Turning Packing Department Claims into Workable Solutions

Abstract

The Kawneer Company in Springdale, Arkansas is a façade aluminum manufacturer. The company had an escalating issue in receiving claims from customers due to bad packing. Its quality department was tasked in reducing claims in the packing department. They included audits along with GEMBA walks, training of product colors and shapes with sample boards to aid the reduction. Part of the task was to test employees with a score of 3 or better. Twice weekly audits were completed on the packing department and used the boards to enlighten the packing workers as well as training on how to package the materials correctly to reduce damage. The results proved that claims could be reduced, as they went from 14 in January-February to 10 in March-April. Key Terms ⎯ human error, manufacturing claims reduction, manufacturing processes, quality processes.