Lumber mill achieves a step change in performance
This lumber operator was targeting closing underperforming mills, and this mill was considered the next to close. With improved front line involvement, better operations processes, and effective maintenance practices it is now a top performing mill.
“Management is listening to us on a regular basis, listening to our issues and getting things fixed. Now the equipment runs great”
— Front Line Operator
“This is nothing short of a genuine culture change. This is not the same mill.”
— Corporate HR Manager
“Our team is working together as one team. Having RLG here for a year has gotten us to a much better place. And I am confident we will keep this going.”
— Regional VP
Context/Challenge
This mill was losing money and needed a turn around. With wood basket issues, low productivity, and rising costs, the mill was in jeopardy of being closed. Being a company, that “doesn’t use consultants” they hired RLG with some trepidation.
- Low Productivity and output from operations.
- Poor maintenance practices and processes leading to significant downtime.
- Leadership and management were not aligned nor working together.
Approach
The client partnered with RLG with the specified goal of getting the team aligned to:
- Create ONE team focused on creating a safe and productive culture.
- Develop the leaders to be able to identify future gaps in performance and engage their team to solve it.
Result
Almost $6 million in bottom line savings over 18 months.
- KPI 1 Canter uptime improved 20 points from the mid-sixties.
- KPI 2 Top quartile producer of on-size lumber; 22% grade improved (2 and Better).
- KPI 3 Daily production improved by 5%.
- Post project sustainability audit showed over 73% of all improvements remained at a “Consistently Excellent” level after one year.
- 66% improvement in maintenance best practices demonstrating a significant improvement in maintenance processes and execution.
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