success: manufacturing

Case 1: Improvements in the wrapping/packaging department of a shrimp wrapping manufacturer.

Old situation:

Shrimp used to be packed in consumer wrappings at 14 production lines before being distributed to chain stores throughout Europe. Production lines averaged a 38% daily waiting time caused by very small production batches. With each new type of shrimp or new way of wrapping, line adjustments had to be made. The small batches existed because of the way the sales department and the production planners worked. Sales people were selling very small orders and passed these directly to the production planners, who then gave instruction to have these orders produced the same day and as soon as possible. This way of producing resulted in time wasted and high production costs.

New situation:

We started by having the sales people provide forecasts based on previous years’ sales and promotional activities of their customers. This enabled the production planners to better plan capacity vs. demand. In addition, we slightly increased stock levels of wrapped shrimp and set stock norms based on sales forecasts.

Final results:

As a result, production planners were able to create highly efficient production plans. This, in turn, led to a 25% reduction in waiting time and annual savings of $1 million.

Case 2: Instituting behavioral changes and creating client involvement and ownership through our hands-on approach.

Old situation:

At the beginning of this project in the ports of Rotterdam, we encountered a supervisor on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When he used to smoke a cigarette, his hands would shake. The supervisor was stressed out and was always putting out fires to get the job done.

He was well respected within the company but the organization lacked general oversight. This was very taxing on the employees. Making matters worse was the high volume of missing documents – data that was requested by clients.

New situation:

This was one of many clients we coached and guided through the entire project process. His soaring confidence was noticeable as the project progressed. By the end of our collaboration, he was always the best-prepared person during our weekly meetings. He was visibly proud when, at one time, he was able to report the ultimate outcome: zero lost documents!

Final results:

At the conclusion of this project, our business engineers received a gift from the company and the supervisors. The supervisor mentioned above personally thanked the business engineer who worked with him by giving him a book from his personal collection.

Case 3: A container terminal in Rotterdam

Old situation:

The following was something we encountered during a project for a container terminal in the harbor of Rotterdam.

The company had to provide proper documentation to the Customs office to receive clearance for outgoing and incoming containers. These documents were manually checked and then entered into the company's computer system. The documents would then be handed over to Customs, where they were subject to further checks.

When the documents provided to Customs did not meet the requirements, they would be put in an in-tray. This tray was out of sight of the departments' employees. As a result, the documents would sometimes sit in the in-tray for hours before being noticed. During this time, a container could be blocked somewhere in the harbor, or worse, could keep a container truck from leaving!

New Situation:

We came up with the following solution: every time Customs would put an incorrect document in the tray, we asked them to flip a switch. This turned on a red light installed in the middle of the department. Prompted by the red light, someone walks over to the Customs office immediately, picks up the document, and starts working on a solution.

Final result:

The final result meant containers that had already been loaded on trucks were no longer blocked from leaving the terminal because of incorrect documents.

 

 
  • Taurus Concepts is active in these sectors:
    • Manufacturing
    • Health care
    • Financial services
    • Retail
    • Food & beverage
    • Mining
  • Obstacles to improvements are:
    • Labor pool issues (poor quality of employees, staff shortage or surplus)
    • Low morale
    • High staff turnover
    • Ineffective internal communication
    • Complex legislation and regulation
  • Misalignment of staff performance and bonus metrics with corporate goals/objectives results in unfair compensation and lower productivity.
  • Senior management's inability to implement change results in lower productivity.
  • Managers, on average, spend only 11% of their time increasing productivity through active leadership.
  • Managers are buried under reports they don't use to manage.

    Only 60% of the reports are used to manage.
  • On average, managers spend 35% of their time on paper work.

    For these tasks, 25% of a manager's time is preferred.
  • Most managers believe they can increase productivity 13.8%.

    However, the actual average increase tends to be 9.8%.
  • The biggest challenge a company can face is that of a culture change.
  • On average, 70% of companies is willing to improve productivity.
  • These 4 factors are pivotal in achieving organization-wide improvements in processes and controls:
    • Management
    • Workforce
    • Communications
    • Training
  • Cost reductions can be seized through:
    • Business process streamlining
    • Effective management control systems
    • Extensive training
  • The Taurus Concepts approach results in:
    • Increased productivity
    • Proactive staff behavior
    • Strong competitive positioning
    • Involvement of company's employees
  • Supervisory competence is a key factor in improving productivity.
  • On average, managers receive only 6 days of training per year.
  • These 3 factors need to be in place to achieve organizational effectiveness & quality, and minimize waste:
    • Effective supervision
    • Workforce comprehension and support of processes
    • Transparent communication
  • During the past few years, workforce productivity has dropped to an average of 2 productive/3 unproductive days per week.
 

success stories

 
 
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