A metal packaging plant had been through a long series of cost-cutting rounds. Employees mistrusted management, customers were unhappy with quality, and the plant’s future was in question. This time the employees drew up their own plan together with Axisto. OEE rose from 54% to 79%, customer complaints fell by 90%, and the full cost reduction committed at the outset was delivered.
Duration: seven months
“At the start we were completely against the project. But we were wrong. We were all fully involved, and it genuinely helped us secure our future.” – Chair of the works council
The situation
Management at a metal packaging plant wasn’t sure whether the plant could stay open. It was an old, established business that had come through a long series of cost-cutting rounds. Those rounds had left their mark: employees deeply mistrusted management.
The plant had a limited number of customers, and all of them were unhappy with product quality. The pressure to cut costs further was intense. The machines were unreliable, and the raw materials had quality problems too. The uncertainty was paralysing the operation. Something fundamental had to change if the plant was to survive.
What was really wrong
There were hardly any performance indicators in production. Because the shop floor no longer received customer feedback, many basic quality checks had stopped. Maintenance was working without a clear picture of the breakdowns.
And after so many imposed cost cuts, yet another imposed round made no sense. Without the goodwill and cooperation of the employees for one more round, this one would fail too.
What we did together
A business case first. The financial situation was so critical that management first wanted to know whether there was enough to gain to save the plant. A scan of the operation — two Axisto people, five days on site — revealed the main improvement opportunities.
From our numbers to their numbers. The savings from the scan were Axisto’s numbers, and understandably the employees viewed them with scepticism. So we worked with them to develop a plan they believed in themselves, and felt they could deliver. In the end their numbers weren’t far from ours. The difference: now they were their numbers.
A vision that was theirs. You can’t impose a vision. Management and employees worked out for themselves how they wanted the plant to work and what it should look like. From that came a detailed implementation plan covering four areas, production, maintenance, product quality and supplier management, with milestones and results everyone stood behind.
Set up performance recording. Breakdown logging was introduced almost immediately, and grew into broader recording of availability and speed losses. Production and Maintenance alike gained a clear view of how the production lines were behaving. The quality checks that had stopped were reinstated too, and production started receiving customer feedback again, so the shop floor could work on quality once more.
In the short term, Maintenance focused on effective corrective maintenance. Alongside that, a planned maintenance schedule was developed in phases, with maintenance procedures and a plan to progress to preventive maintenance.
Made the plant cleaner, safer and better organised. Through a 5S programme, machines and floors were cleaned, surplus material removed, and equipment and workshop painted in light colours. It gave the whole plant a different look and feel.
Set up a performance management framework. Step by step, focused on coordinating activities, setting priorities, and corrective actions carried out on time and in full, so that performance was steered towards the targets.
Reduced headcount carefully. The number of FTEs was reduced step by step, with peaks covered by agency staff. That was difficult and emotional, because it reminded people of earlier cuts. This time it went well: people were fully involved in building a better future for the plant, and could see and measure the improvements for themselves.
What it delivered
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE): 54% → 79%
- Customer complaints: −90%
- Production capacity: +50% without capital investment
- Finished-goods inventory turns doubled
- Better collaboration between production, maintenance and quality
- Visibly better working conditions
Financially: 25% lower labour costs. The full cost reduction committed at the outset has been delivered.
What happened afterwards
Because there was a large maintenance backlog, two Axisto consultants then supported the team in setting up maintenance standards, procedures and a sound maintenance master plan.
After the project’s success, the operations manager was promoted to a much larger plant, where he used what he had learned to improve performance there too.
