This project aimed to generate a change in habits and behaviors to sustain improvements. The goal was to establish a culture of daily continuous improvement within the organization by implementing systematic team monitoring routines, analyzing deviations, and identifying root causes and improvement opportunities—ensuring the engagement of everyone, every day, across all areas. The process began with implementing the Daily Kaizen methodology with the main goal of developing leaders and teams. The project targeted eleven teams in a large food industry company in Portugal, and the results were very positive, as verified in the culture and the leading operational indicators.

Leadership in the food industry and the need for evolution

The group has a market share of 90% in the Portuguese pasta market and has three industrial units dedicated to producing this range of products, cereals, and biscuits.

At the project’s start-up date, the company completed a strong investment plan in infrastructure, industrial equipment, quality systems, and brand development. To ensure sustainable growth, the need arose to launch a project that would ensure the implementation of a new culture based on the continuous improvement of processes and operations.

The challenges of cultural transformation

This cultural transformation project was built on three key pillars to ensure sustainable change. The first pillar focused on breakthrough improvement initiatives, designed with a clear purpose and a defined timeline. The second pillar centered on team leader development through the Daily Kaizen program, which aimed to eliminate waste, variability, and complexity in processes while optimizing daily operations. Lastly, the third pillar involved enhancing support activities and processes to drive an effective cultural shift. This success story focuses on implementing the Daily Kaizen model, emphasizing leadership and team development.

In the project’s first stage, it was identified that improvement routines were weak or non-existent in most teams, teams were neither held accountable for results nor were aware of their performance, there were no incentive measures for work improvement, and employee involvement in strategic projects was limited.

Therefore, the defined goal was developing and implementing a management model to transform operational teams into constant promoters of continuous improvement.

Strategy and implementation of change

A global transformation requires the cross-cutting involvement of the entire organization, and all teams were involved in the project during the different waves of implementation. In the first wave of implementation, the initiative focused on Operations teams (17 teams and 360 employees).

Figure 1 – Teams with Daily Kaizen under implementation

To ensure an effective and sustainable transformation, the implementation of Daily Kaizen followed a phased approach, starting with a pilot group, in this case, the Operations team, before expanding to other teams. Deployment was carried out in multiple stages, progressively involving more areas and employees, thereby solidifying a culture of continuous improvement within the organization.

Figure 2 – Daily Kaizen implementation waves

Daily Kaizen was implemented using a Team Development Program (TDP), with the Industrial Management, Pasta Packaging, and Breakfast Cereals production units selected as pilot teams to represent the different hierarchical levels and factories. Given the scale of the project, only a selection of the solutions developed during the 230 workshop sessions is highlighted below.

Teams organization

The solution designed for the organization of level three teams includes three stages. In the first stage, when the collaborators start their shift, they check the work plan and the allocation of resources to the different stations in the plant. In the second stage, which takes place thirty minutes after the shift starts, they meet with their supervisors to discuss goals and potential anomalies detected at the workstation. Finally, in the third stage, they share their results with the team and analyze any anomalies that may have occurred again. It should be noted that these Daily Kaizen meetings take place during every shift. These dynamics are supported by a team board divided according to the different moments and the agenda of each of the two meetings.

Figure 3 – Examples of Level 1 team meetings and boards

A level two meeting routine was also created, and the participants were the area manager, the shift managers, and a maintenance team member. This meeting takes place on a weekly basis, and its agenda includes the analysis of consolidated indicators, the analysis of the production plan, and the analysis of the action plan or PDCA cycle.

Figure 4 – Examples of Level 2 team meeting

In addition to the benefits obtained with the faster resolution of anomalies and a more efficient shift kick-off, the implementation of visual boards and team meetings on levels two and three led to the teams becoming more accountable for their results.

For industrial management, three types of meetings with different scopes and frequencies were defined for the two production centers: operational meetings, planning meetings, and strategic meetings.

The operational meeting includes updating the action plan, analyzing indicators, and, once a month, presenting a 3C (structured problem-solving methodology) by one of the area managers.

Regarding the planning meeting the main objectives are to analyze production plans as well as some fulfillment and stock indicators. With the implementation of this meeting, the time dedicated to production planning by the leaders was reduced by 35%.

Lastly, the strategic meeting consists of following up on the industrial area projects and reviewing the strategy.

Workplace organization

As a way of creating productive and safe workspaces, 5S campaigns were developed in all areas of Industrial Management. A multidisciplinary team was set up, bringing managers and employees from the operations, maintenance, and quality departments together.

To ensure consistency, a handbook of best practices and visual rules was created, defining symbols to be used, color coding, identification methods, etc.

Figure 5 – Examples of 5S best practices

Adopting the 5S methodology significantly transformed workspaces, ensuring greater organization and safety. The before-and-after comparison of these areas demonstrates their evolution, reflecting a culture of discipline and standardization that contributes to operational efficiency and the sustainability of best practices.

Figure 6 – Before and After report in maintenance workshop

Process standardization

The standardization process started with the identification of tasks and the prioritization on a matrix. Then, following the priorities, the standards were passed on to a visual tracking board.

Figure 7 – Standardization prioritization

The visual tracking board of the tasks to be standardized represents a slightly modified version of the SDCA (Standardize, Do, Check, Act) cycle, with the difference that it places more emphasis on the training and follow-up processes of the standards. Also, the proper training of workers in the standards created was essential to ensure that the teams are as versatile as possible. The management’s follow-up of the standards was also a key step in the process.

Figure 8 – Example of visual standards: OPLs

Another key point was the definition of the location of the standards, favoring their placement near the point of use. However, given the specific requirements of the food industry, in some cases, it was necessary to create consultation stations and kiosks that centralized the standards of one or more stations.

Figure 9 – Example of standards at the point of use

The implementation of these reference stations and kiosks provided quick and efficient access to operational standards, ensuring that all employees could consult guidelines in real time. As a result, teams were able to perform their tasks with greater accuracy and autonomy, reinforcing the culture of continuous improvement in the production environment.

Figure 10 – Standards’ consultation stations

Structured problem-solving

After achieving the basic stability developed in the first three levels, the teams were trained in a structured problem-solving methodology called 3C (case, causes, and countermeasures). This approach established a clear escalation process—using PDCA—to address unresolved issues from the shift or week, feeding a funnel of more complex problems for deeper resolution.

Figure 11 – Problem escalation follow-up board

As an example of the application of the 3C methodology, the image below shows a particular case that occurred in the pasta packaging sector, specifically a problem of packages rejected due to exceeding weight specifications.

Figure 12 – Example of 3C problem-solving

As it is a project of significant size, it was necessary to create a series of mechanisms to manage and monitor the implementation process.

As such, the first action was to create a Mission Control Room, and weekly meetings to follow up on the implementation plan. This was intended to make the leaders aware of the tasks they would have to carry out to successfully implement Daily Kaizen and to serve as a forum to solve difficulties and clarify doubts.

Another mechanism to follow up on the Daily Kaizen implementation was through audits. A system of quarterly audits was created to assess the quality of the tool implementation, the real benefits of its implementation, and the degree of ownership by the team. At the end of each audit, a report was developed with a statistical analysis of the results, a summary of the best practices observed, and the action plan for each team.

Figure 13 – Audit structure

The improvement observed during each audit was remarkable—especially in the team’s culture and the tangible benefits brought by the new routines.

Figure 14 – Audit results evolution

The key to a successful transformation and results

The implementation of continuous improvement routines across the Industrial Management structure led to significant cultural shifts and direct improvements in key performance indicators.

Global efficiency measured through OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) has increased by 9%, material waste (by-product) has reduced by 26%, the rate of returns on sales has decreased by 20%, and the stock coverage of packaging materials has decreased by 13%.

Figure 15 – Evolution of the global efficiency of the 3 factories

These results directly reflect the impact of waste elimination initiatives and more rigorous process control. Applying the 5S methodology and the active involvement of teams in identifying improvements were essential in achieving these outcomes.

Figure 16 – Waste rate evolution

These advancements reflect improved product quality and more efficient inventory management, ensuring better cost control and optimized resource utilization.

Figure 17 – Stock coverage evolution

These results represented savings of 49,000 euros in the first year after deployment across all teams.

The main conclusion is that the culture and engagement of the leadership are the most important factors for the success of this type of initiative. On the other hand, it is proven that the solutions developed are more successful when designed by members of the entire hierarchy and strongly driven by the leaders.

The auditing process also proved to be one of the main tools for encouragement, motivation, and control. In effect, disclosing the results and adopting a structured approach to corrective actions helped enhance healthy competition and ensure alignment across all implemented solutions.

We are committed to respecting our clients’ confidentiality. While we have altered or omitted their names, the results are genuine.