manufacturing tool was because it was a requirement from the Coca Cola company that each bottling plant has a continuous improvement programme in place to ensure that quality and productivity was maintained Current reality prior to implementing experiment Implementation of this experiment started early August as there was a business need from both the Coca Cola perspective and from the SOBO company. The bottling plant did not meet Coca Cola requirements and hence had to implement systems quickly. 2009/05/28 Page 40 of 64

41 At this time very limited data was captured which meant that there was limited opportunity to improve plant performance. The team, which consisted of the 2 production managers, the maintenance planner, plant engineer, quality manager and services engineer, came together on the 12 th of August to discuss the way forward. Due to the vast opportunity for continuous improvement it was decided that for this exercise that the team will only focus on improving line speed (line utilization). A systematic approach was used and the continuous improvement steps as identified in Pieterse (2006) was used for this process. The steps for this process included in following order PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT Plan The team met on the 13 th of August and during this meeting the process was brainstormed focussing on what is the objective of this exercise and how will it be achieved. The following issues were looked at: 1) What is the current reality in terms of Line Utilization? The current reality was not too clear due to the lack of data gathering. Line Utilization was calculated on a monthly basis but concerns were raised about the accuracy of the information. 2) What factors currently impact on Line Utilization? What equipment or processes contribute to low Line Utilization? At this point in time no machine specific downtime was available and as a result it could not be determined what was the main source of downtime, where was the bottling neck on the line 3) What problem solving techniques can be used to improve machine performance? As per 2 above lack of information meant that no clear method could be agreed upon. The team was however made aware of problem solving techniques such as brain storming, 5 whys and cause and effect diagrams. Everyone indicated that they have heard of these techniques, but felt that training will be required to make it effective. The outcome of the first meeting was the following: 1) Accuracy of Line Utilization information to be verified against Coca Cola standards. To be done by researcher. Complete by 20 th August /05/28 Page 41 of 64

42 2) New daily, weekly and monthly downtime capturing sheets to be drawn up so that information can be accurately captured. To be done by researcher. Complete by 26thAugust ) Train all personnel on new data capturing information sheets Researcher. Complete by28th August ) Collate information and forward to researcher on a monthly basis. Draw up a PARETO chart of downtime of all equipment on the returnable glass bottle line. To be done by the production manager for returnable glass bottle line. First report submitted by 30 th September Outcomes of the planning phase: 1) Current Line Utilization data captured was found not to be accurate. Researcher found that daily line speed information was averaged for the month to give the monthly figure. This was not correct and resulted in figures that were lower than actual. The correct procedure was to divide the total production in cases by the total time available. Line Utilization figures increased by 2%. 2) Downtime data sheets were drawn up (see figure , and ) and plant personnel were trained on the correct procedure for completing sheets. 3) Completed sheets with PARETO analysis, for the month of September, were submitted by the production manager to the researcher. 2009/05/28 Page 42 of 64

43 2009/05/28 Page 43 of 64

44 Figure : Machine specific downtime capturing sheet Figure : Daily production performance capturing sheet 2009/05/28 Page 44 of 64

45 Figure : Monthly plant performance summary 2009/05/28 Page 45 of 64

46 Feedback from downtime sheets for the month of September were as follow: 1) Unrecorded downtime amounted to 12% of available time. 2) PARETO analysis highlighted the fact that the top 3 causes of downtime was The bottle washer, filler and size changeovers. 40 Pareto chart of equipment down time for Sept Time in hours Bottle washer Size changes Filler Uncaser Figure Downtime PARETO chart for September Do Due to time constraints it was decided that detailed analysis will be done only on the bottle washer and size changeovers. The results of size changeovers have been captured in above. A brainstorming session was held on the 7 th of October to discuss problem areas and possible solutions for downtime on the bottle washer. Outcome of the brainstorming session was as follow with corrective action taken: 2009/05/28 Page 46 of 64

47 Problem Area Corrective action Responsible Person Due Date Status 1 Bottle pockets not all filling Modify inlet conveyor of bottle R Dindi 18/10/20 Completed at inlet of bottle washer washer to ensure smooth 08 reducing capacity transition into bottle washer pockets. One conveyor higher than inlet conveyor. 2 Bottles jamming at inlet of Inlet guides severely bent. R Dindi 18/10/20 Completed bottle washer Straighten or replace with new 08 ones 3 Bottles falling over at outlet Transition between washer outlet R Dindi 18/10/20 Completed of bottle washer and outlet conveyor uneven 08 resulting in bottles falling over. Grind away unevenness to ensure smooth transition 4 Bottles jamming at outlet of Outlet guide rails badly bent. R Dindi 18/10/20 Completed bottle washer Piece of wire used to hold rail in 08 place. Straighten guide rail and remove wire. Fix rail properly 5 15 hours lost due to Annual maintenance shutdown R Dindi 14/10/20 Outstanding breakdown of main motor postponed due to high product 08 demand. Liaise with senior management to get alternative dates so that maintenance can be carried out. 2009/05/28 Page 47 of 64

48 Check After all the work was completed changes were verified and monitored to see if it results in a reduction of downtime. The PARETO and downtime chart for November clearly shows that changes did result in improvement of the bottle washer performance. However downtime is still somewhat high so further problem solving needs to be done to identify further causes of downtime. PARETO analysis of equipment downtime for the month of November Bottle washer Size change Filler Uncaser Time in hours Sept 2008 Time in hours Nov 2008 Figure : Downtime PARETO chart for November 2008 showing improvement in machine downtime 2009/05/28 Page 48 of 64

49 Summary of line performance for months of September to November 2008 September October November Line utilization (Line speed) 46.1% 50.4% 53.6% Downtime 30% 25% 20% (% of total production time available) Unrecorded downtime 11.7% 10.5% 8.9% (% of total production time available) Act As the problem has not been completely resolved it was agreed that a further problem solving session will be held in January 2009 to further improve bottle washer uptime Conclusion 2009/05/28 Page 49 of 64

50 Based on the outcome of this experiment it is clear that lean manufacturing principle scan be used to improve line speed of a bottling line in a soft drink manufacturing company in an emerging market. 7. Conclusion The objective of this research was to verify whether the principles and philosophies of lean manufacturing can be used to increase the line speed of a soft drink bottling line in an emerging market. This was tested thru verifying the validity of the following hypotheses: 1. Value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling flow process and can assist in identifying areas of waste. Lean principles/techniques can be applied to soft drink manufacturing industry to improve line utilization and reduce waste. Thru testing of these hypotheses it was revealed that none of them could be rejected. It can therefore be concluded, thru verification of the various test, that the principles of Lean Manufacturing and Value stream mapping can be used to improve the bottling speed of a soft drink manufacturing line. It can also be concluded that Value Stream Mapping and Lean Principles are applicable to similar production environments. The research highlighted the following areas that should require further investigation that could form part of future research: 1. Although Value stream mapping can be used to describe the bottling flow process and identify areas of waste the researcher identified some areas where waste could not be accurately recorded or depicted on the value stream map. Two areas were identified and they are rework of out of spec product and conveyoring and accumulation of product between machine stages. In terms of reworking product this was normally done during production breaks such as changeovers and maintenance and hence did not have an impact on the actual production. Use was also made of existing labour that was waiting for the production interruption to 2009/05/28 Page 50 of 64

51 complete. Conveyoring and accumulation also took up a significant amount of time and hence this should be investigated further to identify if this can be reduced and also the extent to which it is hiding machine inefficiency. 2. The level of technical capability at the Lilongwe plant was of concern and the research has shown that during several interventions the researcher had to drive the project due to lack of skill at plant level. A concern exist as to the sustainability of the transfer of the technical capability. Further investigation should be done to identify the causes of the lack of technical capability and how capability can be transferred more permanently to plant personnel. 3. Further investigation should also be conducted of external factors that could impact on line utilization. One external factor that became evident during the research was the return of glass bottles from the market. Glass bottles were returning slowly, and in small quantities, which made it necessary for the plant to have short production runs with frequent changeovers. Other factors such as warehouse space, transport facilities and infrastructure also have an impact on Line Utilization and should be investigated further. 2009/05/28 Page 51 of 64

52 2. References Campbell, John D. and Reyes-Picknell, James (2006), Uptime, 2 nd Edition: Strategies for Excellence in Maintenance Management, Productivity Press, ISBN Coughlan, P. & Coghlan, D., (2002), "Action research for operations management". International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp Faull, N., (1998), Competitive Capabilities: A novel strategy for re-engineering, Juta and Co Limited, Kenwyn. George, M & Rowlands, D., (2005), Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook, McGraw-Hill, New York Hansen, Robert C (2005), Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Industrial Press, ISBN-13 ( ) Liker, Jeffrey (2003), The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World s Greatest Manufacturer, First Edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN O Brien, R., (1998), An overview of the Methodological approach of Action Research, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto Pieterse, Koot (2006), Leaning the South African Way, 2 nd Edition, Trilean Publishing Productivity improvement guide;ines for the value chain (1996) Rother, M. & Shook, J., (1999), Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Add Value and Eliminate muda, The Lean Enterprise Institute, Brookline, Massachusetts Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A., (2003), Research Methods for Business Students, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, England. Topley, K (2000) Productivity improvement in high speed canning through the Kaizen philosophy and theory of constraints Dissertation submitted tothe University of Hertfordshire 2009/05/28 Page 52 of 64

53 Womack, J.P. & Jones, T.D., (1996), Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in your Corporation, Touchstone, London. 2009/05/28 Page 53 of 64

54 Appendix 9.1: Schedule of meetings conducted Summary of meetings held for value stream mapping, quick set ups and continuous improvement Date Attendees Location Type Objective Outcomes 12/08/08 AM, NM, SOBO Plant Meeting Set scope for continuous Agreed that will only focus on line speed RD, FB, DR, EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Continuous improvement improvement project. Clarify what continuous improvement in terms of Coca Cola requirements. (line utilization) Assigned responsible persons from plant Agreed on target dates for various components of poject Identify requirements from plant 13/08/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting Brainstorming session on how to Target dates set for various deliverables EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Continuous improvement tackle project. Discussed current reality and agreed on by all. Agreed on what will be required for success of project Looked at problem solving 2009/05/28 Page 54 of 64

55 techniques 07/10/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting Brainstorming session for problem Action points identified, responsible EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Continuous improvement areas on bottle washer. Identify corrective action with persons assigned and targeted completion dates agreed on. responsibilities 27- AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Training Conduct training on value stream Training completed on VSM and lean 28/10/2008 EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Value stream mapping mapping and Lean manufacturing principles 29- AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting/Discussion Complete value stream mapping VSM completed 30/10/2008 EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Value stream mapping 06/10/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting/Discussion Discuss various lean tools. Agreed will use quick set up EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Quick set-ups or changeover Agree on what practices will be used Identify responsibilities Agreed on responsible plant personnel Agreed actions to be taken and areas to be investigated 2009/05/28 Page 55 of 64

56 03/11/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting/Discussion Brainstorming session to identify Agreed on new corrective actions with EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Quick set-ups or changeover solutions to problem areas identified during first test completion dates 06/11/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting/Discussion Brainstorming session to identify Agreed on new corrective actions with EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Quick set-ups or changeover solutions to problem areas identified during 2nd test completion dates 11/11/2008 AM,RD, FB, SOBO Plant Meeting/Discussion Brainstorming session to identify Agreed on new corrective actions with EC, CW, WW Lilongwe Quick set-ups or changeover solutions to problem areas identified during 3rd test completion dates 2009/05/28 Page 56 of 64

57 Appendix 9.2 Training conducted on lean manufacturing Background & Introduction of Lean Fredrick W. Taylor ( ) Scientific Management converted craftwork to simplified jobs Roots of standard work Henry Ford Mass production through the use of the assembly line Ford Rouge Plant: Raw material to finished car in three days Taiichi Ohno Innovator of the Toyota Production System Pioneered flow improvement, rapid set-up capabilities, and pull systems The term Lean was coined in the 1980 s after a study of the Toyota Production System. SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 57 of 64

58 Central Lean Concepts 1) Pace Produce goods or services at a rate that reflects customer demand. 2) Flow Production Continuous movement of the product or service. Strive to eliminate batching and inventory. 3) Pull Material Control the flow of production by replacing only what has been consumed. 4) Waste Elimination Any activity that does not change the form, fit, or function of the product is waste. SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 58 of 64

59 Matching Supply with Customer Demand (Pace) True Pace Production Rate = Customer Demand Ideal Buffered Pace Production Rate Customer Demand Typical Inventory True Pace... Marching to The Beat of The Customer SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 59 of 64

60 Functional to Continuous Flow Traditional batch production Small-batch production (ideally 1-unit flow) Dept. A Dept. B Process A Process B Process C Dept. C Continuous flow of product Departments work independently High work-in-process (WIP) inventory and material stagnation Large floor space required Material moves through slowly Associates work as a team passing product to next station No extra space to allow for excessive WIP Minimal floor space required Material moves through rapidly SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 60 of 64

61 Push vs. Pull Material Replenishment Traditional Push Material Products/Information are produced and handed off to a downstream process, where they are stored until needed. Lean Pull Material Products/Information are produced only when requested by a downstream process. Nothing is produced until it is needed or wanted downstream. SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 61 of 64

62 Pull Material Replenishment... In Action Kanban is a Signal Inventory Supermarket Upstream Process Supplier That was easy! Lets Replenish We have consumed Material! We need more! SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 62 of 64

63 8 Kinds of Waste 1. Defects 2. Over Production 3. Waiting 4. Not Embracing Change 5. Transportation 6. Inventory/Storage 7. Motion 8. Excess Processing SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 63 of 64

64 OE Eliminates Waste From Operations Leads to higher efficiency and reduced cost SCIMs Forum, Cairo /05/28 Page 64 of 64