Cosmos Corporation

TO:

Don Kassebaum, President

Darin Kassebaum, Vice President

FROM: Patrick Ross, Production Manager

DATE: June 1, 2015
RE:

A proposal that will increase efficiency and reduce waste by allowing me to

use my experience and education to fulfill a Process Improvement Position

PURPOSE
I am proposing that Cosmos Corporation will consider me to fill a new position that will observe current
processes, and will use learned methodologies to improve and streamline new ways of production. As of
current, our production is suffering due to inefficient and outdated processes. Although creating a new
position may seem costly, the outcome will be a more efficient production facility with less waste that
will guarantee the highest quality product to the customer.
CURRENT PROBLEM
Cosmos has grown rapidly over the past five years and recently I have noticed the problem of stale
processes causing bottlenecks in our operation. There is an excessive amount of inventory made to
cover the excessive amount downtime of the production line. Due to poor scheduling it is costing the
company. Line set up and changeovers are not done correctly due to poor training and outdated
processes, it increases the production line downtime and the quality suffers. Unnecessary production
downtime is created due to the gap between current inventory and the on-time delivery of raw
materials, therefore if one of the materials is missing, rework will be needed. Below is a table that is a
just a sample of the rework amounts in the month of May:
Amount of
product to be
bottled:
580 gallons
Comfort Shampoo
670 gallons Spa
Shampoo
250 gallons Aloe
Cologne
580 gallons
Replenish
Shampoo
Totals

Amount bottled

3,500 Bottles

Re-work due to
missing raw
material
999 bottles

Labor hours
needed for
rework
4hrs

Hours the
production line is
used for rework
5hrs

4,456 bottles

741 bottles

3hrs

4hrs

345 bottles

2215 bottles

6hrs

7hrs

4,367 bottles

132 bottles

1hr

2hr

12,668

4,087

14hrs

18hrs

Cosmos Corporation
This is just a small sample of the rework that is created in a months time. This rework cost the company
unneeded labor hours. The resources used to re-visit the projects could be managed more efficiently to
accomplish other task. The production line time that is needed for the rework is higher due to set-up
time.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
Using the Six Sigma training I have received will allow me to understand where the issues lye in the
process. Using the DMAIC method, the process of finding a solution will come much easier.
1. Define the problem, improvement activity, opportunity for improvement, the project goals, and
customer (internal and external) requirements.
2. Measure process performance.
3. Analyze the process to determine root causes of variation, poor performance (defects).
4. Improve process performance by addressing and eliminating the root causes.
5. Control the improved process and future process performance.
This is just a small sample of methods I will use to identify the best way to streamline the production
facility. The ability to have an individual capable of collecting data continuously, and reporting the
results weekly will be a great benefit to the company. All of the departments could be improved by
having an individual documenting their current process and, working with them to streamline their
current process. The results from implementing new methods can be tracked immediately. You get a
real timeline of how the facility is improving with the weekly production reports. If I am allowed to fulfill
this position I propose a yearly salary of $65,000. In this position I propose to save the company over
$20,000 in rework cost alone in the first year.
CONCLUSION
Developing the new position I have proposed will ultimately save the company more money than it will
cost. All departments will be improved as well as a better communication throughout the facility. After
all procedures company-wide are documented and standardized, continuous data collection will alert
any new variables. I would love the opportunity to discuss this proposal with you at your earliest
convenience.
Thank you for considering this proposal, I look forward to meeting with you soon.