Tosara Pharma
Case Study 2 – Label Applicator
Key Challenges
By way of background, the company had one label applicator on the assembly line. They mainly use rolls with 3,000 labels. They are single labels and it takes between 18 and 22 minutes to use up a full roll of labels. However, a roll change takes 3 minutes.
One team member’s proposal was to introduce a second label applicator for one of the main lines in the factory. As a result, this would minimise the number of label roll changes on the line. Finally, this would reduce downtime associated with the time taken to change rolls of labels.
Soothing families since 1931
8-Step Problem-Solving Process
In trying to solve a particular problem, we advise using the 8-Step Problem-Solving Process:
- Problem
- Current State
- Target
- Root Cause Analysis
- Select Countermeasures
- Implementation
- Evaluation
- Standardisation & Learnings
Key Actions
By using Kaizen, SMED, Kanban, Value Stream Mapping and 5S, the company used a second label applicator. The introduction of this second label applicator improved the efficiency of the assembly line. As a result, production increased as the amount of downtime associated with label changes was eliminated.
Key Outcomes
- First of all, this project reduced the downtime due to the continuous running of the label applicator.
- Now, the company can quickly complete batch filling and packaging operations.
- Furthermore, the operators didn’t need any additional training as the roll holder was identical.
- Finally, there was no impact on Line Clearance.
We firmly believe that the expertise to develop business process improvements already exist in every organisation. This has clearly been the case in Tosara Pharma. Through their employees’ Lean projects, the company has made significant continuous improvements to their business.
ETAC has worked with Tosara Pharma to streamline their business and improve their processes. We hope you enjoyed reading about this case study on Label Applicator. You may be interested in reading the two other case studies featured here: Case Study 1 – Regulatory Training and Case Study 3 – Operational Excellence. All our case studies are available here.