Partnering for Success: Saving Local Jobs by Improving Processes

By Allison Hayes

With an increased focus on food safety, food and livestock feed suppliers look for the most effective way to test their products. One such example are mycotoxins, which are secondary metabolic products of molds, contaminating a wide range of crops and fruits. Such contaminated crops are toxic to humans and animals, and hence, a major health issue for the consumer.

Romer Labs in Newark, Delaware is a leading global supplier of diagnostic solutions for food pathogens, mycotoxins, food allergens, gluten, and GMO. Additionally, they operate four fully accredited service labs in Austria, Singapore, UK and the USA. The Newark, Delaware office employs a staff of approximately 40.

The Newark site is in the forefront of testing technology for contaminants in all types of foods and grains. Of the many various test kits they produce, one of the most demanded is the lateral flow test for aflatoxins, one of the most potent fungal toxins to affect crops grown in warm and dry ambient conditions. Aflatoxin can cause adverse illness or even death to the livestock that ingest it. The lateral flow test strip is superior to other test kits on the market as it is easier to use, faster to give accurate test results and less expensive than competitor test kits. It also exceeds the strict USDA regulatory standards for contaminant detection. These testing strips are used around the world, and are produced right here in Newark, Delaware.

After the launch of the aflatoxin lateral flow test strips, the demand for these kits were outpacing the supply that the Newark lab could produce. It was then that Romer Labs began a partnership with the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP).

“There was a real possibility that the production of the test strips could be moved to other Romer production sites,” said Tim Lawruk, Senior Director of Production & Procurement for Romer Lab’s Newark facility. Lawruk wanted to keep those jobs in Delaware – and DEMEP was there to help.

Initially, a group of 15 employees went through a Principals of Lean Manufacturing workshop (POL). Companies trained in Lean manufacturing begin to change from the inside out. Many of DEMEP’s customers report that after going through the training, they experience a complete culture change. POL is also seen as the most successful way to make sure every employee, no matter what position they hold, is trained and on board with this transformative way of doing business.

Lean changes the focus of management to optimize the flow of products and services through “value streams” that flow across technologies, assets, and departments.

The workshop was well received and the attendees were able to embrace the concepts immediately at the Newark site. Some employees had been doing their job the same way for 15 years, but gained a completely new understanding of ways to improve and make their jobs easier.

The next step was to complete a value stream map to help identify and understand key objectives, measures, actions and overall priorities of the aflatoxin lateral flow test strip production process. First, a current state map was created to see exactly how the interactions of each individual sub process effected the overall production flow. Next, a future state map was created to provide a vision of how optimal production flow would look. A comprehensive action item list was created to give the company a road map to achieving the future state.

With a good understanding of where the opportunities for improvement were, a 5S event was held. It focused on ways to improve the efficiencies of the test strip production labs output. A 5S event is a workplace organization method that helps companies to organize workspace for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing items. Lawruk said the company saw a huge impact from this process.

As the training took place, the process for manufacturing the test kit began to change and improve. Within a year, the cycle time was cut in half. In 2016, the company produced 5,000 test kits. In 2017, with sales forecasted to triple, 7,500 kits have been produced in just the first 90 days of 2017 alone. This improvement added value without adding any additional resources.

Additionally, while attending DEMEP’s Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt training, Lawruk and Procurement Coordinator Michael Butkus worked on a project that focused on the production and quality control processes of the test strips. Through their data analysis, they found many redundant and unnecessary steps that did not add value to the product. They were able to eliminate those steps and cut the time to market in half and realizing a savings of $50,000 a year in material and labor cost.

Through process flow improvements, the company was also able to double inventory turnover, which meant less money had to be allocated to keep items on hand.

Finally, cross training was completed so that key positions and skills were shared by more than one employee, creating security for the company, and making jobs more interesting to staff.

“Our work with DEMEP had a huge impact on how we run our business,” said Lawruk. “It’s been visible to all levels of management throughout our organization. It ultimately saved jobs in Delaware.”