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Taking operational excellence to the next level

One of the latest assignments was to improve the output of a manufacturing company in Asia region, which led to a new factory site was built, and was seeking to improve manufacturing systems and performance. During the assessment and process reviews, a number of areas of change were identified and implemented over the following 24 months.

Although the company was successful the efficiency was low, caused by old machine park and lack of maintenance. Due to growth the human resources had not gotten the right attentions in the introduction and continuous training of the employees. A new ERP system was introduced, the old data was imported which had data that was not accurate which created a lot of planning issues for material management and production management to be able utilize the capacity correctly.

A production planning system was developed to enable performance to be measured, and the performance vs plan figures improved from 32% average to 70% within 12 months of introducing the measures and reviewing downtime reasons. The capacity across machines was revisited and planning was able to be more correctly planned due to accurate data. The costing of products was reviewed to ensure all work was operating at a demanded margin. The workforce was re-trained and evaluated which led to a increase efficiency of 28%

The factory was re-designed to run with one-piece flow to increase the efficiency and reduce the lead-times. In line operation of secondary activities was instigated to minimize unnecessary handling. Recycling of waste was reviewed, and further materials was able to be introduced, which significantly reduced waste generation, storage and handling. Digital web-based performance & efficiency boards was introduced to provide hourly performance information at a glance. 5S was re-introduced to organize and improve efficiency in work areas.

Mr. Bjorn Vikard, former Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, born in Sweden and have lived in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, USA and currently in Thailand. He specializes in driving business transformation, overhauling failing business models, and enhancing operational performance. He applies cultural sensitivity and unique expertise in managing multi-cultural organizations across Southeast Asia to build credibility with all stakeholders.” As the section doesn’t introduce me only my work.