Vetipak is a big player in the packaging market. The company has different locations in the Netherlands and delivers scalable and superior co-packaging services. As an innovative and flexible company, Vetipak is always on the move.
In the last four years, Vetipak has worked really hard on process improvement, and the results are significant. Product manager John van Heel, from the Veghel location, talks about Vetipak’s shift from reactive to proactive working.
The Vetipak Veghel site, on the right product manager John van Heel.
'Vetipak wraps products. A customer, for example, orders 1000 product displays. The customer specifies the type of packaging and the candy mix. We order the bulk goods (candy), order the packaging materials and get going. The candy is processed in containers using counters, transported via elevators, and deposited in a packaging machine. We use both machine lines and manual lines in our different locations. Staffing the lines really depends on the season. It’s quite dynamic.
Ever since the start with operational excellence (OPEX), four years ago, process improvement has played a significantly larger part within the company.
With continuous improvement in mind, Vetipak set out new goals.
During this phase, Cierpa came to the rescue. Moreover, the OEE Cockpit enabled Vetipak to take significant steps.
'To be able to improve, you need to know where waste occurs. In the past, we assumed a lot, but that doesn’t really help. When a machine halts frequently, you need to find out why, where, and how often it occurs.
With Cierpa, we gained more insight. Cierpa helped us customize the OEE cockpit with additional relevant options and together we came up with valuable and customized solutions for our factory.
'A great example is crooked bags. Products were packed in a bag. However, these bags weren’t properly sealed. We noticed the problem, but we couldn’t find that one specific cause. So we installed an improvement team that did find out where things went wrong. In the end, it turned out one of the machines was soiled, which made the foil jam inside the machine. With the cause known, we came up with the solution, namely the development of a standard for machine cleaning.
So now you get significant results. However, as is always the case with continuous improvement, the work is never done.
'The system develops continuously. Sometimes I’ll have an improvement idea that I want to test, alter and then implement. Cierpa thinks with us and helps us take the next step. We never stand still but have developed a dynamic collaboration. We keep developing too.
'We have a couple of long-term focal points. First of all, to work autonomously. We want everyone, from cleaner to CEO, to know how to be the best within their area of expertise, and how to realize it. Also, with continuous improvement, we hope to stop night shifts eventually. It is quite a strain on our people and our organization, and so we’d like to eliminate that.
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