Animal feed is produced for consumption all over the world. Not only for pets but for farm animals, ranches, zoos, etc. Lean and Six Sigma can improve productivity and reduce waste. We’ll look at three case studies from Indonesia, Brazil, and Hungary and finish with a short video of making livestock feed.

 

Using Lean to Minimize Waste in Livestock Feed Production: Indonesia

 

In a paper titled “Reducing waste with the lean manufacturing approach to improve process cycle efficiency,” authors K. Siregar Erwin, R. M. Sari Anizar, and K. Syahputri discuss the use of Lean to minimize waste occurring in livestock feed production and improve process cycle efficiency.

The paper includes:

  • Current State Map for Animal Feed Production
  • Waste in Animal Feed Production Process
  • 5W1H Analysis for Waste and Associated Improvements

You can read the paper here.

 

Kaizen for Continuous Improvement in an Animal Feed Plant: Brazil

 

In a case study titled “Kaizen as a continuous improvement system: a case study in an animal nutrition industry,” authors Jorzimar Benhur Bresciani and others discuss the use of Kaizen to improve production.

The authors discuss ten Kaizen events as part of the case study.

Included are:

  • Current and Future Value Stream Maps
  • Action Plans
  • Before and After Layouts
  • Before and After Flows
  • Stock Before and After

You can access the case study here.

 

Applying Six Sigma Tools to Reduce the Variation in Calcium Content in Pet Food: Hungary

 

In an article titled “Introduction of Six Sigma tools into the supply chain quality management of feed production,” author Andrea Csikai discusses the use of Six Sigma tools to reduce the variation in calcium content in a pet food product.

The article includes:

  • Process Map of Animal Feed Formulation
  • Pareto Chart of Ingredients Contribution to Calcium Levels
  • Capability Analysis of Calcium Content of Animal Meal Batches
  • Run Chart of Calcium Content of Animal Meal Batches
  • Box and Whisker Plots of Calcium Content from Two Suppliers

You can read the article here.

 

Short Video on Animal Feed

 

See how Ireland’s Nutrias Feed Mill produces livestock feed.

You can watch the video here.