In line (before) with each of the filling machines there is a buffer table

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Appendix 1.1 Deco vision, mission, focus points and values (Source: Deco Europe Insite)

Our Vision is

‘Inspire people to color and protect homes and buildings’

Our mission to achieve this, is to be a company that is (has):

• European Strategic Leader

• Added value for our customer

• Excellent performance

• Leading brands

• World class supply chain

• Responsibility towards society and environment Our focus points are:

• Our people

• Strong brands

• Innovation, marketing and speed

• Winning distributors

• Service

Our values to help people in achieving both vison and mission, are:

• Clarity

• Respect

• Trust

• Fairness

• Integrity

• Eagerness

• Fun

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Appendix 1.2 Organizational Structure “BUSINESS UNIT X” P&L

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Appendix 1.3 Organizational Structure P&L “Town A”

Site Manager

Logistic Planning Center Maintenance

Service Distribution

Center/ Raw Material Warehouse Lacquer Unit

Wall Paint

&

Multicolor

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Appendix 1.4 Layout Filling Department

Filling Department LU 1 cm = 200 cm

Filling Machine 1

Filling Machine 2

Filling Machine 3

Filling Machine 4

Shrink Wrap Machines

Box-Pack Machine Manual

box Packaging

Manually Stacking Central

Transport Belt

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Appendix 2.1 LU flow of materials

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Appendix 3.1 Filling lines LU

In Chapter 1 we already showed the figure below as the layout of the LU Filling Department. In this appendix we will go into this layout and we will give a clear image of the filling lines of the LU.

Filling Department LU 1 cm = 200 cm

Filling Machine 1

Filling Machine 2

Filling Machine 3

Filling Machine 4

Shrink Wrap Machines

Box-Pack Machine Manual

box Packaging

Manually Stacking Central

Transport Belt

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Filling Machines

From the figure above it will be clear that the LU Filling Department has 4 filling machines at its disposal. Picture 1 shows a so called buffer table. In line (before) with each of the filling machines there is a buffer table. The buffer table can be seen as the start of the filling line. It is used to buffer empty tins that are waiting to be labeled and filled. The buffer of empty tins enables the filling operator to supply the filling machine with tins and to do other activities (e.g. refilling lid-laying machines, quality checks) without the necessity of stopping the machine.

Picture 1 Buffer table

Picture 2 shows the device that puts a label on each empty tin and its control panel. This device will be referred to as ‘Avery.’ Empty tins that come from the buffer table are labeled by the Avery. The information on the labels consists of a barcode and a so called EAN-code. The EAN-code is the technical name for the product that is used in the production process, in the Distribution Center and by wholesalers.

Picture 2 Avery

The empty tins that have been labeled on the Avery are transported to the filling machine by a transportation belt. The distance between the Avery and the filling machine is short (approximately 1 meter). The empty tins that come from the Avery trigger a so called hookbar. The hookbar transports the empty tins to the filling head of the filling machine. Picture 3 shows the actual filling machine.

Above the filling head (nozzle) there is a funnel that is called ‘hopper.’ Paint is pumped into the hopper from a mobile vessel or tank. From the hopper, a fixed amount of paint is pumped through the nozzle into the empty tin that is under it. This fixed amount is set by the filling operator.

Directly after the filling of the tins, a lid is layed on the tin. After that, the lid is pressed on the tin.

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Picture 3 Filling machine Central Transportation belt

After the lids have been pressed on the tins, the filled tins are transported by the hookbar to the Central transportation belt (pictures 4 and 5). The Central transportation belt consists of 4 lanes. 1 of the lanes leads to a box-packaging machine and comes along a position where it is possible to stack tins manually. The other 3 transportation lanes all lead to one of the shrink wrap machines. 1 of these 3 lanes comes along an additional work center for the manually packaging of boxes and for manually stacking. It is important to understand that each of the filling machines has the flexibility to switch between the 4 lanes of the Central transportation belt.

Picture 4 Hookbar after filling machine

Picture 5 Central transportation belt

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Packaging machines

After the buffer table, Avery, Filling Machine, lid-presser and the Central transportation belt, the filled tins are wrapped in plastic or packed in boxes. From the layout figure it becomes clear that the LU has 3 shrink wrap machines at its disposal (Picture 6). The principle of shrink wrap machines is that plastic is loosely wrapped around the required number of filled tins (i.e. 3, 4 or 6). After that, the wrapped tins go into a heated tunnel. The plastic shrinks around the tins and a tray comes out the machine. A packaging operator piles up the trays manually on a pallet.

Picture 6 Shrink wrap machine

We stated earlier that filled tins are shrink wrapped in plastic and packed in boxes. The LU has 1 automatic box- packaging machine (Picture 7). It is able to pack all items within the range of 0.5 liter to 5 liter.

Picture 7 Box-packaging machine

If it happens that 2 filling batches need to be packed in boxes at the same time, there is 1 additional work center where operators can pack filled tins in boxes manually (Picture 8). This additional work center makes use of the transportation lane that leads to one of the tray-machines. It means that when the additional work center for box-packaging is in use, the specific shrink wrap machine cannot be used.

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Picture 8 Work center Manual box-packaging

Finally, the third option for packaging is manual stacking. The layout figure shows 2 positions that enable the operators to stack single filled tins (Picture 9).

Picture 9 Manual stacking

At this point, the filled items have reached the end of the filling lines. After this, the pallets are wrapped in plastic and then they are ready for transportation to a Distribution Center.

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Appendix 4.1 Theoretical concepts and “BUSINESS UNIT X” practices for reduction of Setup time

1 Single Minute Exchange of Dies

A well known method for reducing setup time was introduced by the Japanese Dr. Shingo. His Single Minute Exchange of Dies technique (SMED) was developed in the Toyota factories in the 50’s and 60’s of the 20^th century.

The term SMED refers to methods aimed to reduce downtime of production facilities. In principle, there are two parts to setup. The first procedure takes place while the production system is still working on another order and is called outside exchange of dies (OED). The second takes place when the system is stopped, called inside exchange of dies (IED). SMED reduces downtime of the system by means of shifting portions of IED to OED.

SMED comprises the entire setup process, including insertion and removal of special setup devices, or dies (Shönsleben, 2000).

The SMED- technique consists of 4 stages:

• Preliminary stage: Internal and External setup conditions are not distinguished.

• Stage 1: Separating Internal and External setup

• Stage 2: Converting Internal to External setup

• Stage 3: Streamlining all aspects of the setup operation (Shingo, 1985).

2 Deming-cycle

The so called Deming-cycle (PDCA-cycle) is a management tool that makes it possible for management to control processes. A process is controlled when the steps of the PDCA-cycle are systematically performed (Waszink, 2002). The steps of the PDCA-cycle are as follows:

• Plan: before starting an operation a plan should be made.

• Do: the operation must be performed according to the plan.

• Check: after performing the operation the output must be checked if it corresponds to the specifications.

• Act: if the output of the operation does not correspond to the specifications, actions must be undertaken to make sure it does.

3 Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings practices: project team structure

The project team structure that is used during the project is often used within Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings. It consists of 3 levels with linking pins and a facilitator.

The 1^st group is composed of operators that need to execute the operational activities that are

necessary to reach the project targets. An important role of this group is to generate improvement ideas and to give feedback about implemented ideas.

Next to this Operating-Group there is a so called ‘Rapid Result Team’. The Rapid Result Team is composed of cross-functional employees. These project members can carry out all activities that create working conditions for the operating-group. An important role of this Rapid Result Team is thus to create conditions for the implementation of improvement ideas that come from the operating-group.

The highest level is called ‘Steering Group’. The members of this Steering Group are managers of a functional area and make sure that the objectives of the project correspond to the objectives of the

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involved functional areas. Further, the Steering Group controls the progress of the project and can make decisions that concern the specific functional area.

The Facilitator is the person that directs the project team members. This person understands the problem that is to be solved by the project team. Further, he understands the methods that are going to be used to solve the problem. Meetings are lead by this person and he is an intermediary between the Steering-Group, the Rapid Result Team and the Operating-Group. The most important tasks of the Facilitator are triggering the team members, motivating the team members and to make sure that the methods and techniques are used in the right manner.

4 Akzo Nobel site Darwen (England): Changeover Questions

The Akzo Nobel site Darwen has used 4 questions in order to analyze the specific activities of their setup processes. The questions can be seen as an operationalization of the last 3 stages of the SMED- technique. The changeover questions are:

1) Do we need to do it?

2) Can we do it outside the changeover?

3) Can we start it earlier? (In parallel) 4) Can we complete it faster?

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Appendix 4.2 Activities Step 1

The project started with an introduction session for all employees of the LU. In that session, one of the Steering group members (LU Sector Leader) together with the Facilitator (student) introduced project Fillpower.

The LU Sector Leader announced the composition of the Steering Group, Rapid Result Team and of the Fill Team. Further, the frequency of project team meetings and targets were communicated.

The ‘start-document’ for Project Fillpower can be found below (ad 1). During the project the Fill Team comes together three times a week. The Rapid Result Team comes together twice a week. Also, the LU Sector Leader introduced the Facilitator (student) who would be leading the project.

The LU Sector Leader emphasized the necessity of the reduction of setup time by linking it to the STAR TREK Key Performance Indicators Stocks and Costs.

The Facilitator briefly introduced the SMED-technique and announced that the project members would be more thoroughly introduced to the technique in separate sessions.

In three sessions, the Facilitator introduced the SMED-technique to the Rapid Result Team and to the members of the Fill Team. The steps of the project were explained and also the methods and

techniques were explained.

Ad 1 ‘Start-document’ project Fillpower PROJECT FILLPOWER

Facilitator: Student Anton Breukelman

Steering Group: Sector Leader LU, Sector Leader WP/MC, Planning Manager, Sector Leader LPC, Facilitator

Rapid Result Team: Production planner LU, Material Planner LU, LU scheduler, Group Leader LU, Assistant Group Leaders LU, Sector Leader LU, Technical Maintenance, Process Technologist, Facilitator

Fill Team: Filling operators LU, LU ‘drivers’, Assistant Group Leaders

Project Targets: 1) Reduction of Setup time of the LU filling machines within 7 weeks (average setup time:10 minutes).

2) Standardization and sustaining of the new method of working within 7 weeks

Final product: A shorter setup process which is embedded in the organization. This means (1) a new method of working for the LU filling operators and (2) daily

management and control by the LU line management.

Meetings: Fill Team: 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

Rapid Result Team: 2 times a week (Tuesday, Thursday).

Activities When Who

• Preparation of project

• Introduction to project members

Week 1 Facilitator

Fill Team, Rapid Result Team

• Filming Setup process

• Represent schematically in GANNT-chart

Week 2 Facilitator

• Meeting Fill Team:

introduction of SMED-technique

• Setup process analysis

• Brainstorm:

improvement

Week 3 Facilitator, Fill Team

Facilitator, Fill Team Facilitator, Fill Team, Rapid Result Team

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opportunities

• Realizing improvement opportunities

Week 4 All

• Realizing improvemt opportunities

• Testing new method of working

Week 5 All

• Working on Performance indicators

Week 6 All

• Start new method of working

• Daily monitoring

Week 7 Fill Team, LU line

management

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The SMED-technique starts with a Preliminary stage, in which IED-activities and OED-activities are not distinguished. This was also the case in the LU. In planning how to implement SMED, one must study actual shop floor conditions in great detail. A suitable method is to videotape the entire setup operation(Shingo, 1985).

The great advantage of filming the setup operation is that one can study the operation in great detail:

one can measure exactly how long it takes to carry out every setup activity. Of course, videotaping the setup process makes it also possible to measure the total time it takes to carry out the setup of a Filling machine. Another advantage of making a videotape is that in a later phase, the performing of a setup by different operators can be compared with each other.

In case of the LU three setup operations were filmed by the Facilitator in order to get a setup process that would be suitable to use as a starting point. A setup operation can be used as a starting point under the condition that all possible setup activities are included in that setup. This is not always the case because of the planning system that is used in the LU. Orders are planned in a so called cyclic order, which means that certain setup activities take less time to perform (See also: chapter 3: Initial Situation).

After videotaping the setup process, the videotape was represented schematically in a GANNT-chart (Ad 1).

On the vertical axis of the GANNT-chart all the setup activities are listed. The horizontal axis shows the time it takes to perform each activity. The GANNT-chart gives a clear image of which activities take relatively much time to carry out. Also, it makes clear what the effects are on total time when activities are performed in parallel. In the end, target is to make the slope of the GANNT-chart as short and steep as possible. This means that activities are converted to outside the setup process; separate activities are accelerated and carried out in parallel.

Ad 1 GANNT-chart Setup process

Changeover:Vulmachine 1, Operator: Bakrioui

Item: Van: CB meester UV 820 (0,75 liter) - Naar: Flexa hg RM 1010 (0,75 liter)

Activiteit # Omschrijving Commentaar Start Eind Tijd/activiteit Tijd cum. 0:01 0:02 0:030:04 0:05 0:06 0:07 0:08 0:09 0:10 0:11 0:120:13 0:14 0:15 0:16 0:17 0:18 0:19 0:20 0:21 0:22 0:23 0:24 0:25 0:26 0:27 0:28 0:29 0:30 0:31 0:32 0:33 0:34 0:35 0:36 0:37 0:38 0:39 0:40 0:41 0:42 0:43 0:44 0:45 0:46 0:47 0:48 0:490:50 0:51 0:52 0:53 0:54 0:55 0:56 0:57 0:58 0:59 1:001:01 1:02

1 Schoonspuiten kuip 0:00:00 0:02:00 0:02:00 0:02:00

2 Ontkoppelen kuip 0:02:00 0:03:00 0:01:00 0:03:00

3 Leegpompen toevoerleiding 0:03:00 0:03:10 0:00:10 0:03:10

4 Verwijderen vulkop 0:03:10 0:03:30 0:00:20 0:03:30

5 Aansl. Kop. vuile verdun. 0:03:30 0:04:00 0:00:30 0:04:00

6 Schoonspuiten vulbak 0:04:00 0:05:00 0:01:00 0:05:00

7 Verwijderen filter adapter 0:05:00 0:05:20 0:00:20 0:05:20

9 Wegbrengen rest blikken 0:07:20 0:09:20 0:02:00 0:09:20

10 Reinigen vloer (vuile verdun) 0:09:20 0:11:35 0:02:15 0:11:35

11 Wegrijden BFI tank 0:11:35 0:15:20 0:03:45 0:15:20

13 Verwijderen rest deksels hulp van collega 0:16:00 0:16:20 0:00:20 ###

14 Verwijderen rest etiketten hulp van collega 0:16:20 0:17:10 0:00:50 ###

16 Opruimen schoonmaakspullen 0:22:00 0:24:00 0:02:00 0:24:00

17 Verplaatsen nieuwe blikken 0:24:00 0:24:30 0:00:30 0:24:30

18 Plaatsen nieuw filter adapter 0:24:30 0:25:30 0:01:00 0:25:30

19 Aansl. Nieuwe kuip 0:25:30 0:27:30 0:02:00 0:27:30

20 Wegbrengen rest deksels 0:27:30 0:28:00 0:00:30 0:28:00

21 Papierwerk 0:28:00 0:31:00 0:03:00 0:31:00

22 Plaatsen etiketten op Avery 0:31:00 0:32:00 0:01:00 0:32:00

23 Plaatsen blikken op buffer 0:32:00 0:34:30 0:02:30 0:34:30

24 Wegrijden pallet blikken 0:34:30 0:35:00 0:00:30 0:35:00

25 Ophalen blikken volg. Batch 0:35:00 0:35:30 0:00:30 0:35:30

26 Wachten op BFI tank 0:35:30 0:40:00 0:04:30 0:40:00

27 Maken en plaatsen stempel 0:40:00 0:41:00 0:01:00 0:41:00

28 Instellen hoogte vulkop 0:41:00 0:41:30 0:00:30 0:41:30

29 Plaatsen nieuwe deksels 0:41:30 0:42:00 0:00:30 0:42:00

30 Instellen Avery 0:42:00 0:44:00 0:02:00 0:44:00

32 Papierwerk 0:48:00 0:51:30 0:03:30 0:51:30

33 Verplaatsen BFI tank 0:51:30 0:53:00 0:01:30 0:53:00

34 Openen BFI tank 0:53:00 0:54:30 0:01:30 0:54:30

35 Plaatsen 'spatdeksel' en slang 0:54:30 0:55:00 0:00:30 0:55:00

36 Ontk. Slang vuile verd. Vulkop 0:55:00 0:55:30 0:00:30 0:55:30

37 Schoonvegen vulkop en band 0:55:30 0:56:15 0:00:45 0:56:15

38 Plaatsen nieuwe vulkop 0:56:15 0:56:45 0:00:30 0:56:45

40 Test run + wegen 0:57:00 0:58:00 0:01:00 0:58:00

41 Contr. Geplaatste deksels 0:58:00 0:59:00 0:01:00 0:59:00

42 Bijstellen dekselplaatser 0:59:00 1:00:00 0:01:00 1:00:00

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On the basis of the GANNT-chart the Fill Team and the Facilitator analyzed the Setup Process. In principle every activity is a potential OED-activity: if there would be an infinite capacity of machines and employees, every setup could be carried out while the other filling machine is still running (i.e.

OED). Since this is not the case in the LU, every setup activity needs to be analyzed separately.

The GANNT-chart makes it possible to analyze each setup activity separately in order to determine if that activity is in potential an OED-activity. In the case of the LU each setup activity was analyzed with the help of changeover-questions: (1) Do we need to do it? And (2) Can we do it outside the changeover?

If the answer on the first question is negative, this means that somebody else can do it IED (the activity is eligible for parallelization) or that it is not necessary to carry out that activity at all. A positive answer on the second question means that the activity is a potential OED-activity.

The answering of the two questions above results in a distinction between all the setup activities into Potential OED-activities and IED-activities. The IED-activities can be separated into two classes: (1) activities that need to be carried out by the filling-operator and (2) activities that can be done by another operator (in parallel). An overview of this classification is depicted in ad 1. Each activity has a code: OEDP (Potential OED-activity), IEDF (IED- activity, Filling-operator) or IEDP (IED-activity, Parallel).

Ad 1 Classification of setup activities

Analysis Changeover 1

OEDP

1 Schoonspuiten kuip 0:00:00 0:02:00 0:02:00 0:02:00

9 Wegbrengen rest blikken 0:07:20 0:09:20 0:02:00 0:09:20

11 Wegrijden BFI tank 0:11:35 0:15:20 0:03:45 0:15:20

14 Verwijderen rest etiketten hulp van collega 0:16:20 0:17:10 0:00:50 ###

16 Opruimen schoonmaakspullen 0:22:00 0:24:00 0:02:00 0:24:00

17 Verplaatsen nieuwe blikken 0:24:00 0:24:30 0:00:30 0:24:30

20 Wegbrengen rest deksels 0:27:30 0:28:00 0:00:30 0:28:00

21 Papierwerk 0:28:00 0:31:00 0:03:00 0:31:00

22 Plaatsen etiketten op Avery 0:31:00 0:32:00 0:01:00 0:32:00

23 Plaatsen blikken op buffer 0:32:00 0:34:30 0:02:30 0:34:30

24 Wegrijden pallet blikken 0:34:30 0:35:00 0:00:30 0:35:00

25 Ophalen blikken volg. Batch 0:35:00 0:35:30 0:00:30 0:35:30

27 Maken en plaatsen stempel 0:40:00 0:41:00 0:01:00 0:41:00

30 Instellen Avery 0:42:00 0:44:00 0:02:00 0:44:00

32 Papierwerk 0:48:00 0:51:30 0:03:30 0:51:30

33 Verplaatsen BFI tank 0:51:30 0:53:00 0:01:30 0:53:00

34 Openen BFI tank 0:53:00 0:54:30 0:01:30 0:54:30

35 Plaatsen 'spatdeksel' en slang 0:54:30 0:55:00 0:00:30 0:55:00

Totaal 0:45:40

IEDF

29 Plaatsen nieuwe deksels Inclusief inst. Dekselapparaat 0:41:30 0:42:00 0:00:30 0:42:00

40 Test run + wegen 0:57:00 0:58:00 0:01:00 0:58:00

41 Contr. Geplaatste deksels 0:58:00 0:59:00 0:01:00 0:59:00

42 Bijstellen dekselplaatser 0:59:00 1:00:00 0:01:00 1:00:00

Totaal 0:03:30

IEDP

2 Ontkoppelen kuip 0:02:00 0:03:00 0:01:00 0:03:00

3 Leegpompen toevoerleiding 0:03:00 0:03:10 0:00:10 0:03:10

4 Verwijderen vulkop 0:03:10 0:03:30 0:00:20 0:03:30

5 Aansl. Kop. vuile verdun. 0:03:30 0:04:00 0:00:30 0:04:00

7 Verwijderen filter adapter 0:05:00 0:05:20 0:00:20 0:05:20

13 Verwijderen rest deksels hulp van collega 0:16:00 0:16:20 0:00:20 ###

18 Plaatsen nieuw filter adapter 0:24:30 0:25:30 0:01:00 0:25:30

19 Aansl. Nieuwe kuip 0:25:30 0:27:30 0:02:00 0:27:30

36 Ontk. Slang vuile verd. Vulkop 0:55:00 0:55:30 0:00:30 0:55:30

37 Schoonvegen vulkop en band 0:55:30 0:56:15 0:00:45 0:56:15

38 Plaatsen nieuwe vulkop 0:56:15 0:56:45 0:00:30 0:56:45

Totaal 0:10:50

Totaal interne activiteiten 0:14:20

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Appendix 4.5 Activities Step 4 and 5

Until this stage in the project, there was spoken about setup activities that were related to one setup in particular. This makes it difficult to speak about the setup activities of the LU in general. In order to make this possible, the setup activities were put in categories. In this phase of the project it became clear that a part of the setup activities could be related to the settings of the ‘Filling machine.’ Other setup activities were particularly related to ‘Cleaning’ and another group of activities could be categorized under ‘Material handling.’ The 3 categories could be divided in 13 sub categories. A sub category contains activities that are strongly related to each other.

Next to the advantage of the ability to speak in general about the setup activities, a categorization makes it possible to redesign the process (on paper) in a later phase.

The categorization of the setup activities with the codes (ad 1) was used as a starting point to generate improvement ideas for how to convert IED- activities into OED- activities and how to move OED- activities outside of the setup process.

Also, the categorization was used as a starting point for the generating of improvement ideas to accelerate IED-activities. In principle, there are two manners to accelerate IED-activities. The most effective way to accelerate the IED-activities is to combine the manners that are described below.

The first and perhaps most obvious way is acceleration of IED-activities by technical adjustments.

This does not always mean that new equipment has to be purchased. It is also a possibility to reallocate equipment on the shop floor.

The second way to accelerate IED-activities is by performing them in parallel. Setup activities that can be done separate from each other are carried out at the same time. In practice, this means that the setup operation is performed by more than one operator.

To generate improvement ideas, a brainstorm session was organized. The brainstorm was attended by the members of the Rapid Result Team and a part of the Fill Team. The Facilitator was the host of the session. During the brainstorm, all the setup activities of the categorization were systematically analyzed with the help of questions.

The question that was answered for each of the OEDP-activities was: ‘How can we really move it to OED?’ Improvement ideas for the IEDF- activities were generated with the help of the question: ‘How can we complete it faster?’ And the supporting question for the IEDP- activities was: ‘How can we do it in parallel?’

Ad 1 Categorization of setup activities Category: Filling machine

Nozzle:

Remove nozzle Install nozzle Setup height nozzle Filter adapter:

Remove filter Put filter in place

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Stamp batchcode

Remove stamp batchcode Create new stamp batchcode Install stamp batchcode

Check performance stamp batchcode Automatic lid layer

Setup automatic lid layer

Check automatic lid layer performance Fine tune automatic lid layer

Line

Setup wideness of line Setup hookbar

Volume Setup volume Check volume Fine tune volume Avery

Setup Avery

Check Avery Performance Fine tune Avery

Category: Cleaning

Mobile vessel/ immobile tank: washdown using solvent Cleaning nozzle after draining away used solvent Cleaning hopper with solvent

Cleaning filter with solvent

Cleaning line after removing nozzle Used solvent

Put vessel/bucket in place Open vessel/bucket

Connect vessel/bucket to nozzle with hose

Remove hose that connects vessel/bucket to nozzle

Category: Material handling Tins

Remove last tins from buffer table Put new tins on the right place Put new tins on buffer table Remove pallet with ‘old’ tins

Move pallet with tins for next filling batch Lids

Remove remaining lids from automatic lid layer Remove remaining lids from filling area

Get new lids

Put new lids on automatic lid layer Labels

Remove remaining labels from Avery Put new labels on Avery

Mobile vessel/ immobile tank Remove valve from vessel Connect valve to next vessel

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Appendix 4.6 Redesigned setup process

It was decided that the operator who is going to run the batch after the setup operation is the one who carries out the activities that were categorized under the denominator ‘Filling Machine.’ The filling operator who is ‘idle’ because the 4^th filling machine is closed down carries out the ‘Cleaning’

activities. The 3^rd operator is the packaging operator from the closed down filling line. This operator carries out the ‘Material’ activities.

After working with the activity schemes for one day and observation by the Facilitator, the activity schemes were reviewed. Several adaptations made the schemes more practical to work with.

Setup activities: in parallel

Activity Start End Activity

0:0 1

0:0 2

0:0 3

0:0 4

0:0 5

0:0 6

0:0 7

0:0 8

0:0 9

0:1 0

0:1 1

0:1 2

0:1 3

0:1 4

0:1 5

1 Remove nozzle 0:00:00 0:00:30 0:00:30

2 Install nozzle 0:00:30 0:01:00 0:00:30

3 Setup hight nozzle 0:01:00 0:01:15 0:00:15

4 Remove filter 0:01:15 0:01:35 0:00:20

5 Put new filter in place 0:01:35 0:02:35 0:01:00

6 Remove stamp batchcode 0:02:35 0:02:45 0:00:10

7 Create new stamp batchcode 0:02:45 0:03:45 0:01:00

8 Install stamp batchcode 0:03:45 0:03:55 0:00:10

9 Setup automatic lid layer 0:03:55 0:05:55 0:02:00

10 Check lid layer performance 0:05:55 0:06:15 0:00:20

11 Fine tune lid layer 0:06:15 0:06:55 0:00:40

12 Setup wideness of line 0:06:55 0:07:40 0:00:45

13 Setup hookbar 0:07:40 0:08:10 0:00:30

14 Setup volume 0:08:10 0:08:40 0:01:00

15 Check volume 0:08:40 0:09:10 0:00:30

16 Fine tune volume 0:09:10 0:10:10 0:01:00

17 Setup Avery 0:10:10 0:12:10 0:02:00

18 Check Avery performance 0:12:10 0:12:20 0:00:10

19 Fine tune Avery 0:12:20 0:13:20 0:01:00

1 Remove last tins from buffer table 0:00:00 0:00:30 0:00:30

2 Remove pallet 'old' tins 0:00:30 0:01:30 0:01:00

3 Put pallet new tins on right place 0:01:30 0:02:30 0:01:00 4 Put new tins on buffer table 0:02:30 0:05:30 0:03:00 5 Remove remaining lids from lid layer 0:05:30 0:05:40 0:00:10 6 Remove remaining lids from filling area 0:05:40 0:06:10 0:00:30

7 Get new lids 0:06:10 0:07:10 0:01:00

8 Put new lids on automatic lid layer 0:07:10 0:07:40 0:00:30 9 Remove remaining labels from Avery 0:07:40 0:07:50 0:00:10

10 Put new labels on Avery 0:07:50 0:08:50 0:01:00

11 Remove valve from vessel 0:08:50 0:09:50 0:01:00

12 Connect valve to new vessel 0:09:50 0:10:50 0:01:00

1 Vessel: washdown using solvent 0:00:00 0:04:00 0:04:00 2 Clean nozzle after draining away used solvent 0:04:00 0:04:30 0:00:30 3 Clean hopper using solvent 0:04:30 0:06:00 0:01:30 4 Clean filter using solvent 0:06:00 0:06:30 0:00:30 5 Put vessel for used solvent in place 0:06:30 0:07:30 0:01:00 6 Open vessel for used solvent 0:07:30 0:07:40 0:00:10 7 Connect vessel to nozzle with hose 0:07:40 0:08:10 0:00:30 8 Remove hose that connects vessel to nozzle 0:08:10 0:08:40 0:00:30

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Appendix 4.7 Activities step 6 and 7

After dividing the setup activities into 3 parts on the base of the categorization that was made earlier in the project, it was clear for the Facilitator and the Rapid Result Team that the activity schemes should be the standard for the carrying out of a setup process. After all, the members of the Fill Team were starting to get used to the new method of working and they were involved in designing the activity schemes. It was decided in the Rapid Result Team that possibly new operators will be trained in the setup method by the assistant group leaders.

When we look at the (standardized) setup process we consider the formulated activity schemes as a Plan. As stated above, a process is controlled when the steps of the PDCA-cycle are systematically performed. The members of the Fill Team are already Doing their activities according to plan. It was decided in the Rapid Result Team meeting that the results of the setup process would be Checked every day. The operators are keeping up the times it takes to carry out the setup processes. Those results will be inventoried and processed in the so called daily production tracking by the short term scheduler. In the LU there is every morning at 9 o’clock a so called standup meeting. Results of the previous days and possibly problems are discussed. It was decided that the setup results would be discussed as well. If average setup time is above 10 minutes the assistant group leaders have to investigate what has caused the results and, if possible, undertake Actions to take away the causes. In this way, the setup process is controlled and thus sustained.

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Appendix 5.1 Theoretical concepts and Akzo Nobel “BUSINESS UNIT X” practices for reduction of downtime during operation

1 Random sample check

In order to estimate the causes of downtime (in percentage), so called downtime studies need to be carried out. The number of downtime studies can be calculated with the formulas below (Buijs, 2003):

n p z p

n p p z p

p− ⋅ ⋅(1− ) <π < + ⋅ ⋅(1− ) ⁽¹⁾

Maximum deviation a =

n p

z⋅ p⋅(1− ) (2)

n = number of downtime studies z = reliability value

a = maximum deviation in estimation p = chance of downtime

2 Downtime categories

A downtime study measures the time that the filling machine is not performing its operation and the time that is lost because of slow-running. The list of downtime categories (below) that has been used for downtime studies in the LU is a compilation from downtime categories that have been used for downtime studies on other “BUSINESS UNIT X” locations. Comparing the categories from the other locations with the situation in the LU resulted in 8 main categories with 16 sub-categories of

downtime. Categories that were irrelevant for the LU were left out of the downtime studies.

Main downtime category Sub-category

1. Tins 1. No tins

2. Lids 2. No lids

3. Malfunction lid-machine

3. Avery 4. No labels

4. Filling machine 5. Malfunction Avery

6. Mechanical breakdown 7. Pump/pipes

5. Cleaning 8. Cleaning machine

9. Cleaning floor

6. Slow-running 10. Speed shrink wrap machine

11. Speed box-packaging machine 12. Speed manual packaging 13. Settings filling machine

7. Downstream 14. Malfunction box-packaging machine

15. Malfunction shrink wrap machine

8. Staff 16. No staff

3 Pareto analysis

A Pareto analysis is a technique to distinguish important causes from less important causes with the objective to get insight in the most important causes of the results. The Pareto analysis is also called the “80-20 rule.” In many cases there is a certain pattern to discover in series of numbers: 20% of the causes is responsible for 80% of the results. In practice it is possible that this principle occurs in different proportions. The 20% of the causes are called the ‘Vital few’ and the remaining 80% of the causes are called the ‘Trivial many’.

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Appendix 5.2 Activities diagnosis phase

In order to make a proper diagnosis of which causes of downtime have a relatively large impact on total downtime the Facilitator carried out an amount of so called downtime studies. A downtime study measures for 10 minutes the time that the filling machine is not performing its operation because of a certain cause. As we have seen in Appendix 5.1, 8 categories with 16 sub categories of downtime were defined. The downtime studies were observations with the aim to influence the filling process as less as possible. This means that during the studies the Facilitator did not participate in the process. The facilitator used a form (ad 1) to gather data from the downtime studies. The form contains the 16 pre defined downtime categories.

The formula that was discussed in Appendix 5.1 was used to calculate the number of downtime studies that need to be carried out in order to estimate the percentage of total downtime per cause. Using a reliability value of 90% (z = 1.65) and a maximum of 5% deviation in estimation (a = 5), this means that 273 (n = 273) downtime studies would have to be done. The chance of downtime is 50%.

In practice, the Facilitator carried out 58 downtime studies. After those downtime studies the Pareto analysis showed obvious results and it was decided in the project team that additional downtime studies would not be necessary. Of course, this has consequences for the reliability of the estimations.

The corresponding z-value is 0.76 which means a reliability value of 22.36 %.

In a participative diagnosis, the Facilitator, the Fill Team and the Rapid Result Team analyzed the constraints behind the causes of downtime that had the largest relative impact on total downtime.

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Ad 1 Downtime studies: form

Downtime study

Item: Start quantity:

Volume: End quantity:

Potential Speed Total time study:

Tins 1 No tins 1

Lids 2 No lids 2

3 Malfunction lid machine 3

Avery 4 No labels 4

Filling machine 5 Malf. Avery 5

6 Mechanical breakdown 6

7 Pump- pipes 7

Cleaning 8 Clean filling machine 8

9 Clean floor 9

Slow-running 10 Speed shrink wrap mach. 10

11 Speed box packaging machine 11

12 Speed manual packaging 12

13 Settings filling machine 13

Downstream 14 Malf. Box pack. Machine 14

15 Malf. Shrink wrap mach. 15

Staff 16 No staff 16

Total

downtime

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Appendix 5.3 Pareto downtime

Category % DT

1 Setting filling machine 27,9

2 Malfunction Avery 8,53

3 No staff 8,49

4 Speed manual packaging 7,83

5 No tins 7,59

6 Malfunction box packaging machine 6,86

7 Pump/ pipes 6,12

8 Speed shrink wrap machine 5,83 9 Malfunction shrink wrap machine 5,68 10 Speed box packaging machine 5,17

11 Mechanical breakdown 4,49

12 No labels 2,09

13 Cleaning machine 1,46

14 No lids 0,97

15 Malfunction lid-machine 0,97

16 Cleaning floor 0,00

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Appendix 5.4 In depth analysis: constraints 1 Settings Filling Machine:

The movement/shock of the so called ‘hookbar’ causes that certain products with a low viscosity flow over the tin at high speed.

Setting the filling machine at the standard speed results for some large volume products (2.5 - 5 liters) in too large fluctuations in content. This can lead to quality deviations (E-sign).

Too high speed for manual stacking. The standard speed for 2.5 liter products is 30 Cpm (Cans per minute). One person in manual stacking cannot process 30 Cpm. In fact, manual stacking becomes the bottleneck in this case.

Too high speed for box packaging machine. The box packaging machine has a maximum speed of 10 boxes per minute. A box with 2.5 liter products contains two tins. So, the box packaging machine can process 20 Cpm. In fact, in the case of 2.5 liters the box packaging machine becomes the bottleneck capacity. Standard speed for 2.5 liter products is 30 Cpm but the speed of the filling machine is often adjusted to the box packaging machine. This means that when the filling machine has a malfunction (due to any reason), the box packaging machine (bottleneck) will become idle.

2 Malfunction Avery:

Malfunction of the Avery machine (puts labels on tins) in most cases means adjusting the settings.

This adjusting does not take very long but this malfunction occurs with a high frequency.

Especially when the speed of the filling machine is adjusted to the speed of manually stacking or to the box packaging machine (2.5 liters), this is a problem. Namely, we stated that the box packaging machine and manually stacking become bottlenecks in the case of 2.5 liter products. When the filling machine has an Avery malfunction and the speed is adjusted to the downstream bottleneck, this bottleneck will become idle.

3 No Staff:

The downtime studies showed that ‘No Staff’ causes over 8% of all downtime. Causes are mini-breaks for smoking, toilet breaks, distraction by other employees, etc. etc.

4 Speed manual packaging:

Too high speed for manual packaging. Manual packaging is mainly carried out for small volume products (0.75 – 1 liter). Standard speed is set at 40 Cpm. In practice, the speed of manual packaging is lower so manual packaging becomes a bottleneck operation. The result is that the buffer bar gets full and that the filling machine needs to be stopped. Another constraint that is related to manual

packaging is in the preparation before manual packaging. Boxes need to be labeled manually, this takes a lot of time and during this labeling the filling machines are not running.

5 No tins:

A lack of tins is often caused by disturbance in supply on the filling machine. This disturbance is often caused by the handles of 2.5 liter items. These handles often hook on to the tin-guides. Although the disturbance is often only 10 seconds, the frequency is very high. This leads to a relatively high impact on total downtime. Again, in the case of adjusting the speed of the filling machine to the speed of the box packaging machine, this means that a lack of tins causes downtime of the box packaging machine (bottleneck). The same happens when the speed of the filling machine is adjusted to the speed of manually stacking.

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6 Malfunction box packaging machine Cause

We have seen that the box packaging machine is in certain cases the bottleneck capacity. Malfunction of the box packaging machine also leads to downtime of the filling machine.

Almost 7% of all downtime is caused by a malfunction of the box packaging machine. This

malfunctioning has several causes. The 1^st cause is the quality of the boxes. Sometimes the boxes are too weak, sometimes too hard; sometimes there is too much glue on them. The result is that the

machine gets jammed. The 2^nd cause has to do with the handles of 2.5 liter tins: when the buffer before the box packaging machine becomes to long the handles of the tins are bended. This results in

malfunction of the box packaging machine because with bended handles the machine cannot aim the tins properly.

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Appendix 5.5 Activities design phase

After the results of the downtime studies and the Pareto analysis emerged, the members of the Rapid Result Team and the Facilitator decided to focus on the so called ‘vital few.’ In this case the vital few are the 6 downtime categories that were responsible for more than 67 % of the total downtime.

Together with the members of the Fill Team and the members of the Rapid Result Team the Facilitator started to generate improvement ideas to take away the constraints that cause the downtime. Suitable occasions for this are the Rapid Result Team meetings and informal conversations on the shop floor.

After finding several improvement ideas decisions were taken about which ideas would be carried out:

a new method of working was designed.

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Appendix 5.6 Design

1 Downtime category: Settings Filling machine Causes

The movement/shock of the so called ‘hookbar’ causes that certain products with a low viscosity flow over the tin at high speed.

Setting the filling machine at the standard speed results for some large volume products (2.5 - 5 liters) in too large fluctuations in content. This can lead to quality deviations (E-brand).

Adjustment

The causes above make that the operators set the filling machine at a speed that is lower than the norm. The speed that they choose is a speed from which they know that it will not cause problems with the hookbar or with quality. Testing has showed that it is often possible to speed up the filling machine with several Cans per Minute without having problems.

Adjustment: decide for each single product ‘on the spot’ (taking into account hookbar and quality problems) the maximum speed. In this way, machines will not be running at a safe speed, but at a maximum speed.

Cause

Too high speed for manual stacking. The standard speed for 2.5 liter products is 30 Cpm (Cans per minute). One person in manual stacking cannot process 30 Cpm. In fact, manual stacking becomes the bottleneck in this case.

Adjustment

In practice manually stacking is done by one operator. The maximum speed is at approximately 18 Cpm. Utilization of bottlenecks should be as high as possible; this means that a buffer should be before the bottleneck capacity. Assuming that the filling machine is set at a higher speed than 18 Cpm, this prerequisite is fulfilled.

However, in this way the norm of 30 Cpm (2.5 liters) will not be reached. This means that the speed of the operation of the bottleneck should be increased.

Adjustment: in the case of manually stacking 2.5 liter products the assistant group leader should reallocate operators in such a fashion that 2 operators become available for manual stacking.

Cause

Too high speed for box packaging machine. The box packaging machine has a maximum speed of 10 boxes per minute. A box with 2.5 liter products contains two tins. So, the box packaging machine can process 20 Cpm. In fact, in the case of 2.5 liters the box packaging machine becomes the bottleneck capacity. Standard speed for 2.5 liter products is 30 Cpm but the speed of the filling machine is often adjusted to the box packaging machine. This means that when the filling machine has a malfunction (due to any reason), the box packaging machine (bottleneck) will become idle.

Adjustment

If it is not possible to increase the speed of the bottleneck operation, the utilization of the bottleneck should be as high as possible. As stated before, there are no resources available to purchase a faster box packaging machine. This means that the utilization of the box packaging machine should be as high as possible.

Adjustment: create a buffer before the box packaging machine. This buffer should make the filling machine stop when it is full. In this way, (short) malfunctions of the filling machine are of no influence on the box packaging machine.