Case 4: Modess Packaging Process

A Case Study

Submitted to :
Ms. Joy Mari Bautista

Department of Industrial Engineering

Brother Andrew Gonzales, Gokongwei College of Engineering

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course

Methods Engineering Laboratory

Submitted by:
Alegre, Mary Christiene Courtney B.
Cu, Jeffrey T.
Francisco, Kyle Louie K.
Mallari, Cristina Beatrice C.
Ong, Elizabeth Jill L.
Sy, Aaron William P.
Group 1

LBYIE3A - EC3
December 16, 2021
 I. Case/Company Background
Established in 1886, Johnson & Johnson is a multinational corporation that produces a
wide variety of healthcare products. One of their most renowned brands is Modess, which offers
various lines of sanitary napkins. As with any consumer good, the packaging process is a crucial
step in the production of Modess products. The subject of this study is the final packaging
process of Modess sanitary napkins, particularly the package containing 8 sanitary pads. Using a
multiple activity chart (MAC) and left-hand-right-hand (LH-RH) activity charts as tools, the
present process shall be improved upon according to the principles of motion economy.

II. Present System

A. Process Scope
The process is limited to the final packaging process of Modess sanitary napkins, which
begins with the introduction of the produced napkins into the packaging station and ends with the
napkins being packed into carton boxes holding 5 dozen napkins.

B. Process Objectives
The primary objective of the Modess packaging process is to securely pack the sanitary
napkins while ensuring accurate quantities. It must be ensured that the pad products are fully
protected from potential damage during transport, handling, and storage. Since the final
packaging is what potential customers first see, its design must also make the brand recognizable
and appealing to buyers. Although no specific operational targets were publicized by the
company, it is assumed—just as with any production line—that the packaging process must have
maximum productivity and efficiency, and minimize operational costs and all forms of waste.

C. Partitioning & Linkages

There are currently a total of seven workers involved in the system: three plastic packers,
three sealers, and one carton box packer. The plastic packers are responsible for placing eight
individual sanitary napkins into a plastic container; the sealers use a sealing machine to fasten
the plastics; the carton box packer puts the sealed packages into the carton boxes in batches.

The materials and equipment in the packaging process include the sanitary napkins
(single pads), the plastic packaging, sealing machine, carton box, and permanent marker. The
process begins as a conveyor belt dispenses the pads into the assembly line. Eight napkins are
then collected by each packer. While holding the napkins, the packers retrieve the packaging in
front of them and insert the napkins. Once the packaging is filled, the packers drop the package
in an area in front of them. From the collection of packages, the sealers pick up one each, fold
the top, and seal the package using the sealing machine. Once sealed, they remove the excess
plastic and throw the sealed package to the workstation of the boxer. The boxer then collects
five packages and places them into the box. This is repeatedly done until the box is filled with
five dozen packs of eight. After which, the box is closed, taped, and then labeled with a marker.
It must be noted that each of the workers continually performs their tasks throughout the cycle
given the constant availability of their input materials. Tables 1, 2, and 3 display a detailed chart
of the left-hand and right-hand actions for each of the types of workers, while Table 4 displays
the multiple activity chart to depict how the three simultaneously work together.

Table 1. LH-RH activity chart for the plastic packer

Time Cumulative
Left Hand Right Hand
(s) Time (s)

Place single napkins in front 0.45 Place single napkins in front 0.45

Grab 8 napkins 0.63 1.08

————
————
————
————
Hold napkins ————
————
————
0.58 Grab plastic packaging 1.66
————
————
————
————
————
————
Insert napkins in the plastic 0.73 ————
————
———— Hold plastic packaging 2.39
————
————

Drop the plastic pack 0.22 2.61

Table 2. LH-RH activity chart for the sealer

Time Cumulative
Left Hand Right Hand
(s) Time (s)

Grab an unsealed pack 0.26 0.26

Fold the top 1.56 Fold the top 1.82

Place on the machine 0.20 Place on the machine 2.02

————
————
————
————
Hold in place ————
————
————
0.41 Pull down lever 2.43
————
————
————
————
————
————
Remove the excess plastic 0.96 ————
————
————
Hold the lever down 3.39
————
————

0.22 Throw sealed pack to next station 3.61

Table 3. LH-RH activity chart for the carton box packer

Time Cumulative
Left Hand Right Hand
(s) Time (s)

0.70 Grab a pack 0.70

Grab a pack 0.70 Grab a pack 1.40

Grab a pack 0.70 Grab a pack 2.10

Place the packs in the carton 1.10 Place the packs in the carton 3.20

Table 4. Multiple Activity Chart (MAC) for the packaging process

Time (s) Packer Sealer Boxer

0.25 Grab unsealed pack
Place single napkins in front
0.5
0.75
Grab 8 napkins
1
Fold the top Grab 5 packs
1.25
Grab plastic packaging
1.5
1.75
2 Insert napkins in plastic Place on the machine
2.25 packaging
Pull down lever
2.5
2.75 Drop plastic packaging Place the packs in carton
3 Hold lever down and
3.25 remove excess plastic

3.5
3.75 Throw sealed pack to the next station

Working Time

Idle Time
III. Problem Statement

1. Excessive eye focus required for several tasks

As described, packing the napkins in plastic packages requires the first three workers to
grab exactly eight single pads. This task, which involves counting, in addition to moving the
hands, incurs extra time given the temporal requirements of visual inspection. Workers with poor
hand-eye coordination may also have difficulty performing the task and increase the risk of
packaging errors. Similarly, the worker in station 3 is burdened with the task of ensuring that the
packages are correctly oriented as he collects them before being placed into the cartons.

2. Asymmetrical hand motions of the plastic packer

The LH-RH chart in Table 1 reveals that the workers in the first station have to grab eight
napkins using their dominant hand, while the other simply holds the packaging. According to the
principles of motion economy, this lack of symmetry in hand motions increases the amount of
hand-eye coordination required by the worker and consequently, the time to complete the task.
The unbalanced load between the hands is further emphasized given that humans can normally
grasp only four pads using five fingers.

3. Lack of fixed positions for the materials

In terms of the workplace arrangement, it has been observed from the video that the
incoming and outgoing materials for all stations are not properly piled. Workers in stations 1 and
2 simply threw the unsealed and sealed packages, respectively, to the next station area without
specific locations. For some instances, this led to the mixing of the materials and a resultant
increase in the searching time of workers, and a decrease in their productivity.

IV. Problem and System Analysis

Table 5 displays a summary of the LH-RH charts for the three types of workers in the
packaging line. As evident, the amounts of time that each hand is utilized productively for all
activities are unequal between the right and left. The plastic packer uses the dominant hand,
which is the left hand for the particular worker documented, more than the other. The sealers also
used their left hands for a longer time compared to the right. These imbalances can be attributed
to the fact that each hand of these two workers was involved in completely different functions.
For instance, the plastic packers used their preferred hand to grab and hold the napkins, while the
other was used to support the plastic. Similarly, the lever of the sealing machine requires only
one hand of the operator to be held down. On the contrary, the hand motions of the carton box
packer are relatively symmetric with both involved in grabbing the packs and placing them in the
cartons. The numerical difference noted in Table 5 only occurred because the number of packs
collected by the worker is not a multiple of two, requiring an instance where one hand grabs a
pack with the other being idle. Although an efficient work design is generally reflected in an
LH-RH activity chart that has equal effective times between hands, it must be noted that some
tasks in the process cannot be organized in such a manner due to various operational constraints.

Table 5. Summary of the LH-RH activity charts

Plastic Packer Sealer Carton Box Packer

LH RH LH RH LH RH

Effective Time (s) 2.03 1.76 2.98 2.39 2.50 3.20

Ineffective Time (s) 0.58 0.85 0.63 1.22 0.70 --

Cycle Time (s) 2.61 3.61 3.20

From a closer inspection of the individual LH-RH activity charts and the video, several
violations of the principles of motion economy emerge—as briefly explained in the previous
section. These are described as the presence of unnecessary eye focusing, the use of unbalanced
hand motions in packing the napkins in plastics, and the disorderly placement of materials.

According to Groover (2014), eye focus and travel activities must be minimized because
the adjustment of viewing distances and line-of-sights consumes time that can otherwise be
avoided. This is especially applicable to tasks where the motion of the workers heavily relies on
information from their visual senses. Although all tasks involve some level of inspection before
any physical movement, stations 1 and 3 had considerable amounts of such activities that caused
frequent delays based on the video. For station 1, this activity came in the form of inspecting the
number of sanitary napkins held by the worker on her hand, while it involved checking whether
all collected packages are in the upright position for station 3. Several instances occurred when
the workers had to repeat a few steps of their work cycle after detecting deviations. Some
packers who were not able to grab all eight napkins had to insert them in the plastic in two
batches, while the boxer had to flip packages that were upside down. To improve the process,
potential solutions can involve automated inspections, workplace adjustments to aid the worker
in detecting signals, and even eliminating the inspection completely by redesigning the product.

Another principle that was not followed in the process, as expressed earlier, is the equal
distribution of load between the right and left hands of the worker (Groover, 2014). Although
this may sometimes be unavoidable due to the nature of the task, particular attention is given to
the plastic packaging activity, which requires the worker to grab a total of 8 sanitary napkins
using only one hand at once—a noticeably difficult and unnatural task. The struggle of the third
worker at this station, who was most likely inexperienced, was evident as she could not cope
with the work cycle of her co-workers. There is also an increased demand for hand-eye
coordination and focus for an asymmetric work design, which worsens worker fatigue and
decreases efficiency. The improved method must, therefore, consider the use of tools that allow
workers to use both hands simultaneously.

Although not captured in the charts, the lack of organization in the work area was very
evident. Specifically, the materials required by each worker were not placed in designated
bins—a violation of the motion economy principle that all tools and materials must be located at
fixed locations (Groover, 2014). There was no spatial distinction between the storage of unsealed
and sealed packages making it more difficult for the workers at stations 2 and 3 to obtain the
materials they need and even increasing the risk of sealing packages that are already sealed or
worse, boxing unsealed packs. As such, organizing the work area such that the materials have
clear and easily accessible areas of storage can lead to developments in the process.

Table 6. Summary of the Multiple Activity Chart

Plastic Packer Sealer Carton Box Packer

Working Time (s) ~2.75s ~3.75s ~3.25

The multiple activity chart shows that the activities of the three types of operators are
highly parallel rather than sequential—characteristic of an efficient process with minimal idle
times. Because of the continuous nature of the task and very minimal machines involved, the
workers do their tasks continuously with little to no idle time. One thing to consider, however, is
the number of workers assigned for each task which is not considered in the MAC. Nonetheless,
given the unit of product and amount of workers are similar for the plastic packer and sealer, the
 task of sealing can be considered a bottleneck given that it is about 1 second longer than the
packing task for a pack of eight sanitary pads. Excess actions done by the carton box packer such
as taping, marking, and transferring the completed boxes were not considered for the MAC.
Although not included in the MAC, these actions were observed to take up a lot of time relative
to the other tasks. Based on the video, the entire section involving the boxer closing up the box,
taping it, marking it, and transferring it took about 15 seconds. Furthermore, the boxer would
have to travel repeatedly back and forth from the workstation of other sealers to his own to
collect the sealed products.

V. System Design and Recommendations

A. Alternatives

Table 7. Summary of alternatives

Alternative Problem Addressed

Automate the grouping of the napkins in station 1 Excessive eye focus,

using compartments. Asymmetrical hand motion

Excessive eye focus, Lack of

Push the sealed packages instead of throwing them.
fixed positions
Process/Method
Use a small conveyor belt across the table (between Excessive eye focus, Lack of
stations 2 and 3). fixed positions

Box the packages in batches of an even number. Asymmetrical hand motion

Resize the carton boxes. Asymmetrical hand motion

Material Add grip holes to both sides of the carton boxes. Asymmetrical hand motion

Use a softer LDPE for packaging. Asymmetrical hand motion

Create a symmetric design for the plastic packaging. Excessive eye focus

Add poka-yoke features to the plastic packaging. Excessive eye focus

Product
Add an indicator to sanitary napkins dispensed from
Excessive eye focus
the conveyor belt in multiples of 8.

Use safety gloves in the sealing station. Excessive eye focus

Add poka-yoke features to the sealing machine. Excessive eye focus

Tools/Equipment
Use a plastic bag holder stand for station 1. Asymmetrical hand motion
 Excessive eye focus,
Use an automatic tape dispenser.
Asymmetrical hand motion

Lack of fixed positions,

Incorporate gravity feed bins and dividers.
excessive eye focus

Adopt a proper lighting system. Excessive eye focus

Work Area
Increase the space for the workstation layout. Lack of fixed positions

Place the carton box directly in front of the operator. Asymmetrical hand motion

Provide an ergonomic stool for the box packager. Excessive eye focus

a. Process/Method
To address the multiple problems associated with station 1, it is recommended that the
company automates the grouping of napkins using a conveyor belt with compartments that fit
exactly eight napkins. This eliminates the need for the plastic packers to manually count the
products, lessens the required eye focus, and allows them to utilize their hands more evenly.
After the sealing operation, instead of haphazardly throwing the sealed packages, the
method of transport may be done by pushing the packages right side up to the next station. This
reduces the risk of packages turning upside down, and consequently, the need for the carton box
packager to visually inspect them before collection. This also addresses the issue of workplace
organization as it avoids the random stockpiling of products. Alternatively, a small conveyor belt
across the table that ensures uniformity can be used to fulfill the same objective.
As for the boxer, it is recommended that the number of packages collected in each batch
is an even number. This addresses the problem of asymmetric hand motions by effectively
decreasing the idle time of one hand present when the packages are collected in odd batches.

b. Material
To supplement the previous suggestion on holding an even number of packages per round
in station 3, the size of the carton box must perfectly accommodate the new amount. Thus, the
dimensions should be redone to account for these changes, by increasing or decreasing standard
lengths, widths, or heights dimensions horizontally.
Additionally, grip holes can be added to both sides of the carton box to aid in material
handling and even out the load between arms. Holding the box without proper grip contributes to
worker fatigue as the operator has to exert compressive force from both arms to the box when
carrying it (Singh et al., 2008). Adding a handhole design on the carton box also reduces
instances of accidentally dropping the packed box.
As for the material used for the plastic packaging material, it is currently determined
from the video that Modess is utilizing a more rigid and stiff low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
plastic material. It is recommended that a softer, more pliable plastic material such as linear
low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) pouches creates opportunities for the operators in station 2 to
use both hands with more time savings in sealing the packages. Aside from this, it is also lower
cost and higher puncture resistance, tensile strength, impact strength, and stretch than LDPE
(Goswami & Mangaraj, 2011).

c. Product
In terms of the product, Modess can adopt a plastic packaging strategy where the design
is made symmetric. This especially helps the worker at station 3 as it completely eliminates the
need to identify upright orientations, reduces inspection time, and lessens both the eye focus and
cognitive load for the workers. With that said, the labels, signs, or markers in the packaging
should also be integrated just as another feature for the package design so that the customers will
not be able to identify the deviation of the design that they were familiar with—considering the
fact that packaging has an influence on the consumer interest, value perception, assessment of
design specifications, and consumption, with significant implications for consumer experience
and response (Krishna, A., Cian, L., & Aydınoğlu, N. Z., 2017).
Alternatively, poka-yoke markers, such as arrows pointing up, can be added to the plastic
package to indicate the correct orientation. This eases the visual inspection process since there
are easily detectable signals that will reduce the workers’ information load and the risk of errors.
Lastly, indicators can be added to every eighth sanitary napkin that comes out of the
conveyor belt before station 1. Similarly, this helps the workers in the plastic packaging station
in the inspection process as they can easily grab the 8 napkins without counting.

d. Tools/Equipment
Work safety is one of the most important factors to be considered when handling any
operations. In the Modess packaging process, it is observed that the workers, especially the
sealers, do not use any safety gloves even when handling the hot sealing machines. As a burn
hazard, this is potentially dangerous for the workers (Environmental Health and Safety, 2015). It
also requires extra care from the employees, thus demanding greater eye focus and reducing their
efficiency. Using safety gloves that are heat-resistant will ensure the safety of the sealers and
possibly increase productivity.
Aside from this, installing poka yoke features to the machines will reduce the required
focus and increase safety and productivity (Juan Carlos Rubio-Romero et al., 2019). One
poka-yoke feature that can be applied to the sealers is making sure that they are only open an
appropriate amount so that the workers do not need to reach out towards their maximum work
area to close the machine. These poka-yoke features establish communication between the
operator and the system, which offers constructive assistance for operators to minimize errors
(Erlandson, R. F., & Sant, D., 1998).
In addition to using both hands in packing napkins into the plastic bags, a plastic bag
holder stand can be used to keep the plastic bags open. This could further reduce the asymmetry
in tasks for hands since the other hand does not need to hold the plastic anymore. This allows,
once again, for the operator to focus on placing the napkins into the bag using both hands.
Lastly, the carton box packers could benefit from utilizing an automated machine that
dispenses the exact length of tape required to seal the boxes shut. Applying this reduces eye
focus and asymmetrical tasks since the tape roller will not need to be used.

e. Work Area
If the suggestions of conveyor belts are not feasible in terms of cost, gravity feed bins and
dividers could be used in lieu (Singapore Productivity Association, n.d.). This ensures that there
is an organized manner of transferring packages from each station to the next. More importantly,
having separate bins for unsealed and sealed packages reduces searching time since the location
of the items can be expected in a single area. Aside from this, the feed bin outputs and dividers
can also be positioned around the normal work area of an individual to increase work efficiency.
In the video, workers might be suffering from eye fatigue due to insufficient lighting. It is
possible to lessen the eye stress of workers by conducting a proper lighting system. Optimal
lighting can help to reduce fatigue, which can stifle a worker's productivity if prominent. As
such, there should be a comprehensive review of the activity and the operator so that the
appropriate illumination for any given situation can be established (Summers, A. J., 1989).
For the packing space, there would be less congestion in the work area if there were more
space designated for napkin-filled bags. For instance, separate areas for sealed and unsealed
plastic bags may be set since the sealed ones back up and may affect the sealing machine; it is
also difficult to distinguish between the two. With larger space available, it is also advisable to
arrange the layout where the box can be located in front of the operator on top of the table that is
around knee height. This ensures that the carton box packer does not have to turn and twist as
often to transport the contents of the box. Excess plastic bag trays can also be removed since the
workstation lacks space for placing loaded plastic bags.
Finally, ergonomic stools can be given to the operator in station 3. Providing the worker
an appropriate chair minimizes the distance between his workstation and eye level, which
consequently, lessens the need for eye focus when inspecting the orientation of the packages.
Moreover, ergonomic stools will help reduce the risk of musculoskeletal discomforts like back
pain since it is observed in the video that workers tend to slouch the longer they operate in the
production line (van Niekerk et al., 2012; Sadeghi Naeini et al., 2018). This also reduces the
strain in the leg and knee area and physical fatigue experienced by the operator since the operator
does not have to maintain a standing posture for the whole duration of her working hours.

B. Revised MAC

Table 8. Revised MAC for the packaging process

Time (s) Packer Sealer Boxer

0.25 Grab unsealed pack
Place single napkins in front
0.5
0.75 Fold the top Grab even amount of
Grab 8 napkins
1 packs

1.25 Place on the machine and

Grab plastic packaging
1.5 pull down lever

1.75
Insert napkins in plastic Hold lever down and Place the packs in
2
packaging remove excess plastic carton
2.25
2.5 Drop plastic packaging Throw sealed pack to the next station
Table 9. Summary of improvements in the MAC

Working Time (s)

Present Improved Savings

Plastic Packer ~2.75 ~2.5 ~0.25

Sealer ~3.75 ~2.5 ~1.25

Carton Box Packer ~3.25 ~2.5 ~0.75

The revised MAC reflects the various recommendations to improve the process.
However, the effects of recommendations can not be accurately quantified. As such, the
theoretical improvements and reductions made by the recommendations are estimated.
Furthermore, not all the recommendations are factored into the MAC considering that some are
mutually exclusive.
VI. Reference List

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