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IET, Inc.
3539 Glendale Ave
Toledo, Ohio 43614
1.419.385.1233
www.ieteng.com

Case Study 3-10807

Cookie manufacturer reduces labor costs.


IET conducted studies to justify staffing changes that reduced operator headcount by 5-6 people per shift on their flexible packaging lines.


The Customer

A large, high volume cookie manufacturer

"IET and their Industrial Engineering tools provided solid data to back their recommendations."

- Vice President of Continuous Improvement


The Challenge

Their customer demanded price reductions so they had to find ways to reduce direct labor costs on their flexible packaging lines.

The Solution

Work sampling, delay studies and time studies were performed on different packing configurations for one specific line. The line is flexible enough to handle a variety of customer packaging requirements, each requiring a different number of people. Six different packaging configurations were observed. Solutions such as combining jobs, line balancing, simple machine modifications and minor layout changes were developed to save direct labor. The line was previously staffed with anywhere from 21 to 28 people depending on the packaging configuration. With the proposed changes, the staffing was reduced by 5 to 6 people per shift, depending on the packaging configuration.


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