Masterclass process delivers measurable benefits

A PICME product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 16, 2005

The Wigton site of Innovia Films, has completed a programme of work with PICME that has delivered measurable benefits in the Human Resources department.

The Wigton site of the biggest world producer of speciality biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cellulose films, Innovia Films, has completed a programme of work with the Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence (PICME) that has delivered measurable benefits in the Human Resources (HR) department.

Innovia Films has been successfully partnering PICME in lean issues at its Wigton Cumbria site for the past four years.

The past 12 months has seen a strong emphasis at the company on supervisor/operator development and on the integration of NVQs into improvement work: all of this to help develop the sustainable face of lean manufacturing.

Innovia was determined, however, to roll out the lessons learned in manufacturing into the services side of the operation and to develop an "office lean" standard.

Innovia applied the PICME lessons and facilitated training in order to help it assist administration and workflow effectiveness.

Stuart Turnbull of Innovia says: "Yet again PICME has shown us that our teamwork through the masterclass process can succeed in tackling the issues set before it".

"In this case, and for the first time, we succeeded in an administration area".

"We are also now seeing how this improvement work brings direct benefits to the Human Resources area and thus also to the users of the HR services".

Much of the detailed work on the transfer process concentrated on improving the office documentation and the actions involved.

The work therefore focused on changes in shift pattern, job roles and departments and the associated impact on shift clockings, holidays, pay and pensions.

The Innovia team succeeded in improving the measure of not right first time actions in this transfer area by nearly 70%.

After making detailed work analysis "maps" of the time taken to perform various actions and the distance travelled by a number of related documents, the Innovia team succeeded in implementing further improvements: the documentation distance was reduced sevenfold; the overall time taken on transfer work was reduced by 86%; the overall number of people involved in the documentation process was reduced by 70%; and the rate of handovers - ie moving responsibility from one area of supervision to another - was halved.

Sarah Redfern, PICME Manufacturing Improvement Engineer, says the Innovia team: "has overcome many of the issues found within a process that crosses numerous functional departments and gone on to produce significant improvements to that process".

"The Innovia team effectively engaged the relevant personnel to design a system that works for all".

The Innovia team is now currently assessing various extensions and refinements to its new ways of working, including rolling out a number of techniques into the HR department, the Accounts department and also into the company's R and D building.

A "plan do check act" cycle is now in place and the new systems are updated based on empirical measurement and observation.

The Innovia team is to keep going with its programme of process simplification, measurement and standardisation: The story of "office lean" will also be included in the Innovia Films presentation at the PICME Annual Conference in Telford on Tuesday 27th September.

Full details of the PICME conference on 27th September are now available from PICME and from its supporting trade associations in the process industries.

Speaking companies will include AH Marks, Geberit Terrain, Innovia Films, Macfarlan Smith, Tetley GB as well as members of the PICME team.

Mark Lewis PICME Chief Executive says: "For a successful learning conference the fruits of experience can be relied on as the best teacher".

"These are often hard won but always valuable and our 27th September conference will make sure the process industries can see how improvement can work in their own special environment".