The Zainsky Sugar company, part of one of the largest holdings, Agrosila, intends to increase labour productivity by 30% in the next three years. The plant is introducing innovative technologies for the cultivation and storage of sugar beets. In late August this year, the Zainsky Sugar became a participant in the Labour Productivity and Employment Support national project.
The plant has been introducing lean manufacturing tools into its processes since 2014. An analysis of equipment failures during the sugar production season revealed the main causes for downtime and reduced productivity in sugar beet processing.
As a result, new maintenance schedules were developed for all types of equipment with a detailed description of each stage. The most important moment in the implementation of the lean manufacturing system was the development of regulations regarding the involvement of employees in continuous improvement, provisions for the opening and implementation of kaizen projects, the 5C workplace organisation system, and the standardisation of all processes. Kaizen projects are opened annually by heads of the repair services, foremen, and the management.
Lean tools are also used in the warehouses. The Kanban technology helped to optimise warehouse stocks and build a production inventory planning chain. In 2020, the company’s experts work to improve the efficiency of the AGRO production system by opening kaizen projects aimed at reducing the cost of production.