Improving Production Capacity to meet Growing Sales
The Problem
A client in the dietary supplements industry experienced a significant spike in sales and product demand, which exposed underlying capacity issues in their production process. The company was operating on a 24/5 production schedule but had to expand to a 24/7 model to keep pace with rising demand. However, even with the extended schedule, production capacity still fell short of requirements. The company’s Vice President, having worked successfully with Marshall Institute in the past, knew they could provide the expertise necessary to address these challenges.
The Solution
Marshall Institute conducted a comprehensive maintenance and reliability assessment. This analysis identified two main factors, one which was hindering current performance and capacity, and the second issue was a systems/process gap which would likely impact future performance and capacity was the equipment began to age:
Performance Issue: Minor stoppages were disrupting line performance and negatively impacting Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
System Issues: The Preventive Maintenance (PM) strategies were not optimized, and compliance with PM schedules was low, creating a looming risk of reliability issues as performance increased and the equipment aged.
To address both the immediate and future challenges, Marshall Institute implemented a targeted improvement plan focusing on five key areas:
Performance Solutions:
Basic Equipment Care (BEC): Trained operators on cleaning standards, early defect identification, and how to initiate work requests, empowering them to play a key role in maintaining equipment health.
Center-lining and Changeovers: Established clear standards for machine settings and changeovers, trained the operators and technicians to follow the standards, and created documentation to ensure sustained consistency.
Operator Training Program Development: Developed a comprehensive training program that provided clear work instructions for every task associated with the operation of packaging line equipment, ensuring that new hires were properly trained and certified.
System Solutions:
PM Optimization: Conducted PMO workshops across three packaging lines to streamline preventive maintenance tasks, intervals, and time estimates
Future Focus - Work Management Development: Enhanced the scheduling process, improved PM completion rates and boosted schedule compliance. By working with production, the focus was on integrating more maintenance tasks during planned downtime to minimize disruptions.
The Client
Dietary Supplement Organization
The Project
Production Capacity Improvement
Services Leveraged
- PM Optimization
- Work Management
- Basic Equipment Care (BEC)
- Center-lining
- Operator Training
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The Outcome
The implementation of these initiatives delivered significant, measurable results for the manufacturer’s production process and ability to meet sales demand:
Our client achieved:
PM Optimization
Maintenance tasks were optimization across three packaging lines to better support the equipment’s maintenance and operational needs, setting up the assets up for reliability and availability as sales demand continues to increase. This improved overall equipment effectiveness.
Work Management
The improved coordination between production and maintenance allowed more work to be completed during scheduled downtime, reducing the reliance on weekend shifts and setting the team up for more mature scheduling and PM completion during production shifts.
Basic Equipment Care (BEC)
Operators gained the ability to identify defects early, improving maintenance effectiveness. Monthly BEC audits maintained a score of over 90%, ensuring that the new standards were sustained over time.
Center-lining
The introduction of standardized changeover procedures reduced unscheduled downtime significantly. For example, the unscheduled downtime on the green line labeler dropped from 7.22% to 2.30%.
Operator Training
The OJT program resulted in a structured training matrix for every task on the packaging lines, with training materials developed for each role, ensuring consistent performance and reducing errors across the board.
Conclusion
Marshall Institute’s approach transformed our client’s production capacity by addressing both immediate and future issues. The improvements in PM, work management, and operator engagement created a robust foundation for ongoing success. With these changes in place, the manufacturer was able to meet increased demand while maintaining high levels of efficiency and reliability. The collaborative partnership between the manufacturer and Marshall Institute demonstrates the value of implementing best practices in maintenance and reliability for sustainable production improvements.