Throughput Improvement Using Lean Production SMED & People Enablement

The Business & The Challenge

A major global food corporation operating in the pet food sector faced critical productivity issues:

• A pilot plant was only achieving 52% of its expected throughput
• No formal training or standardization for operators
• Unstructured downtime and inefficient changeovers severely impacted output

Objective:

Unlock hidden production capacity by eliminating inefficiencies and enabling the workforce through Lean and SMED methodologies.

Approach

Falconi structured the transformation journey into three core phases:

1. Find the Money

• Identified key bottlenecks using OEE analysis
• Prioritized downtime causes: changeover, mechanical failures, startup
• Applied SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) to reduce internal setup time

2. Unlock the Money

• Executed pilot improvements to minimize internal activities and remove waste
• Rolled out operational standards with documentation and training
• Introduced training routines and calendars for all operators

3. Collect the Money and Expand

• Established a plant audit process
• Created a playbook for roll-out to other plants and sites
• Implemented KPI monitoring and routine improvement cycles

Highlights of SMED Implementation

• Separated internal vs. external tasks
• Converted internal steps to external where possible
• Streamlined operations by eliminating non-value-added activities
• Achieved measurable reductions in changeover time

Results Achieved

KPI                                                                               Outcome

Performance Gap Captured                          75% of the opportunity  identified

Changeover Time  Reduction                       55% decrease

Annualized ROI                                                    7× unlocked

Operational Standards  Created                 11

Skills Developed Locally                                48 (9 operators trained)

✅ Throughput bottlenecks eliminated
✅ Sustainable improvements institutionalized
✅ High-performance results continuously maintained

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Why It Worked

• SMED was used not only to cut changeover time but to train and empower operators
• A structured enablement cycle (Train → Audit → Performance Assessment) ensured long-term sustainability
• Close alignment between process optimization and people development

Conclusion

Falconi helped this global food manufacturer turn a pilot plant underperformance into a high-throughput success story, capturing 75% of the improvement opportunity and unlocking a7× ROI. The integration of Lean SMED with structured people enablement created a repeatable model for operational excellence.

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