Black Belt Programme October 200X

Once upon a time…….

We were working with a client in personal care products. Their shampoo was fine, but the moulded plastic bottles it was retailed in could be variable in wall thickness.

Is that a big problem?

Well, the bottles only cost a few pence each. The trouble is that if there is a serious weakness in wall thickness the bottle can collapse on the filling line. One bottle collapsing on the high speed filling line creates a log-jam, misaligning the following bottles and in seconds there is a flood of sticky shampoo covering the line, packaging, floor etc.

The result – lost production, estimated at £14,000 per hour.

Let’s work with container suppliers rather than increasing inspection and rejection

Supplier A - bottles

-	£150,000 cost avoidance for re-tooling & labour
-	60% improvement on wall thickness
-	Permanent fix (zero parts per million) no rejections
-	8% productivity improvement (supplier)
-	Two week project

Supplier B - bottles and caps

-	£80,000 cost avoidance (estimated)
-	16.0% improvement on wall thickness
-	Defects down from 250,000ppm to 70ppm
-	14% productivity improvement (Supplier B)
-	Two DAY project

In Summary:

-	Significant improvements on quality
-	Less waste (almost zero on optimised processes)
-	Greater output

So what’s it like being a Black Belt? Do you really get to slay dragons and beat up baddies? And is it true you get paid megabucks?

-	Key experimental projects are undertaken over several years
-	Internal costs, productivity & quality benefits recorded
-	Supplier Yield & quality improvements are built in
-	Supplier partnerships are strengthened
-	Enjoyment and Kudos of improving systems is a reward
-	Financial rewards – are good; career progression excellent