Situation

A large production site for a global bio-pharma company needed to dramatically increase product through-put and yield within a key stage of its production process for a core product line.

Team Engagement Strategy

A week long Kaizen Event to value-stream the production process was facilitated by an expert Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and supported by an immediate launch of three frontline employee teams who used Rapid Action, an “all in one” team engagement toolkit for accelerating results, to fully implement the new process design with minimal disruption of current operations.

Rapid Action Project Charter

How can we implement the new Stage I production process in order to achieve targeted levels of production throughput and yield with minimal disruption to current operations?

Sample of Solutions Implemented

1. Completed a 5S site clean-up and reorganization protocol.
2. Designed and installed standard set-up kits to prep production lines and minimize opportunities for error.
3. Implemented a kan-ban system for replenishing the line with all supplies and raw materials.
4. Developed a staging and delivery system for equipment using a smooth-flow model for the fermentation unit, removing more than two miles of excess transportation.