At Colquímica Adhesives, we rely on continuous improvement
12 DEZ 2019

At Colquímica Adhesives, we rely on continuous improvement

There is no doubt that the competitiveness between companies, the emergence of new ideas in the marketplace, as well as the increasing customer demand, encourage corporations to tackle structural inertia.

To differentiate themselves, it is crucial to build both a spirit of change and value creation through the implementation of methodologies that are able to optimize resources, decrease costs and increase product quality.

Continuous improvement is the only way to blend product quality with reasonable prices that meet the customers’ expectations. In order to achieve sustainable growth, reduce costs and maintain competitiveness, it is essential to follow technological developments and to recognize new raw materials. It is also vital to look for new products and workflows, always with the dedication and continuous training of our employees.

At Colquímica Adhesives, we promote teamwork and the connection between departments in order to achieve steady progress. A challenge in any department will affect the whole chain, so it is imperative to foster transversal unity, communication and continuous improvement. It is also crucial to work on risk analysis to prevent any failures that may lead to nonconformities, from receiving the raw material, to shipping the finished product.

Lean manufacturing is an integrated development system that emerged in Japan. It was created by Toyota, in the aftermath of World War II. This system comprises the establishment of a culture oriented towards the evolution of management and processes in the mass production industries, always focusing on the customer. It was applied with the goal of eliminating waste and creating added value for customers. This value creation is implicit in all activities and involves all stakeholders: suppliers, employees and customers.

At Colquímica Adhesives, we have installed MES software, which allows the supervision of all production lines, and the constant monitoring of the process efficiency level through an OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) indicator. With this system, we are able to quickly understand the most recurrent problems and to address them with the most effective corrective actions in various operational areas.

In order to maximize time, we use tools like Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), we redefine layouts and also optimize our internal flows. We invest in quality management by implementing various corrective and preventive tools, such as 8D and FMEA. To ensure organization and cleanliness in the workplace, we have the 5S program.

However, the techniques and methodologies developed do not, by themselves, guarantee the improvement of the results. The success of these tools also depends on employee involvement. This vision is associated with the ability to promote innovation and new processes in our solutions through constant focus on People and continuous training. 

At Colquímica Adhesives, we focus on a philosophy of continuous improvement, in order to nurture a culture of innovation that responds to the intrinsic needs of our industry.

We face the system as a whole: each employee is an integral part of our optimization system, and organizations only work when everyone paddles in the same direction.

Published by
Rita Santiago
Continuous Improvement Coordinator at Colquímica Adhesives