A Victorian industrial components plant could not fill 18% of its production roles. Waste walks, a simple cobot, visual standard work and weekly rebalancing raised output per operator hour by 26%, held total output steady and cut overtime from 22% to 9%.
Key numbers
An industrial components manufacturer in Victoria had a staffing problem it could not recruit its way out of. Almost a fifth of its production roles were unfilled, and advertising was producing very few applicants. The remaining team was working long overtime to keep output steady, and fatigue was beginning to show in quality and absenteeism.
The situation
Overtime had reached 22% of hours. Output per operator hour was around 31 units. Leaders knew that overtime at that level was not sustainable, and that losing more people would make it worse.
What changed
The plant applied the approach described in labour shortages: productivity strategies that work, starting by understanding where people's time went:
- Waste walks: supervisors and engineers observed every area, recording walking, searching, waiting and double handling. Each finding was turned into an action.
- Simple automation: two repetitive packing tasks were automated with a collaborative robot, chosen because the tasks were stable, repetitive and ergonomically poor.
- Standard work and visual training aids: clear, photo-based instructions cut onboarding time for new and redeployed staff, so the few new starters became productive faster.
- Weekly rebalancing: lines were rebalanced each week to match the staff actually available, using the principles in line balancing, instead of running short-handed lines that could not meet takt.
Results
Output per operator hour rose from 31 to 39 units, a 26% increase. With 18% of roles still unfilled, total output was held steady. Overtime fell from 22% to 9% of hours, easing pressure on the team.
Why it worked
The plant stopped trying to replace missing people and started making each person's time count. Most of the gain came from removing waste rather than automation. The cobot helped, but only after the packing process had been simplified, the principle that automation should follow, not replace, process improvement.
Lessons for your operation
- When you cannot hire, find where your existing team's time is lost.
- Remove waste before automating; then automate simple, repetitive tasks.
- Visual standard work shortens training, which matters when turnover is high.
- Rebalance lines to the people you have, not the people you planned for.
- Track output per operator hour to see real productivity, not just total output.
