A housewares packing cell had grown piece by piece for ten years, and operators walked almost seven kilometres a shift. A five-day kaizen raised productivity by 45%, cut walking by 70% and released 45 m² of floor space.
Key numbers
Nobody designed the packing cell at an Auckland housewares company. It grew. Over ten years, a bench was added here, a pallet location there, a label printer wherever there was a power point. By the time anyone looked at it properly, operators were walking almost seven kilometres per shift, and output depended heavily on who was working that day.
The situation
The cell packed moulded products for retail customers. Output averaged around 42 units per labour hour, but varied widely between shifts. Cartons were stored in a remote racking area, labels in another, and finished product came from the moulding area in large, irregular batches.
Preparing the event
A cross-functional team was formed: two operators from the cell, the supervisor, a maintenance technician and someone from logistics. Baseline data was collected the week before, and the scope was agreed: the packing cell from receipt of moulded product to palletised output.
What the team found
On day one the team learned the basics of waste and flow, then went to the cell. A spaghetti diagram, tracing every operator movement for an hour, showed 14 trips per hour to remote storage for cartons, labels and product. Time observation showed operators spent a large share of each cycle walking and searching rather than packing. These were the wastes of motion, transport and waiting in their most visible form.
What changed
Over days two to four, the team tried changes directly on the floor:
- The cell rearranged into a U-shape, so one operator could cover adjacent steps.
- Point-of-use storage for cartons and labels, replenished from outside the cell.
- Gravity racks for packaging materials, loaded from the back and used from the front.
- Standard work for each position, with a takt board showing hourly output against target.
Each change was tested, measured and adjusted before being kept. On day five the team presented results to leadership, with an action list for items that could not be finished during the week.
Results
Productivity rose from about 42 to 61 units per labour hour, a 45% increase, and held at that level in the weeks that followed. Walking distance fell from 6.8 to 2.1 km per shift, a 70% reduction. The new layout used 95 m² instead of 140 m², releasing 45 m² of floor space.
Why it lasted
The team that changed the cell was the team that worked in it, so the new layout belonged to them. Follow-up checks at 30, 60 and 90 days confirmed the standard work was being used, and the takt board made any slip visible within the hour.
Lessons for your operation
- Cells that grow piece by piece hide a lot of walking. A spaghetti diagram reveals it in an hour.
- Point-of-use storage, replenished from outside, removes most of the motion waste.
- Try changes on the floor during the event. Cardboard and tape beat long debates.
- Involve the operators. Ownership is what makes the improvement stick.
