Meat + Poultry - August 2007 - 74

LEAN TIPS

Getting back to LEAN basics
By Dr. Glen Miller
meatpoultry@sosland.com

duction leads to other wastes, and
so it goes.
* Over processing - Over processing
is similar to over production. In over
processing, however, the workers
may cut larger portions than needed;
workers may add extra spices or trim
unnecessarily; over packaging can
occur with additional paper or wrapping. Sometimes production workers
weigh products more precisely when
there is substantial tolerance or exact
weights are not in the specification. In
short, more effort is put into a product than is required. To identify over
processing, plant operators should ask
whether there is a clear understanding of customer requirements and if
the product specifications are known
by supervisors and QA staff.
* Inventory - Inventory of anything is
considered waste. Obviously processing plants need inventory, however
Lean thinking encourages minimizing
surplus supplies. Inventory takes up
space, can get in the way and could

become obsolete if customer specifications change. Processors may want
to start minimizing waste by throwing out old labels and old packaging
taking up storage space.
* Defects - Rework describes processing needed to correct mistakes. Defects result in additional time and
labor costs. To minimize this waste
processors should quantify their defect rates. One way to do this is to
subtract the actual number of packaged and boxed meat products from
the number of labels printed. The
difference is meat that is reworked
somehow. Start by determining where
the most defects occur. Then find a
solution to minimizing the amount of
rework in that section of the process.
I have observed hundreds of rework
situations. Labels and package sealing have been the biggest culprits.
In all types of meat plants keeping
labeling machines clean can prevent
a portion of rework. Inability to seal
plastic packaging properly can cause

Photo courtesy of Gold Kist Inc.

EAN is a way of thinking. For
many of my clients the most
difficult first step is seeing their
processing differently and focusing on
waste. Every step, every process and
every sale is an opportunity to cut out
slices of inefficiency. The seven areas
of wastes include:
* Over production - This is the worst
of all wastes because it is evidence
of other wastes and may even cause
wasteful practices. I have a client
now that has quite a lot of packaged
and processed meat in the freezer.
I have learned that some is smart
storage, particularly if a holiday is
several months off and the product
provides considerable profit. That
slice, however, is only a small part
of the picture. More pounds go in
the freezer everyday. In the freezer
it will be moved more than once.
Some product will be damaged.
Energy costs to maintain a freezing temperature directly impact a
company's bottom line. Overpro-

MEAT&POULTRY

August 2007

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Meat + Poultry - August 2007

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