september 3, 2020

Decreasing production losses and disruptions already during the first year

We started 2020 together with our new customers. During the year, we have managed to take several steps in the desired direction.

Vaasan Oy’s units in Kotka and Kuusankoski, Finland, have succeeded in noticeably improving production efficiency, contributing to the reduction of production losses and disruptions.

– The co-operation has started well. There have been challenges of course, but that is normal. It is important that challenges and eventual problem areas are identified, so that things can start developing in the right direction.

– We actively monitor the data and our direction is positive. We want to stay on time and react quickly to situations that require attention. We have been able to locate faults with very detailed data, says Juha Rasinmäki, Site Manager at Kotka and Kuusankoski

Kai Renlund, Production Manager at Vaasa Kotka Bakery, commented on the cooperation.

– The collaboration with Quant has been constructive.

– We have analyzed the data together and have been able to take action based on facts, which has allowed resources to be allocated directly to the right actions. Operations have clearly improved with the start of our cooperation.

– Quant’s way of emphasizing safety is great, it aligns well with our goals. The use of personal protective equipment and risk assessments have been strongly integrated into the development of our safety culture.

– The journey is long, for sure, but our common direction is right. It is about continuous improvements, through which we move towards to our goals, Renlund adds.

At Cerealia Oy’s production plant in Kotka, our customer selected one of our Productivity producers as the Employee of the month for August, which is a great indication that we have succeeded in our work. The award was given to Site manager Juha Rasinmäki as well as his entire team. The customer was particularly pleased with the overall success of the summer shutdowns and the development steps which were taken during the various stages of the process to ensure a successful outcome. In particular, the progress of the process was well managed.

– Being selected as Employee of the month came as a surprise, although the whole team has been working hard to achieve a successful result, Rasinmäki says.

The aim was to manage the summer shutdown process in a new way and take it from the design stage to implementation – so to speak, to the next level. As an important part of the whole process, the team wanted to ensure that safety considerations, strong communication and collaboration worked as expected.

– We knew that we should develop things to achieve a successful outcome. Strong communication throughout the process is important, so that everybody is up to date.

– The summer shutdown was successfully completed. The level of teamwork was high, and cooperation went well between everyone involved. A big thank you to our entire Kotka team for this!, Rasinmäki adds.

– Quant’s Kotka maintenance organization handled the summer production shutdown in an exemplary manner. A well-designed plan is indeed half the job done. During the outage, the planned work was completed, and any surprises were handled nicely. The start of production went better than ever, comments Ville Huovinen, Plant Manager of Cerealia Oy.

The development of safety culture continues in every unit

After the start-up of the cooperation with our new customer in the beginning of the year, Rasinmäki moved from one of the Quant units located in Western Finland to be the head of the units in Kotka and Kuusankoski.

– Good work has been done at the units to improve safety throughout the first part of the year. We have been able to implement Quant’s safety policies in the new unit and we can already see the results.

– We can only be proud of this development. Of course, there is still work to be done, but we are clearly moving in the right direction and everyone is committed to continuously improving the safety culture, which has been great to see, Rasinmäki adds.

The implementation of Quant’s safety policies will continue in the future. As well as the development steps towards improving production efficiency, reducing disruption, and increasing availabilty.