MAY 2019 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Manufacturable product concepts
One outcome of considering manufacturing assets
in this manner is that new product ideas can be
created that resonate both with the marketing
team, addressing the identified market opportunity,
and with the engineering team in the factory by
demonstrating a genuine path towards product
realisation. Such outcomes can differ from
those presented by traditional design agencies
who rightly pride themselves on creating truly
innovative and compelling new product concepts
that might perfectly address the identified need,
but miss the practicalities of how they can be
manufactured.
One recent ‘asset-constrained’ project related
to a personal care product where our client wanted
to launch a premium version of a successful, but
commoditised, existing product, but needed that
new product to be compatible with existing assets.
To address this, a conventional product innovation
project was extended to consider the capabilities
of, and the degrees of freedom for modifications to
existing process equipment.
Do we know what we need to know?
It is often assumed that manufacturing assets
are well understood by R&D and engineering
teams. Typically, though, there is disconnect
between belief and reality, which leads us to
reinforce the simple principle of ‘don’t change
what you don’t understand’.
Process equipment evolves for many reasons
– some valid, others less so – and adjustments
made in the factory may inadvertently lead
to original design intent being lost or eroded.
Operators also develop their own work-arounds
to process deficiencies which
is why establishing an accurate
understanding of true process
behaviour is an essential first
step to avoid ill-informing any
subsequent works.
Once again it is important
to go to Gemba before starting
any new product or process
innovations so that the team can
establish a robust understanding
of baseline performance and
current equipment build status.
Mobilising the right team
To be truly effective in delivering
new and commercially-valuable
innovations, the project team
needs to contain, or at least
have access to a full range of
complementary skills. Of course,
the team needs its creatives –
the innovation practitioners,
designers and mould-breakers.
But also practical engineering
skills, such as process and
automation engineers who can
establish an understanding
“Rather than being constraints
on the innovation process,
existing assets can be enablers”
Adrian Swinburne, head of consumer, 42 Technology
of machine capabilities,
constraints and other relevant
considerations.
But such a mixed discipline
team can present challenges
because these diverse skillsets
are often spread across different
parts of the organisation with
differing priorities, motivations,
and budget issues making
it difficult to work across
department boundaries.
Simple issues such as misaligned
methods of working
and differing approaches can
lead to tensions between team
members, especially if personal
characteristics are not properly
understood and accommodated
within the team dynamic.
And, if equipment vendors
are expected to supply the
process engineering expertise
then that often fails to
materialise due to unrealistic
expectations over expertise and
motivation. But when properly
assembled, motivated and
managed, such a cross-discipline
team can deliver astonishing –
and often unexpected – results,
as demonstrated on a recent
project with PepsiCo.
“PepsiCo is typically reluctant
to let external partners see
its manufacturing equipment
and processes first-hand,”
says Lindsay Dobson, senior
R&D manager at PepsiCo.
“But we have recently been
involved in some projects with
42 Technology where we have
brought the complete team
together within the factory and
used it to enable significant
manufacturing process
improvements on existing lines.”
Top tips for success
The issues discussed in this
article are largely obvious, but
so often we see well intentioned
projects fail to achieve their
potential. At worst this can sour
the appetite for similar initiatives
in the future, leading to reduced
ambition for breakthrough
innovation and steady erosion
of product differentiation and
competitiveness.
For asset-constrained
innovation projects, consider the
following:
1 Assemble a team with all the
necessary creative and practical
engineering disciplines.
2Allow that team to operate
with common motivations.
3Take measures to manage the
team appropriately, rather
than assuming empathy and
harmony will prevail.
4Go to Gemba to ensure
existing assets are properly
understood, not simply assumed.
5Use the learning from Gemba
to provide structure and focus
for the innovation process rather
than seeing it as an unwelcome
constraint.
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