Cheesecake Process Improvement P10712 - Winter 2009

1. Cheesecake Process ImprovementP10712 - Winter 2009 Mission Statement: The mission for the cheesecake process improvement is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of cheesecake production in order to meet customer demand in both quantity and quality of the cheesecakes. • Team: • Jeremy Smith – ME • Matt Syska - IE • Kevin Rodas – ME • Andreana Crance - IE • Rob Santora - IE • Goals: • Improve labor utilization • Improve cheesecake making techniques • Create standard work for employees Overall Process Flow Fishbone Diagram Cheesecake Process Evaluation Kaizen Table Move AWP Unit AWP Unit Kaizen Kaizen The team used Pugh analysis to determine which area of cheesecake process to focus on. Through this analysis, the team chose to focus on pre-and post-tunnel oven processes. The fishbone diagram to the right relates the issues found in the focus areas to the four proposed solutions. Table Move Kaizen Low worker efficiency due to Marble Cheesecake Process (pre-tunnel oven) Low worker efficiency and ergonomic concerns due to water pouring (pre-tunnel oven) Proposal 1: Marble Cheesecake Move Proposal 2: Automatic Water Pouring Unit • Increase worker visibility of process • Reduce worker/product travel distance by 50% • Time saved when moving racks of batter • Reduce ergonomic strain by bringing the • water to the operator’s fingertips. • Ensure consistent water amounts in the • sheet pans to eliminate burning and reduce excess water at depanning. • Problems addressed: • Marble cheesecake procedure performed in adjacent room • Difficult for workers to know if they are needed to help reduce queue in adjacent room • Pneumatically operated and timed • Custom designed handle and • nozzle • Cart mounted for mobility Low process efficiency at bottleneck of tunnel oven due to current depanning process (post-tunnel oven) Not using tunnel oven to full pan capacity due to pan size limitations, causing production issues during peak demand Proposal 3: Depanning Kaizen Proposal 4: New Pan Design • Reduce total depanning time by 50% • Reduce repetitive motion • Reduce depanning queue • Kaizen Solutions: • Reduced queue • Sense of urgency to depan • No obvious quality issues • Problems Addressed: • Queue in front of depanning station with small cheesecakes • Quality issues associated with current process Due to the high cost of this proposal, the team decided not to pursue this option further. As Wegmans expands its stores and the demand for cheesecakes grow, this option may be necessary in order to meet the growing demand. The proposed sheet pans reduce the excess space both in each individual sheet pan and on the oven belt, increasing the number of cheesecakes baked per row. Results: Sponsors: Scott Young Chris Isaacson Jamie Rothfuss Paul Adams Advisor: John Kaemmerlen Special Thanks to the Cheesecake Team! • Proposals 1-3 generated a substantial increase in throughput of small cheesecake as well as putting processes in place for less variability in the baking process. • The changes will result in a savings of at least $15,400 per year.