Run a structured improvement on the packing line

What is going on

The Yatala packing line loses time every week to palletiser misfeeds and to blinded filter bags on the packer dust extraction, which also created a dust exposure event on 2 September. Helen Marchetti has asked for a structured improvement project with data, operator involvement and quality system paperwork so the gains are sustained. Downtime is recorded in the batch and production log notes and in maintenance work orders, but nobody has analysed it. The palletiser sensor upgrade is already on the work order list. The certification body audit is on 6 October and Sanjay Pillai wants any changed procedure controlled before then. The improvement must not increase silica exposure.

Your brief

Measure current packing line performance from the records, map the process with the operators, identify the main causes of downtime and dust escapes, plan and trial an improvement, verify the result and put the procedure, training and monitoring changes in place so that the improvement is sustained.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the quality policy, the silica exposure control plan and the batch preparation, blending and packing procedure to establish the constraints on any change.
• Extract downtime events and causes from the batch and production log and the maintenance work orders for the last month and summarise them in a Pareto chart.
• Map the packing process from the packer infeed to the wrapped pallet with Kieran Bosworth and two operators, marking where misfeeds and extraction problems occur.
• Use a structured problem-solving tool to identify root causes for the top two downtime causes and record the evidence.
• Design a trial for one improvement, for example a start of shift extraction gauge check with a filter pulse routine or an infeed alignment change, and define how success will be measured.
• Run or simulate the trial, record the results in the batch log notes and compare them with the baseline.
• Draft the changes to the procedure and the toolbox talk topic, propose the training update and add a monitoring measure to the department KPIs.
• Prepare a report for the October leadership meeting with baseline, trial results, environmental and silica considerations and the sustainment plan.

What someone in this role would produce

• Downtime analysis with Pareto chart
• Process map with problem points
• Trial plan and results
• Draft procedure change and training note
• Leadership report