Roplast Industries realized there were adjustments en route for the company in February 2003. The company knew if it wanted to remain competitive and keep moving forward with the influx of imported goods, it would have to take another look at how it manufactured its products.

So Roplast, a plastic bag and film manufacturer in Oroville, Calif., decided it would implement lean manufacturing methodologies to streamline its production processes.

The first thing Roplast did was find a consulting firm that would implement the training for everyone in the organization. Chris Mann, vice-president of operations, says the company chose the Sacramento-based firm TEIM to lead the initiative.

Mann says each employee in the organization received eight hours of training from the consulting group. There was also a core group of twenty individuals who received an additional three days of training. From there, Roplast moved to the production floor and over the next 8 to 12 weeks carried out a series of three-day kaizen events under the direction of the consultants. This gave them hands-on experience of the things that had been taught and prepared them to continue the lean implementation under their own direction.

After 20 years in the flexible packaging industry, Mann believes lean manufacturing basically consists of adding structure and discipline to what is essentially common sense. But he admits Roplast needed help to implement the training programs for the company.

“We pretty much knew where we wanted to go,” Mann says “We just wanted someone to assist us in getting started, understanding what it was we were going to do and why we were going in that direction. We needed someone with experience who was capable of carrying out the training vs. doing it ourselves, which takes a lot longer and is not as well done.” The areas of focus for Roplast are setup reduction, increased runtime and comprehensive 6S program (5S + safety). The company also looked to improve its accuracy of specifications and instructions for work orders issued to the shop floor.

“It is not realistic to expect the people on the floor to make a good product if the instructions aren't clear for them to carry out,” Mann says. The results are definitely positive, according to Mann. He says Roplast has reduced its manufacturing costs by 10 to 15 percent. The training also helped reduce set up times an average of 50 percent and by more than 75 percent in some areas.

The employees at Roplast have accepted the new methodologies positively, according to Mann. The company holds ongoing kaizen events to ensure continuous improvement on the shop floor. He says management takes a team approach with its supervisors and employees by looking at the processes over a two-to-three-day period and making the changes on site. “The reaction has been very positive because it involves them,” Mann says. “We stress the importance of people on the floor, and we credit the improvements made primarily to the managers, supervisors and people on the floor working as a team.”

Environmental Concerns
Roplast was concerned with efficient production even before the tenets of lean manufacturing were indoctrinated into the collective mindset of the manufacturing industry. The company was founded in 1990 to manufacture environmentally friendly, high-quality, low-density polyethylene bags.

The company is environmentally conscious with its inks, as well, printing exclusively with water-based inks. At the back of the plant, Roplast also has a reprocessing machine that recycles in-house scrap into pellets, which can be reused either in bags, lumber or furniture.

“Roplast's recycling plan is instigated by a firm commitment to and concern for the environment,” the company says.

Roplast says it encourages reuse and recycling where it is possible and practical within the retail carrier bag industry, which makes up 50 percent of its business.

The company is devoted to informing current and potential clients about the benefits of using plastic vs. paper bags. According to Roplast, it takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. The shipping of plastic bags is also more efficient than that of paper bags, according to Roplast.

It would take at least seven 45-foot trucks of paper bags to deliver the quantity of bags contained in one 45-foot truckload of plastic bags, the company says.