Kalnapilis: Running Production Smoothly During the Pandemic

This case study will walk you through a story of a well-performed adoption of Evocon’s automated production monitoring system at Kalnapilis brewery. We also zoom in on its benefits during the pandemic to keep the production running smoothly while ensuring safety.

Company Background: Kalnapilis

Kalnapilis is a hundred years old Lithuanian brewery, a producer of award-winning beer.

It is currently a part of Royal Unibrew, a leading beverage (beer and soft drinks) provider in Western Europe and countries around the Baltic Sea.

Royal Unibrew focuses on the long-term value of their many brands, strengthening their positions in established markets – which are very diverse and dynamic. Royal Unibrew brands stay close to local communities and aim to be responsible members from both environmental and social perspectives.

Focus on Talent and Performance

To achieve the above, Royal Unibrew has to take talent very seriously. Strong culture, flexible working arrangements, and a bonus system for everyone are common across all Royal Unibrew factories.

Kalnapilis told us that their employees are free to move around and try different teams or work. Training solves most difficulties. Everyone, from the office to the shop floor, gets performance-based bonuses.

Speaking of performance, Kalnapilis is on a never-ending journey to increase efficiency in order to be fast, productive, and have less environmental impact.

As part of this effort, Kalnapilis implemented Evocon in their brewery. It was recommended to them by another Royal Unibrew member Cido, a Latvian soft drink producer.

Gradual Introduction of Evocon to Staff

The introduction of Evocon in the brewery was systematic and gradual. At first, management installed Evocon on one production line and tested for the best configuration.

Then they introduced Evocon to the shift managers who got a tablet with Evocon each. During the next few months, they introduced Evocon to a wider and wider circle, starting with more experienced employees and ending with the least experienced ones.

At every step, Kalnapilis took time to train their staff. They organized regular meetings and explained not only how to use Evocon but also why. As a result of this consistent approach, they experienced almost no bumps along the road.

In the end, the usage of Evocon became a norm and even a source of comfort – seeing their production on the screen in green and Mr. Evocon smiling.

Learn more: How to Effectively Communicate OEE to the Shop Floor?

Benefits During COVID-19

Eliminated calls

Among the usual benefits, such as an increase in OEE, or maintenance effectiveness, Kalnapilis brought out one particular point.

Evocon has not only made them happy but also proved to be especially helpful when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Evocon helped them eliminate calls and meetings that used to be the primary means of planning and organizing work.

Kalnapilis brewery works 24/7, in four shifts, and their production is very dynamic, focus changes from one product to another depending on the situation.

So, whenever management comes to the office after a weekend, or when shift managers come back to the shop floor after their 4-day break, they need to know:

• what has been happening during previous shifts,
• what has been produced,
• which lines were working, and
• which products are next.

This information is useful to plan maintenance and production, and to organize people on the lines.

Before Evocon, shift managers called each other for updates on the situation. Then they held meetings with their staff to arrange work.

Today managers simply log in to Evocon and find out everything they need.

Learn more: Accurate production planning based on OEE data

Eliminated meetings

As the pandemic brought the need for social distancing, shift managers also started using Evocon to look up who was working on which lines.

They did this remotely before coming to work, and as they came in, they wrote down the schedule in the entrance hall.

So, every operator just needed to check this schedule and go straight to her line. Thus, eliminating the need to have meetings to go over this information.

Summary

Overall, Kalnapilis points out that they use Evocon widely, and everyone is very happy about the transparency and efficiency.

Evocon has also helped ensure safety during the pandemic, and the new work practices, such as monitoring production remotely, have proved to be very useful and are definitely there to stay even after it.

Learn more: 5 Benefits of Using a Cloud-Based OEE Solution