Lean Manufacturing - Food Processing

I found an interesting case study that combines two aspects of our discussion forums:

Lean Food Processing - Case Study
Over a two-year period we went about rethinking every aspect of our production systems. Gorton's plant manager, John Gates, has been a strong proponent of Lean implementation. Under his leadership, the production engineers began working with our equipment suppliers to redesign the conveyor systems, the breaders, batter machines and our tempering and cutting equipment. When they design their equipment, OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) don't always think about Lean equipment design with its simplified maintenance, parts standardization, and quick changeover capability. We encouraged these companies to design their equipment with fewer moving parts and, with mechanisms that were visible and easily cleaned. We involved them in our Lean process, and some very creative solutions were developed. Our objective was to replace our antiquated batch-oriented manufacturing processes with new continuous flow high technology equipment.

Gorton's Lean Food Processing Case Study

Regards,
Simon