Augos Factory / Proof / Packaging manufacturer
Case study · Packaging
Seven fewer hours a day. More good production than before.
The plant cut its working day on one line from about 23 hours to 16. It ended up with more good production time, not less.
The problem
A line that ran all day and lost half of it
In its baseline quarter the packaging line was paid for 2,113.9 hours, close to 23 hours a day. Unplanned stops took 41.2% of that time.
Only 35.3% of paid time turned into good output, and the biggest losses were the hardest to act on.
182.5 hours across 349 stops were logged as "mechanical, undefined". Another 290.2 hours were "pending": stops nobody had given a reason.
What the record suggested
Give every stop a reason first. Once that was done, two faults stood out. Blade adjustment and replacement cost 147.2 hours over 23 stops. A worn reel-stand motor coupling stopped the line 46 times for 42.7 hours. Fix those before cutting the hours.
The fix
Name the faults, then shorten the day
The plant worked through the named faults one by one, starting with the blade change and the reel-stand coupling. It then moved the line to a shorter shift pattern of about 16 hours a day.
Blade stops fell from 147.2 hours to 4.1 a quarter. The reel-stand coupling fell from 42.7 hours to 0.2. Undefined mechanical stops fell from 182.5 hours to 13.5.
Holding the standard
More from less, month after month
Do the sum and the shorter day wins outright. 35.3% of 2,113.9 hours is 746 hours of good production. 62.6% of 1,461.6 hours is 915.
That is 23% more good production time from 31% fewer paid hours.
It held. In the last two months on record, unplanned stops took 7.6% and 7.7% of paid time. "Pending" fell from 290.2 hours to 2.3, so nearly every stop now has a reason.
A shorter day only pays if the hours that remain are good ones. The stop record named the faults to fix first, and shows that the shorter day produced more.
Questions
This case, answered
How can fewer hours make more?
The lost hours went first. Unplanned stops fell from 41.2% to 7.7% of paid time, so more of each shorter day ran good product.
What does "pending" mean?
A stop that nobody has given a reason yet. In quarter 1 they added up to 290.2 hours. Once reasons were filled in, the real faults could be ranked and fixed.
What does this case leave out?
A rand value: the plant has not shared its sales values, so the case reports hours. Plant and product names are withheld.
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