Brewery Adopts TPM Methodology
Coopers became involved with TPM3 and the Centre for TPM (Australasia) when they decided they wanted a formal improvement strategy. They envisioned the methodology, not as a one off, but with continual improvement becoming the “Coopers Way”. After trialling it in the Homebrew area, they tackled their key area of the main Bottling Hall. Originally targeting a 15% increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), the team exceeded their mandate and continue to see their OEE increase.
Coopers First Twelve months of TPM3 Experience
Proudly South Australian, Coopers is Australia’s sole remaining family owned brewery. Established in 1862, they produce an outstanding range of beers for mainly the South Australian and Australian market, while their homebrew products enjoy number one ranking in the world, capturing 50% of the world’s market.
Deciding they wanted a formal improvement strategy, Coopers became involved in TPM3 and the Centre for TPM (Australasia). While Coopers is a successful and profitable company, they realised that in order to sustain future growth, they needed to develop a culture of formal continuous improvement that eventually would involve all employees, leading to World Class Performance. They envisioned the methodology, not as a one off, but with continual improvement becoming the “Coopers Way”.
During the recent TPM3 Networking Forum in Echuca in August 2004, Tom Bullock, Operations Manager at Coopers shared their experiences in the early phases of their TPM3 journey.
In deciding where to start, the choice was between the Homebrew area, where capacity exceeded demand and the Main Bottling Hall, where demand was outstripping capacity. The decision was made to begin in the Homebrew area and many improvements were made. Greater cooperation, understanding and teamwork resulted from the cross-functional Macro Focused Equipment & Process Improvement (FE&PI) team as the key principles of ownership, formal continuous improvement and measurement of OEE were being established. Micro Focused Equipment & Process Improvement teams were set up in the area during the next cycle to investigate losses and commission a new labeller. In addition an area-based Work Area Management team did an outstanding job in establishing a clean, tidy and efficient work area.
From Good ................................To Best
However, as the Homebrew was not a critical area, the anticipated gains were not realised, as greater focus and resources were directed towards the Main Bottling Line.
It was now time to tackle the “main game” and Cycle 3 began with a Macro FE&PI team (The BottleO’s) on the main bottling line. As Operations Manager, Tom Bullock had three options to increase production to the required level.
1. Employ a second shift
2. Invest capital to upgrade the line
3. Increase the Overall Equipment Effectiveness
Prior to TPM3, old measures implied line efficiency of greater than 80%. However, the Overall Equipment Effectiveness measure was only 66%. The BottleO’s mandate was to increase OEE from 66% to 76% as by achieving this target, there would be no need for a second shift. This was looked on favourable by the long serving workforce with high levels of overtime, as the second shift delay enabled them to maintain their income. It is always vital that to have your people come on board with any change, there has to be a “what’s-in-it-for-me” component.
Thus the focus, intent and application were much stronger in the Main Bottling Hall than it had been on the Homebrew line. The weekly OEE run chart clearly demonstrates the mandate had been surpassed with significant savings to Coopers, as Tom calculated 1% OEE represented $24,000 per annum.
Machinery Automation & Robotics
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Silverwater NSW 2128
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