KAIZEN Convention 2015

Do you know the meaning of KAIZEN? The term describes a continuous improvement activity in Japanese manufacturing culture. For SEKISUI the aim of such activities is to stay competitive and cost effective by sharing projects and learning from best practice examples. So in 2011 the European KAIZEN Convention was held for the first time. The employees in each workplace formed small groups to address various topics such as improvements in quality and productivity as well as increasing operational efficiency, and to take on various subjects through policy management.

Since the implementation of KAIZEN activities in the European companies, the quality of products as well as the demands the teams set itself improved rapidly. All presented
projects have led to substantial improvements of workflows, higher margins or additional profits, said Taira Hasegawa, KAIZEN Manager of SEKISUI Europe B.V., looking back on recent years.

At this year’s convention, seven teams presented their innovative projects aiming at the continuous improvement of SEKISUI. Each presentation was limited to 11 minutes followed by a Q&A session. Afterwards the Jury, consisting of Managers from the Total Manufacturing Management Center, Technology & CS Promotion Department of SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. and Site Managers from European production facilities, got four minutes to make their evaluation based on eight criteria. The winner of the 5^th European KAIZEN Convention is invited to join the global KAIZEN convention in Japan taking place on 15^th January 2016. Find out below who has managed to get on the podium.

And the winner is: SEKISUI S-Lec – gloss optimization

SEKISUI S-Lec manufactures interlayer films based on PVB resin for glass used in car windshields or buildings in order to increase safety and additional functionality like sound or solar control. Based on a new customer demand in 2015 and a remaining capacity of 915 tons of the facility, the KAIZEN team decided to look into this specialised field of interlayer films. The production of gloss films with the characteristics of reflecting light is depending on the lamination process. The current production process of SEKISUI S-Lec did not allow to meet the specifications for high gloss films. Out of several measures the KAIZEN team evaluated three actions with the highest impact, feasability and cost relevance: 1. Emboss silicon coating quantity, 2. Heating zone temperature and 3. Emboss gap. A correlation of gloss and silicon treatment of emboss rollers was known, however it was not managed precisely and the gloss specifications unpredictable. The team calculated the amount of inline silicon thickness on embossing rolls and measured the gloss effect. This model finally allowed to manage the required gloss level.

Although the target was achieved by this measure, the team investigated the heating zone temperature and the emboss gap as well. By reducing the pressure on the embosser and increasing the heating zone temperature to melt the film, the gloss level could be further improved. The combination of all three activities increases the gloss significantly and SEKISUI S-Lec can now meet the customers demand.

With this project a new business segment was developed and, at the same time, an increase of capacity of the facility was achieved. The extra profit of the film plant is forecasted with 364,500€ from June 2015 until January 2016. Congratulations to SEKISUI S-Lec for these fantastic ideas and a well-earned victory.

2nd place: SEKISUI Eslon – reduction of product cost

SEKISUI Eslon produces rain gutters and covering panels for houses. The current trend is the slow recovery of the construction business in Europe resulting in an oversupply as well as in a strongly price driven competition. PVC resin costs increased by 8% which resulted in a decrease of the gross margin from 6,8% to 5,3%. To maintain the market position and the competitive strength of SEKISUI Eslon actions were needed. The KAIZEN team focused on the reduction of white panel raw material costs and evaluated several countermeasures.

They found out, that the increase of chalk amount decreases the costs of natural compounds. Furthermore reducing the panel weight by using the lower density property of CaZn compounds would have the biggest effect. By realising both measures the target of cost reduction to maintain the gross margin could be achieved and in addition 29.000 EUR can be saved on an annual basis. Great project, great work by the SEKISUI Eslon Team.

3rd place: SEKISUI Specialty Chemicals Europe -Eliminate out-of-spec degree of hydrolysis in 4/88LA grade

In the saponification process the degree of hydrolysis is controlled by concentration of the polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). On a regular basis the hydrolysis degree is controlled by samples, which take 3 hours to evaluate. If the parameters are not meeting the specification the % concentration of PVAc needs to be measured as well and adjusted according to the results. Due to the delay by analyzing the samples an immediate adjustment of the production process was impossible which resulted in the higher out-of-spec rate. Analyzing equation models the team found out a linear correlation between the density and the concentration of the PVAc. Based on experience the team could manage the ratio of Caustic-PVAc effecting the density. By including new control fields in the system, the process allows today just in time control which eliminates the laboratory tests including the deferred adjustment in the production process. So far 2000 EUR could be saved due to the adjustment, 9000 EUR are expected for a full year. The KAIZEN team did a great job and was honored quite rightly with the 3rd place.

Impressions of KAIZEN 2015