Strengthening a culture of continuous improvement

The need

Eden Valley Poultry processes over 100,000 chickens a day. It is a complex process dealing with live animals of different weights and sizes, customers with orders changing based on daily demands, and frontline leaders need the flexibility to move allocated staff throughout the facility to different processing stations based on production needs. Eden Valley Poultry had recognized that having a continuous improvement culture was their way to prosperity. They were committed to applying the proven methodologies of Lean Six Sigma but were running out of capacity to implement improvements needed to reach their annual CI goals. Eden Valley Poultry recognized the biggest opportunities to improve some of their processes included better inventory management, production planning, and driving employee engagement to a higher level. They were committed to continue to effectively develop their frontline leaders, engage their staff to increase yield, improve quality, and elicit more improvement ideas. They reached out to Barrington OPS for support.

The solution

Barrington OPS supported the evolution of EVP’s culture of continuous improvement by using a blend of four approaches: project execution, supervisor training, supervisor coaching, and strategic advisory. Collaborating closely with the Director of Operations and Continuous Improvement and the Director of People & Performance we worked on projects that were comprised of manageable three-month timelines to increase focus and to realize benefits faster. Supervisor Leadership training and one-on-one coaching and project leadership were tailored to Eden Valley Poultry’s needs, taking into consideration their Vision of being a leading processor of chicken and turkey and their Mission of being best in class. Barrington OPS collaborated closely with the senior executive leaders as they prioritized and communicated projects, training, and coaching across the organization and supported the sustainability of their continuous improvement culture. We were able to support EVP by being onsite as required and effectively engaging remotely when Covid-19 restrictions prevented us from being onsite.

Changes OPS supported at Eden Valley Poultry included:

• Implementing daily management and huddle boards at workstations
• Creating standard work with processing times, quality standards, and pictures for several areas and functions, including standard operating procedures to meet Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards
• Implementing an “Eye-For-Quality” program and certifying trimmers and tray pack staff
• Building dynamic playbooks to adjust staffing based on supply, demand, and staff availability
• Creating optimization model for line speed
• Updating inventory management system and processes
• Improving identified processes that reduced wastes and increased value-add activities
• Enhanced forecasting models increasing accuracy of supply of product coming to the facility for enhanced production scheduling
• Designing better and more accurate reports to visualize performance and drive action
• Creating COVID-19 protocols, schedules, and charts for employee breaks
• Training staff to create their own standard work and SOPs.

The results

• Hard savings to the bottom line across all continuous improvement initiatives that contributed to them exceeding their annual CI goal
• Decreased cost of production for a premium product line
• Reduced inventory quantities and cost of packaging materials
• Supported their environmental responsibility goal through reduced plastic usage
• Increased annual revenue by allocating specific products to a higher value product
• Improved quality and yield of a premium product resulting in annualized savings
• Increased throughput trays per day
• Engaged frontline leaders in CI, daily visual management, and employee communication