In recent years, several changes have taken place within the Operations department. All with the aim of achieving the highest possible efficiency and scalability in every production process as Royal Kaak. With ‘master planner’ Michiel Aalbers, we took a short tour along the fields. Because what exactly were those changes? And how did those changes affect the organisation and our customers?
A new press brake
It was already there in 2019, replacing another press brake that had given years of good service. The impact since the new press brake has been great. Michiel: “Basically, of course, you can do much more with it. You are more flexible and we can do a lot more in-house, so we simply don’t have to outsource as much. Moreover, we can vary sheet material even more.” The new programming also saves a lot of time by allowing external programming. This allows the operator to focus more on the press brake work, which improves efficiency: “It is precisely this programming that ensures you have to do less yourself, because you can already prepare a lot of things. In addition, the new press brake has an automatic tool change, which means operators no longer have to change the – often heavy – tools themselves. In addition to efficiency, this also increases labour happiness.”
New laser
In 2021, a new laser was installed in the back of the production hall. It replaced two old lasers and can do even more work than its 2 predecessors combined. “Besides quality, capacity has also gone up. The new laser can laser up to 20mm thick, a huge improvement over its predecessor which could only do up to 12 mm.” Michiel: “The laser is positioned so close to the press brakes that efficiency and lead time have improved tremendously. Moreover, it can also load and unload automatically!”
New factory interior
The production environment itself has also had a major refurbishment: “The walls have been cleaned and repainted in the Royal Kaak house colours. In addition, the furniture has been replaced with sit-stand desks, among other things. This improves the ‘sustainable employability’ of employees. In addition, we achieved a fresher look with plant containers.” We also looked with an extra keen eye at how the layout could create more efficiency on the work floor: “By placing a kind of panels on the roof, it is less warm and therefore more pleasant to work, for everyone. We also used white walls – they were red before, by the way – to create a bit more calm and structure in the factory.” More efficiency also means “ensuring more flexibility and freedom”, Michiel continues: “We changed the schedule for employees to a more flexible one, so that the work-life balance is easier to adjust. Going to the dentist, for instance, no longer costs holiday-hours. So everyone has much more control over their own time.”
New production office 2022
Inside the factory itself, the existing production office is completely overhauled: “Work planners, production and procurement used to be in a kind of ‘construction shack’ in the middle of the factory.” After a thorough renovation, the new office now houses more than 30 people: “We have now added all project managers and assembly supervisors to this office. Almost immediately, we saw the benefits of this boost. Because the lines have become shorter – between production and project – important project information comes through with a much faster lead time.” Conversely, there is also much more synergy, explains Michiel: “Where previously you had to walk metres to know something about the production planning, so to speak, you now only have to push aside your desk chair to know how your project is going along.”
Temporary 'storage tent'
When you drive onto our site in Terborg, you will not fail to notice the addition of a white tent measuring no less than 3200 m2. This tent offers even more possibilities for storing materials and machines. It is a temporary solution for an ultimately much larger and wider plan for greater efficiency in the production process. Michiel: “For the next four years, we will hold on to this tent as a storage facility, after which it will be pulled down and sold.”
The new hall: ready December 2022
Accommodating growth also means working more efficiently. That’s why a new production space also had to be sought: “Especially for installing larger test stands to test the electrics of machines. We still test mainly in different ‘mechanical groups’ now. What you actually want is that the whole test phase is done in one central place. Michiel tries to outline the new situation in advance: “What you soon will see more of is that we have a single point of contact for each department. Recently, for example, we have already reduced the Spare Parts department to one group instead of the nine assembly groups we used in the past for Spare Parts.
