ALC Batch Reduction
Among its many capabilities, our Advanced Logistics Center in Eastern Creek, Sydney caters to customers that require shipments of high-mix, low-volume products. The team that oversees this particular value stream is made up of 81 associates who fulfill orders over two shifts. In 2016, they shipped more than 4.25 million orders with a baseline of 36 lines per labor hour, a delivery time of five hours and an 8% defect rate. Eastern Creek saw the success other areas of our business have experienced through living Lean and decided to deploy Lean practices locally.
The team looked at the value stream, which was set from the point of order release to the point which the truck / dispatch scan was completed. Daily meetings with all stakeholders were held and each part of the process was reviewed and improvement opportunities discussed.
Then the team took action. Visibility into performance was increased by providing live reports showing carton delays, zone and level saturation and productivity performance. Congestion in the zones was reduced by line balancing (providing just the right amount of work that the associates in the zones can handle). This also resulted in improved flow, reduced delivery times and reduction in stress on the workers in the module.
ALC Inline Flow
In the dispatch area, the printing of vendor pack slips was automated.
The team introduced changes to the layout of their areas based on 5S concepts, which look for ways to organize a work space for efficiency and effectiveness. Improvements were made by keeping items regularly required within reach of workstations, having a designated place for everything and diligently maintaining the location of the items.
Visual Control concepts were brought in to identify issues. For example, prior to Lean, associates had no visibility into which items were sitting in the hot zone to be replenished in the bins. Now, they use a yellow tag to indicate which locations have items in the hot zone, making identification simple.
Results: By living Lean with this particular value stream, Eastern Creek delivered a 40% reduction in lead time, 45% improvement in productivity and a 50% reduction in defects over a three-month period.
A job well done! How can you help your area of business live Lean?