The Soap Factory Problem 2.0

This is a hilarious case study that is quoted in one of the six sigma training - read until the end for the twist in the tale.

A soap factory had repeated customer complaints, that they are receiving empty soap boxes without soap in them. In trying to solve the problem, the company engaged a consultant and they thoroughly studied the manufacturing process. The issue is that in the assembly line, some boxes get passed on to the next stage before the product is inserted into that. The current visual inspection system could not identify this issue, as the external appearance is the same for the box with or without the product.

The solution is to automate this so that the manual flaws are eliminated. A check-weighing system in the robotic arm and a laser detector in redundancy mode, can 100% detect the empty boxes and kick them out of the line.

But this is an expensive solution to implement. While brainstorming this problem with employees, one of the old employees, brought an industrial fan and kept it beside the conveyor belt of the assembly line before the product is packed in shippers. The fan simply blows out the empty boxes, and the good products are only sent for shipping.

This is not the end of the story, This is only a brilliant corrective action. We need to do a full CAPA, Corrective and Preventive action on this issue, let us move on. Following are some of the other creative solutions that can be adapted.

• Make it visual. Perforations in the packing that gives a good appeal in packing also easy to detect the problem. This is preventive action

• Make the problem irrelevant, why a box for the soap? This also ends up in value engineering, differentiation, and customer delight

There are several people who are skilled in making a problem irrelevant.

The moral of the story

• Automation is not the only solution for every problem
• Every complex problem has a simple solution
• Every problem has an opportunity in it
• Often, problems can be made irrelevant
• Employees working in the system are the best source of help to solve issues