Throughput Expansion Without New Capex

Background:

Production output was constrained by bottlenecks in blending and packaging.

Challenge:

• Blending and packaging were tightly coupled, causing cascading downtime

• Customer growth potential was limited by throughput ceiling

• Lengthy changeovers and wash times reduced efficiency

Actions Taken:

• Decoupled blending and packing, enabling WIP buffering

• Conducted SMED with the Performance Improvement Team and assigned team

• responsibilities

  
  

Results:

• Throughput increased by 8,000 lbs per shift

• Wash time reduced from 3 hours to 2 hours without compromising safety or quality

• Opened additional capacity to onboard new customer business