Irish Dog Foods
How a Food Packing Hall's Productivity was Increased by 10%
How a Food Packing Hall's Productivity was Increased by 10%
Irish Dog Foods specialise in the production of quality pet food and treats for both dogs and cats and are based on Naas, county Kildare. The company was taken over by the Queally Group in 2002 and has since expanded its operations across four separate sites between Ireland and the UK. With annual turnover of €55M, the company employs 170 people. The challenge was to look at how productivity in the high-volume packing hall could be improved – by applying Lean principles and the PDCA problem-solving methodology.
The starting block for BETTER was to secure the support of Senior Management – we knew that change would flow from this. Working with the team at Freefoam we shared the purpose of the programme with all team members, then we embarked on a stabilisation programme with the company. This saw the company introduce Lean 6 Sigma and Visual Management – the result being that a clear and safe work environment was established for all employees. Work could then be measured by way of PIT (Performance, Issues and Threats) Boards.
By introducing morning meetings (a max of 15 mins) at the PIT boards – the company was in a position to identify problems and resolve or escalate the issue as necessary. Various issues surfaced, including challenges with set ups, changeovers, product defects and WIP. Green Belt training was also employed to help equip the teams with the skills they needed to resolve some of the key issues. By working closely with Freefoam, LBSPartners was able to guide the company towards achieving sustainable actions – for the BETTER of the company and its employees.
| Injection Moulding | increase in throughput and 98% yield |
| Foiling Machining | Reduction of 50% in change overtimes from 175 mins to 85 mins |
| Packing Time | Improved by 30% |
| Inventory | Stock holding reduced by 60% due to shorter lead times |