Case study · Food & Beverage
Fifth-generation food processor earns back more than four times its investment
A fifth-generation food processor was losing nearly $60,000 a month in an aging plant when its main market collapsed and it opened a new facility anyway. USC built a management operating system and applied Lean Six Sigma across both.
Results
4:1
return on investment
The processor reported a return of more than four to one.
The situation
Coming off a good year, the processor wanted to keep its momentum, but it was losing nearly $60,000 a month. Then the market for its ramped-up product line bottomed out.
What the assessment found
- A 125-year-old plant laid out like a maze
- Bottlenecks and a lack of storage
- Managers stretched across a new facility and an added shift
How the work was done
System: find and remove waste
Engaged team members to run management operating system elements that identify, quantify and eliminate waste, with key performance indicators and visual management tools.
Lean Six Sigma: fix the process
USC's Master Black Belt led work to raise uptime, capacity and throughput, attack yield losses and speed shift start-ups to first good product.
Supervisors: coach on the floor
Coached supervisors on the shop floor, documented and shared best practices by area, and set up audits to sustain the new systems.
Lasting impact
The processor went from good to great in a hard market, ready for the market's turn and positioned for its next generation of family ownership.
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