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Case Study: Lean Process Improvement –

Nova Point

 

Tina Agustiady

Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt

 

 

 

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Executive Summary Nova Point is a growing product for a main ice cream factory named Uncle T’s.

The product is selling extremely well, and sales have been rising for the past

year. Over the past year, even with the increase of sales, there has also been an

increase in complaints for thick or thin ice cream. Customers felt that some ice

cream was too thick and lost the fluffy texture, while others had thin ice cream

that melted too quickly in their mouth, which made it feel like a liquid. Poor quality

of the Nova Point causes thick or thin product, resulting in major variation in

product due to materials, methods, machinery, measurements, manpower, and

Mother Nature.

The product is made in two main factories, but the main problems are

significantly coming from one factory. The product with the problems is made on

a production line where the temperature is warm within the factory. They are also

scrapping a great amount of product due to it now being inedible. It goes through

a series of processes – mainly kettles, where raw materials enter and then go

through a series of mixing steps. The materials are then pumped out onto a

production line and thereafter packaged. The current first pass quality is 91%,

and there are many holds on the product due to thick or thin product that is held

within the factory before it is sent to the customer. The goal of the project is to:

 Increase first pass quality from 91% to 99%.

 Reduce holds by 10%.

 

 

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Methodology  Determine process for thick/thin issues while implementing specifications

for ingredients.

 Determine the waste coming from the product/process.

 Create standardized work and train all associates.

 Determine proper preventative maintenance for machinery.

 Determine possible equipment replacement and/or upgrades.

What Is Lean?

Lean is the pursuit of perfection via a systematic approach to identifying and

eliminating waste through continuous improvement of the value stream,

enabling the product or information to flow at a rate determined by the pull of the

customer.

Figure 1. Lean System

 

Identify Value

Map the Value

Stream

Create Flow

Establish Pull

Seek Perfection

 

 

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Introduction Tina Agustiady – Continuous Improvement Leader

Tom Jones – Operator

Michelle VanHutson – Operator

John George – Production Engineer

Nancy Feller – Maintenance Coordinator

Todd Peterson – Plant Manager and Project Champion

Andy Myers – Executive Sponsor

Master Black Belt – Michael Bell

The team was selected based on knowledge and expertise of the process.

The team did a great job and was proficient and organized during the project.

Identify Value A project charter was mapped out to show responsible personnel, problem

statements, goals, and timelines.

 

 

 

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Deliverable Module 3

Please fill out a project charter from the Excel templates provided.

Figure 2. Project Charter

 

PROJECT CHARTER PURPOSE

The purpose of the Continuous Improvement project is to pilot the CI

foundation in a factory utilizing a structured approach and being able to

benchmark the findings across processes. We want to identify where we

can add value, and this can be seen through the project charter.

PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 Determine the process for thick/thin issues while implementing

specifications for ingredients.

 Determine the waste coming from the product/process.

 Create standardized work and train all associates.

Phase Start Finish Identify Value Map the Value Stream Create Flow Establish Pull Seek Perfection

Organization Approval/Steering Committee Stakeholders & Advisors Project Team & SME’s Name Organization Name Organization Name

High Level Project Timeline Constraints & Dependencies Project Risks Additional Information

Project Goals Project Scope

Problem Statement Business Case

Project Title: Black Belt Project Champion Executive Sponsor MBB/Mentor

 

 

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 Determine proper preventative maintenance for machinery.

 Determine possible equipment replacement and/or upgrades.

 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Business justification consists of reducing thin/thick issues associated on

the manufacturing line and increasing first pass quality (FPQ).

PROJECT GOALS

Table 1. Project Goals

Goals Objectives Increase FPQ to 99% and reduce holds by 10%

 Determine manufacturing process along with specifications and reduce thick/thin issues.

 Determine if target specifications are accurate or need to be revised (standard deviations).

 Train all personnel on manufacturing process and create manual.

 Determine proper PMs for machinery.

 Measure initial viscosity and temperatures for correlation versus 24-hour viscosity.

 

Table 2. Milestones and Deliverables

Milestone Deliverable 1. Conduct training • Identify training date. 2. Create manual • Manual will be for documentation and

training purposes. 3. Create preventative

maintenance (PMs) for main equipment

• PMs will be established, and sign-off sheets will be available.

 

 

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Milestone Deliverable 4. Benchmark factory

with best practices • Determine best in-class process and

implement in both manufacturing plants. 5. Reduce holds and

consumer concerns by 10%

• Determine correlation between holds and consumer concerns.

6. Determine root causes of each hold and consumer concern and document action plan

• Ongoing

7. Maintain consumer concerns under 2.5M pounds, focusing on v-line

• Ongoing

8. Reduce material waste from icings and v-line back to 2018 levels or better

• Ongoing

9. Improve consistency and reduce variation from v-line process

• Ongoing

A control plan will be completed at the end of the project.

A process map was drawn out in order to visually see each of the process steps as they

occur.

Deliverable Module 4

Please complete a high-level process map of the current process using the Excel template provided.

The process is defined as the following:

• Placing icing in Kettle 1

• Completing a shortening quality check

• Icing being transferred to Kettle 2

 

 

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• Completing a viscosity check

• Transfer product to final assembly

• Final quality check

• Package product

• Process map

Conclusion of Identify Value

The Identify Value step showed that the processes committed by Nova Point are

important to the customers and the business. A high-level process map was

completed in order to more fully understand the steps. The project team now has

a baseline to begin to map the value stream.

Map the Value Stream The goals of mapping the value stream were to determine the key factors for

variation issues, machine issues, and variation in Nova Point process through

statistical analysis and graphical analysis. The goal of the project is to increase

first pass quality from 91% to 99%, and to reduce holds by 10%.

A SIPOC was performed to see the high-level process inputs, outputs, and

process steps.

Deliverable Module 4

Please complete:

• A SIPOC utilizing the Excel template provided • A high-level Value Stream Map utilizing the Excel template provided

A cause-and-effect diagram was created to identify different variables that play a part in

the process. This was done for the Nova Point thin and thick holds.

 

 

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Root cause analysis includes a very structured approach to investigating issues for a

permanent fix of the problem. What is sought is the true cause of the problem, which

most people mistake for short-term fixes. Putting guards in place on manufacturing lines

as well as properly placing buckets in order to eliminate waste are examples of short

fixes. The problem still occurs, but there is just a measure put in place to try and

eliminate the waste. The prevention of the problem from occurring is not fixed.

Even though assumptions are utilized for root cause analysis, they should be backed up

with documentation and data. Data driven conclusions should be made when assuming

problems.

Cause-and-effect diagrams are used to examine effects of problems by exploring the

possible causes and to point out possible areas where data can be collected.

They are performed to find potential solutions to a problem by looking for the root

cause(s).

Steps to Conducting a Fishbone or Cause-and-Effect Diagram

1. Brainstorm all possible causes of the problem or effect selected.

• The initial objective is to achieve quantity of ideas rather than quality of ideas.

One person’s idea can trigger someone else’s idea, and a chain reaction will

occur.

• No criticism is allowed; all team members must participate.

2. Classify the major causes under the following categories:

• Manpower

• Machinery

• Method

 

 

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• Measurement

• Material

• Mother Nature (environment)

Deliverable Module 5

Please complete a cause and effect diagram using the Excel template provided.

A pareto was completed to see what the biggest reasons were for having quality problems.

The following information was found:

Table 3. Occurrences by Category

Categories Number of Occurrences Water in pipe 55 Liquid sucrose 25 Supplier providing out of spec materials 48 Clean out water not purged 32 Quality of shortening 41

Deliverable Module 5

Please complete a Pareto chart with the information given using the Excel template provided. It could automatically be seen according to the Pareto chart that the water in the pipe

needed to be dealt with along with product specifications and the quality of the

shortening.

Finally, specifications were gathered to ensure the process was on target:

 In Factory A, 83% of holds are for viscosity.

 Factory B has wider specs for viscosity due to different uses.

 Factory B requires tighter spec range

 

 

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 Factory A specs: viscosity of 200,000 – 600,000 cps

 Factory B specs: viscosity of 320,000 – 512,000 cps

Conclusion of Map the Value Stream

Data was taken for as many parameters as possible before changing any variables. It

was found that piping was making a significant impact on the process, and analysis

needed to be completed for that.

The following was accomplished:

• Process mapping

• Data gathering

• Cause-and-effect diagram

• Root cause analysis

• Pareto chart

Create Flow It could automatically be seen that the water in the pipe needed to be dealt with along

with product specifications and the quality of the shortening.

The team did a 5 Whys analysis to understand why the water was clogging in the pipe

shown in the figure below.

 

 

 

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Figure 3. Water Pipe

 

Deliverable Module 5

Please complete a 5 Whys analysis on the water in the pipe issue using the Excel template provided.

It was important to understand the types of waste that were occurring in the process.

The team decided to do a floor walk (Gemba walk) to find the main types of waste

associated with the acronym DOWNTIME.

Deliverable Module 6

Please complete the Waste Walk tab in the Excel template provided. Be creative here; there are no right or wrong answers.

Conclusion of Create Flow In Lean management, flow is a key concept. Since any kind of waiting is a waste, when

creating a flow of value, your goal is to ensure smooth delivery from the second you

receive an order to the moment when you deliver it to the customer.

Hints to improving flow:

• Map the process.

 

 

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• Talk to subject matter experts about issues.

• Identify all types of different waste in the current process.

• Map an ideal state – the perfect process.

• Develop an action plan.

• Actively monitor the new processes put into place by creating performance

measures.

• Think about places where batch processing can be changed to single piece flow.

Establish Pull The team decided to change the piping so that water could flow quicker through the

piping to make more consistent product that was in specification. The extra water in the

pipe could make the product thin by dispersing too much water from the pipe or too

thick by not having enough water because it was stuck in the pipe.

The changes to the piping were made immediately.

Figure 4. Changes to Piping

 

Ensure Pipe from Pipe #1 to Product is purged and has no residual water

Changed pitchRemoved sweep

 

 

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Since the temperature of 235 degrees in Factory A seemed to have better specifications

than Factory B at a lower temperature, we decided to benchmark and make a standard

operating procedure to heat the product to 235 degrees. The team noticed that all of the

raw ingredients were brought to the line at the beginning of the shift. This caused some

of the ingredients to start melting before they were put in the kettle.

Conclusion of Establish Pull

Many opportunities were identified, and action items were completed to improve the

variation issues for Nova Point. More opportunities will continue to be sought once

proper practices such as the ones stated in the control phase continue to be ensured.

 Piping changes to ensure water is not stuck in 3-way valve of pipe

 Benchmark Factory A

 Training to teach all operators how to make product properly and consistently

 Temperature changes to Benchmark Factory A

The three major variables are listed below:

Variable 1 – Piping

• After several tests and data analysis, the thin and thick issues were minimized

after the piping changes.

Variable 2 – Specifications for Thin or Thick Product

• Specifications were determined for thin or thick product.

• We also spoke to the supplier and changed our specification ranges with them

saying we would no longer take any raw material out of specification because it

was ruining our reputation.

Variable 3 – Temperatures

 

 

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• The temperature of 235 degrees in Factory A seemed to have better

specifications than Factory B at a lower temperature.

Deliverable Module 6

Please choose which variable(s), if any, are key factor(s) for the root cause of the thick/thin product issue.

Seek Perfection The following is a control plan is a document that:

• Provides “one-stop shopping” for a summary of your team’s project.

• Helps others understand what was done.

• Is used to build on without having to reinvent the wheel.

• Allows for replication.

• Is a final list of the Xs (input variables) and Ys (output variables).

• Exists solely to ensure that we consistently operate our processes such that

product meets customer requirements.

There are several basic steps to completing a control plan:

1. Collect existing documentation for the process.

2. Determine the scope of the process for the current control plan.

3. Form teams to update the control plan regularly.

4. Replace short-term capability studies with long-term capability results.

5. Complete control plan summaries.

6. Identify missing or inadequate components or gaps.

7. Review training, maintenance, and operational action plans.

8. Assign tasks to team members.

 

 

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9. Verify compliance of actual procedures with documented procedures.

10. Train or retrain operators.

11. Collect signoffs from all departments.

12. Verify effectiveness with long-term capabilities.

A control plan ensures consistency while eliminating variation in the system.

Control plans help people because they sustain processes that were put in place.

Deliverable Module 7

Please complete a control plan stating how you will sustain the improvements made using the Excel template provided.

The team decided to setup a Kanban system in order to have the ingredients come to

the line at the proper temperature and just in time for them to use them.

Deliverable Module 7

Please complete the Kanban cards by filling out the following information:

• Part description/picture if applicable

• Part number

• Profile

• Quantity

• Lead time

• Due date

• Supplier

• Location

• Card number (generally two Kanban cards: 1 of 2 and 2 of 2)

 

 

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The audit checklist will continually be audited to ensure the manufacturing groups are

on track.

Deliverable Module 7

Please complete an audit checklist to ensure the process stays in a sustainable manner.

Figure 5. Audit Checklist

 

Conclusion to Project

One main change was made to minimize variation, and this involved the piping. The

water was being trapped in a pipe, making the product thick or thin based on when the

water purged from the pipe. The pipe was changed and immediately fixed the

problems. A standard deviation change was also implemented to ensure customers

were getting in-spec products. The standard deviation was centered. The temperature

Target Area: Statement of Audit Objective: Auditor: Audit Date:

Audit Technique Auditable Item, Observation, Procedure etc. Observation Have all associates been trained? YES NO Observation Is training documentation available? YES NO Observation Is training documentation current? YES NO Observation Are associates wearing proper safety gear? YES NO Observation Are SOP’s available? YES NO Observation Are SOP’s current? YES NO Observation Is quality being measured YES NO Observation Is sampling being conducted in random fashion YES NO Observation Is sampling meeting it’s sample size target? YES NO Observation Are control charts in control YES NO Observation Are control charts current? YES NO Observation Is the process capability index >1.0? YES NO

#DIV/0!

Auditor Comments

Audit Checklist

Individual Auditor Rating (Circle Rating)

Number of Out of Compliance Observations Total Observations Audit Yield Corrective Actions Required

 

 

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seemed to be an issue, and training was completed to ensure everyone was heating

the product to the same temperature.

Preventative maintenance and training ensure the variation is minimized and continues

monthly and quarterly.

The successes of the project are as follows:

 Identified root causes for variation issues.

 Identified a successful recipe for the Nova Point.

 Removed waste from the process.

Lean Six Sigma Tools Used

 Project charter

 Process mapping

 Value stream mapping

 Pareto charting

 Root cause analysis

 Cause and effect diagrams

 5 Whys

 Graphical analysis

 Control plan

 Kanban

 Audit