We do it together and we do it smart

Whatever you take a bite out of, chances are there will be a Cargill ingredient in it. The largest family-owned company in the world has about 160,000 employees. The production site in Izegem has been refining vegetable oils and fats for various segments of the food industry for more than twenty years. In order to be able to work more flexibly and qualitatively, many investments have already been made in recent years in state-of-the-art production facilities, automation and process improvements. But the attention and focus on the why really made the difference. On to world-class production.

At Cargill Izegem, a volume of about 55,000 tons of oils and fats are refined and bottled annually. One million bottles are filled per day. For the company, the "Factory of the Future" label provided the perfect opportunity to strive for world-class production. But everything began with creating a benchmark. Where are we today? What is holding us back from being able to take that step up? What can get us over those thresholds? And most importantly, what does it get us. A gauntlet that was taken up with the three P's in mind: purpose, people, processes.

Briefly summarized

For Cargill, it was important to make changes without actually starting something new. A number of programs were already running that had not produced the desired effect. Therefore, the focus now had to go all the way to the employees. That they saw the benefit of each change and wanted to make use of it. In addition, digitization and sustainability were keywords. In other words, Cargill wanted to create a culture that revolves around people. In which he gets all the data at his disposal the moment he needs it, so that there are continuous improvement opportunities. To inspire people, the message was concisely summarized on one A4 sheet that recurred throughout the company. 'Filling lives clever together' became the new slogan that encompassed four core elements: we do it together, we do it smartly and we do it for better health and planet. As an acronym, CLEVER stands for continuous improvements, livable planet, one goal, safety, enthusiastic and committed employees and results-oriented.

Feedback loops

As a starting point, Cargil used the lean X-Matrix (Hoshin Kanri). That was the compass towards the factory of the future. What do we want to achieve in three to five years? What programs do you need for that? What will it deliver already this year? Who bears the responsibility? The changes are felt primarily in leadership. The supervisor used to know everything; now he must merely coach his team. They themselves have the autonomy to organize their work. That involved a lot of training to generate knowledge. Technical skills and insights into processes and techniques, certainly, but also skills to deal better with people. For Cargill, it was important to also link the necessary KPIs to each action plan so that there are always feedback loops, at different levels and at different times. Before the next shift starts, it should always be clear what needs to be done. A piece of visualization on the shop floor helps make that more insightful. Cargill started small. With a number of projects that yielded quick results and created the necessary credit among employees on the shop floor but also among management. Progress comes in small steps that may be celebrated and propagated. For Cargill, being crowned Factory of the Future was the icing on the cake.

Do not abuse digitization

For Cargill, one of the most important lessons learned was that digitalization should not be abused. Use only that technology in your processes that people need. Make sure they know what they are doing, why they are doing it and the effect of what they are doing. The focus should always be on people and not technology. Also, think in terms of a marathon and not a sprint. Focus not on the grumblers, there will always be those, but on those who want to keep up. Make sure that group grows.