Client Background
Cereal Partners UK (a joint venture between Nestlé and General Mills) is one of the UK’s leading breakfast cereal manufacturers, producing a wide range of well-known brands for both domestic and international markets. The company operates several high-volume production lines where efficiency, consistency, and performance monitoring are critical to meeting customer demand and maintaining product quality.
To support continuous improvement initiatives, the site sought to enhance visibility into production performance data and streamline the reporting process for operational teams and management.
The Challenge
Limited Data Insight: Performance figures were not easily accessible or actionable in real time.
Manual Reporting: End-of-shift reports required manual data collection and calculation, consuming valuable operator time.
Lack of Visual Clarity: Without an intuitive visual system, it was difficult to quickly assess whether production was meeting, exceeding, or falling short of targets.
The goal was to upgrade the display and data systems to allow real-time performance monitoring, automated reporting, and clear visual indicators of performance status—helping drive improvements in line efficiency and throughput.
The Solution
Working closely with the Cereal Partners UK operations team, a tailored solution was developed and implemented. Key elements included:
- Upgraded Display System: The existing two large displays were enhanced with an Alphanumeric Centre Display, providing greater flexibility in presenting production data and status updates.
- Integration with Online Software: A custom online software interface was introduced, enabling simple product selection and automated data extraction from the production systems.
- Real-Time Performance Metrics: The system continuously tracked and displayed Run Rates vs. Targets and Actuals, giving operators immediate feedback on performance.
- Three-Colour Tier System: A clear, intuitive three-colour indicator (green, amber, red) was implemented to visually represent performance levels, helping teams instantly see when intervention was needed to maintain target throughput.
- Automated Reporting: At the end of each shift, reports were automatically generated to the customer’s specification, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring consistent, accurate documentation of performance.
The Results
The upgraded system delivered significant operational benefits:
- Improved Visibility: Real-time data allowed teams to make faster, data-driven decisions on the shop floor.
- Increased Efficiency: The clear colour-coded performance display helped drive improvements in packs-per-minute rates, reducing downtime and boosting productivity.
- Time Savings: Automated end-of-shift reporting freed up operators’ time, allowing them to focus on process improvement rather than administrative tasks.
- Enhanced Communication: The integrated display system created a unified source of truth for performance data, improving collaboration between operators, supervisors, and management.
Overall, the solution provided Cereal Partners UK with a more intelligent, efficient, and transparent way to manage production performance—supporting their commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Conclusion
The collaboration with Cereal Partners UK demonstrated how data-driven visual management can transform production performance. By upgrading the display systems and integrating intelligent reporting software, the site achieved a more connected, transparent, and efficient operation.
The solution not only provided immediate operational benefits—such as increased throughput and reduced reporting time—but also supported the company’s long-term commitment to innovation and manufacturing excellence.
This project stands as an example of how modern display technology and smart data integration can empower production teams, enhance visibility, and drive measurable performance improvement.
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