TRANSFORMING CHANGEOVER TIMES FOR A GLOBAL CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURER

Background
A global consumer goods, personal care, and cosmetics products manufacturer faced significant operational challenges across multiple manufacturing sites with billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of employees globally, the company struggled with long changeover times ranging from 1.5 to 8 hours.

Challenges
➢ Increased production costs, lot cycle times.
➢ Changeovers reduce Manufacturing Lines Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by 5% – 35%.
➢ Delays in shipping millions of dollars worth of critical products, leading to customer complaints.
➢ Frequent production overtime to cover the extra hours required for changeovers.

Implementation
To address these challenges, the Changeover Time Reduction Concept was launched at six global manufacturing sites. The comprehensive implementation process included:

➢ Comprehensive Analyses:

• Detailed analysis of current changeover processes to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

➢ SMED Workshops:

• Conducted “Single Minute Exchange of Die” (SMED) workshops to uncover opportunities for reducing changeover times.
• Engaged cross-functional teams in identifying and implementing improvements. 
• Internal to external activities switch, parallel processes, activity times optimization.
• Adjustment and setup time savings solutions were implemented.

Results

The implementation of the Changeover Time Reduction Concept yielded impressive results 

➢ 3963 Global Manufacturing Hours Saved: Significant reduction in changeover times across all sites. 

➢ 5.8 Million More Units Manufactured: The saved time allowed for increased production output.

➢ Contributed to $1.4M Overall Cost Savings: Cost savings from reduced labor, minimized downtime, and better-utilized capacity.

➢ 3% to 12% Improvement in OEE: Notable enhancement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness, boosting productivity and efficiency.

Testimonials
“ Changing traditional methods of production and operations and understanding new ways took the manufacturing lines to a new era. Our teams passed a very critical milestone by working together and generating these great results.” – Chief of Supply Chain

“ The Continuous Improvement Program revolutionized our manufacturing processes and significantly enhanced productivity and quality across global sites. The strategic approach and hands-on leadership were instrumental in driving positive change and achieving remarkable cost savings.” – VP of South America Operations