CASE STUDY: Nelson Forests Limited

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Boasting a well-established, high quality, forest estate Nelson Forests Limited (NFL) are producers of high density, quality wood products.  Their predominant resource is Radiata Pine. 60% of log production is processed locally with the remainder exported to Asia.

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NFL were seeking to improve their operational practices and chose to undertake some awareness and best practise training followed by coaching support from Intent. NFL were supported by their industry training organisation Competenz (previously FITEC), through an NZQA approved level 2 programme in Competitive Manufacturing.

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THE SOLUTION: Lean 4×4 Exercise and Business Assessment

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To engage staff and managers, as well as assess NFL’s operational performance, Intent organised a Lean 4 x 4 simulation exercise, including a business capability assessment.

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With the needs of the business clearly understood and prioritised, a road map of improvement activities was established. Intent Group provided tools and coaching in 5S, problem solving, visual management and continuous improvement systems. They also offered clear direction to give the business confidence with its next steps. Within weeks the site performance metrics were improving with greater throughput rates, less rework and more reliable delivery performance.

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THE RESULTS:

• Business needs defined and prioritised

• Workplace organisation and problem solving has reduced downtime and increased output

• Less rework and damage as product is only handled once

• Staff more positive about change

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