Changeover Times

Transforming Changeover Times for a Global Consumer Goods Manufacturer

Background

A global consumer goods, personal care, and cosmetics products manufacturer faced significant operational challenges across multiple manufacturing sites with billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of employees globally, the company struggled with long changeover times ranging from 1.5 to 8 hours. These prolonged changeover processes resulted in significant production downtime, increased operational costs, and reduced overall efficiency. Additionally, the variability in changeover times caused scheduling disruptions, leading to delays in product availability and decreased responsiveness to market demands. This inefficiency not only impacted the company’s ability to meet customer expectations but also hampered its competitive edge in a fast-paced industry. Recognizing the critical need for improvement, the company sought a comprehensive solution to streamline operations, reduce changeover times, and enhance overall productivity.

Challenges

➢ Increased production costs, lot cycle times
➢ Negative impacts on Manufacturing Lines Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by 5% – 35%
➢ Delays in shipping millions of dollars worth of critical products, leading to customer complaints
➢ Frequent production overtime to cover the extra hours required for changeovers

Implementation

To address these challenges, the Changeover Time Reduction Concept was launched at six global manufacturing sites. The comprehensive implementation process included:

  1. Comprehensive Analyses:
    ➢ Detailed analysis of current changeover processes to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks.
  2. SMED Workshops:
    ➢ Conducted “Single Minute Exchange of Die” (SMED) workshops to uncover opportunities for reducing changeover times.
    ➢ Engaged cross-functional teams in identifying and implementing improvements.
  3. Design and Implementation of New Processes:
    ➢ Designed new, streamlined changeover processes based on workshop findings. Implemented the new processes across all targeted sites.

Results

The implementation of the Changeover Time Reduction Concept yielded impressive results

  1. 3963 Global Manufacturing Hours Saved:
    ➢ Significant reduction in changeover times across all sites.
  2. 5.8 Million More Units Manufactured:
    ➢ The saved time allowed for increased production output.
  3. $1.4M Overall Cost Savings:
    ➢ Cost savings from reduced labor, minimized downtime, and better-utilized capacity.
  4. 3% to 12% Improvement in OEE:
    ➢ Notable enhancement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness, boosting productivity and efficiency.

Testimonials

“Changing traditional methods of production and operations and understanding new ways took the manufacturing lines to a new era. Our teams passed a very critical milestone by working together and generating these great results.” – COO


“The Continuous Improvement Program revolutionized our manufacturing processes and significantly enhanced productivity and quality across global sites. The strategic approach and hands-on leadership were instrumental in driving positive change and achieving remarkable cost savings.” – VP of North American Operations

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