Major Food Producer
A major poultry producer secured an additional product supply contract and started construction of a new facility in early 2019 with planned ramp up/start up in January 2020. Besides the complexities and coordination challenges with new construction, the executive leadership team expected everyone to step in and know how to run the new facility effectively.
Problems
Coupled with having to transfer and hire new employees and leadership in the tight labor market, the question posed was how can we mitigate “other” ramp up risks? This drew their attention to the leadership, training, onboarding, maximize process operations, and equipment maintenance requirements. With the ramp up scheduled and budgeted to be full operations in 90-days, preparation would have to occur much earlier in the planning/build cycle.
Objectives
- Reduce/eliminate surprises and barriers prior to start up
- Improve ramp up speed to bring new plant online as fast as possible
- Ensure capability to produce products for customer within tight criteria specifications with repeatability
- Produce products within budgetary cost guidelines
Strategies
Team would consist of joint membership between client and Powers split into 3 focus groups.
The project was broken into two distinct phases.
Phase 1 focused on development and creation of 3 primary needs prior to start up.
- (Team 1) Process Control management – defining key process control points throughout the processes by piece of equipment or station
- (Team 2) Workforce and Leadership practices
- (Team 3) Equipment Reliability / Maintenance
Phase 2 focused on (operational start up).
- Live testing and validation of processes – equipment operations, product quality testing, and capabilities
- Equipment – working with OEMs to ensure equipment is operating within required specs/documenting LOTO requirements/equipment preventative maintenance & training
- Line Balancing/work sequencing (labor management)
- Management Operating System tool validations and use
Involve the “future” leadership of the new plant into Phase 1 heavily doing value stream mapping and specific equipment learning and set up. Provide them the knowledge of how equipment/lines run. Full knowledge of production processes.
Results
- Initial product runs and sensory testing from customers passed on schedule to plan.
- Ramp up plan achieved through the course of the first 90 days at incremental levels as budgeted.
- Completed the entire plant value stream mapping during the first 90 days. This included labor resource requirements, cycle times, capacity goals/targets/capacities by product type/flow.
- Developed SOPS for operating and operator guides for training on new positions/new equipment.
- Developed/identified equipment listing, assigned asset numbers, and OEM recommended Preventative Maintenance requirements and loaded into CMMS system prior to launch.
- Developed Maintenance technician training plans with OEMs and other SME’s.
- Developed and implemented shop floor Management Operating System for performance management.
- Trained leadership on MOS tools and guided use on the shop floor.
Completed Labor Management tool and implemented for resource loading to budget and volume.
