Case Study - Red Brick Road Cider

Download the Case Study - Red Brick Road Cider (PDF).

The project

• Reduce wasted materials and labour by improving the accuracy of reporting of product non-conformances and eliminating extra work required to correct nonconformities (rework).
• Identify root causes, improve management systems in place, and involve employees in seeking solutions to prevent recurrence.

Background

• The company is actively recycling almost half of its production wastes, including aluminium, corflute and cardboard.
• Remaining wastes are predominantly vinyl; options for recycling vinyl are very limited and not available in Tasmania.

Objectives

• Improve accuracy of non-conformance reporting.
• Reduce rework across the production process.
• Reduce waste to landfill.

Targets

• 100% recording of nonconformance.
• 50% reduction in rework.

Outcomes

What was implemented?

• A cloud-based App was introduced for recording waste in process.
• A dashboard and weekly Toolbox meeting provide real time feedback on performance for staff and the opportunity to learn from mistakes.
• Staff developed and implemented a quality control process to reduce rework from errors in artwork.

Key issues

• How to improve the accuracy of reporting - developing appropriate tools to collect data.
• How to get people to use the error reporting tool - removing ‘blame’ from the process and raising the status of waste as a performance indicator.

Performance against targets

• We are confident that staff are reporting 100% of the nonconformances detected.
• However, this means that our rework levels appear higher! Now that we have an accurate picture of the problems, we can focus on target areas for reducing rework.

Lessons learnt

• You can’t do it overnight​, it takes time and effort to address cultural issues.​
• As businesses, we need to lead the way​ and help our customers make good choices.
• Once staff are onboard, it becomes easy​.
• This is a continuous process for us – there is no end date.