Process Excellence At Sellafield Ltd Capenhurst Site Case Study

Process Excellence at Sellafield Ltd - PEX Network Case Study

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Process Excellence at

Sellafield Ltd

Capenhurst site Process Excellence Network Case Study

2012 Europe Process Excellence Award Winner

“Honorary Mention - Best Project Over 90 Days”


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CASE STUDY: SELLAFIELD LTD AWARD WINNING PROJECT – HOW ONE LITTLE IDEA CAN BE WORTH £1.2 MILLION

CONTEXT & PROJECT OVERVIEW:

Sellafield Ltd manages the process of decommissioning, reprocessing, nuclear waste management and fuel manufacturing activities on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The Capenhurst site is split into two, one owned by the NDA and the other by Urenco UK Ltd. The NDA site is operated by Sellafield Ltd and consists of available internal and external storage space.

Capenhurst also stores safely and securely the bulk of the UK's inventory of depleted uranium and uranium hexafluoride, products that are potentially reusable in the nuclear fuel cycle, subject to UK government policy.

Sellafield Ltd's employees also have valuable skills and experience in waste characterisation, recycling and disposal, which have been acquired during Capenhurst's drive to become the UK's first nuclear licensed site to complete it's main plant decommissioning programme.

The site is now investigating how it can maximise these assets - land, uranic materials, people - in order to accelerate overall hazard reduction, and generate greater value for the UK taxpayer.

In October 2010, Capenhurst launched a project aimed at increasing the efficiency of the process for packaging uranium prior to shipment to a secure storage facility.

This project generated £1.2 million in savings and has accelerated the rate at which the radioactive material can be disposed.

Sellafield Ltd’s award winning Waste Management Operational Improvement Project came about as a result of the ‘Capenhurst Idea generation scheme,’ a scheme that is based on the principle that the staff closest to the work are the best placed to identify opportunities for improvement.

For their work and results, the Waste Management Operational Improvement Project won an honorary mention in PEX Network’s Process Excellence Awards for Best Project Over 90 Days.

The Pan-European award recognises improvements in manufacturing or service and transactional environments using Lean, Six Sigma or any other recognised Process Excellence tool and was judged on the ability to prove their operational and business results as well as clarity in execution throughout the process.


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Disposal containers

THE PROJECT

In March 2011, changes were expected in the UK around waste disposal permits. What this meant was uncertainty around whether and how the company could send waste to the normal disposal facilities.

As Gerry Mullen, Sellafield Ltd Operations Manager, explains: “The changes would mean changes to what we could send and how we could send it.”

Depending on how the permit was changed, it could mean large amounts of radioactive waste would have had to remain on site.

The problem was that the existing process for packaging of uranic materials – the by-

products from the site’s history as a uranium processing facility - required vast amounts of time.

In particular, the process for preparing uranium for shipment to storage sites located in other parts of England was identified to be a bit of a bottleneck. A lot of time and manual handling was required in order to prepare the containers for shipment – every container needed to be grouted both before and after the materials were loaded, with additional time spent waiting for the concrete to dry.

In all, it took nearly eight full working days to get one container ready for shipment.

The company urgently needed to find a way to safely speed up the efficiency of this process in order to meet the March 2011 deadline. “We’re like a small family here at Capenhurst,” explained Gerry. “So when management came to us and said that they wanted us to ship as many ISO’s [containers] as possible before March 2011, we looked at it as a challenge and said ‘we don’t know if we can do it, but we’ll try.”

It was a stiff challenge as time was tight and regulations around the disposal and storage of hazardous materials are strict.


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AN INSIGHT WORTH A MILLION: INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL MAINWARING

Michael Mainwaring is an Operations Team Member at Sellafield Ltd’s Capenhurst Site. He works primarily to prepare the hazardous waste for shipment. It was his idea to use Bentonite in place of grout to prepare the containers for shipping, which helped contribute to over £1.2 million in savings.

What gave you the idea to use Bentonite instead of grout?

We were already using Bentonite in a small part of the process and I thought that it was something that would take less time to use than grout and it would also mean less manual handling and fewer man hours. It seemed like a good idea, which is why I submitted it to the Capenhurst ideas generation scheme.

What impacts have you seen in your area as a result of the improvement?

Apart from the benefits of making it faster and more efficient to package up uranium, it’s been really great for staff morale. We really feel like we’ve been listened to and it was also nice to be rewarded and recognized for our idea.

Do you think Capenhurst Ideas Generation Scheme has been successful?

I think it’s been a very successful programme. It really helps us feel involved and I think it also shows us that management believes we have really good ideas.

A fishbone analysis had identified that the biggest problem was the time spent waiting for the concrete to dry. But the solution to the problem didn’t come from either Six Sigma or Lean tools. It came from an observant Operations Team Member who knew the process inside and out.

“We were using Bentonite in a small part of the process and I thought that it was something that would take less time to use than grout,” said Michael Mainwaring, an Operations Team Member who has worked for Sellafield Ltd since 2008.

Michael submitted his idea to use Bentonite to the Capenhurst Ideas Generation Scheme, an employee suggestion scheme.

The idea was identified to be sound and the project team decided to move quickly forward. The team had to involve representatives from not just the operations team but several other departments – including procurement in order locate appropriate levels of supply to fulfil the process.

“Using the Capenhurst Workout process every department was focused on this improvement,” said Gerry Mullen. “The real key to success in what we achieved was that everyone really rallied around and did what they had to do to make it happen.”

Gerry attributes the fact that so many different departments were able to come

“There’s none of this notion of ‘it’s not my problem. Everyone who works here is part of process improvement.” – Gerry Mullen


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The project generated over £1.2 million in savings

The project had to involve many different departments as well as the supply chain.

together to the culture at Capenhurst. The site is relatively small, with around 90 full time employees and an additional 45 agency workers. The company has also been using Lean methods for the last couple of years with an aim of really involving all employees in process improvement.

“Since we’ve been using Lean we’ve seen real improvements and we’ve really been able to involve everybody employee in improvement. We really try to ensure that every really understands the big picture and the problem. And when they can see the benefit to themselves it really makes a difference,” said Gerry. “So when we’re faced with a challenge everyone really pulls together because we can all see the impact and benefits of working together. There’s none of this notion of it’s not my problem.”

Gerry adds that the additional benefit of creating a culture where all employees feel involved is that it helps make his job easier.

“While I may only have ten full time Operations Team Members plus the Operations Team Leaders, with the way that

we’ve approached Lean improvements, everyone who works here is part of process improvement,” he says.

RESULTS:

The waste management project was completed to scope and to deadline and achieved the following key results:

Contributed £1.2M towards site efficiencies target of £2.1M

Created a new streamlined process

Removed waste off site – reducing operational waste storage foot print

Increased safety across site through the reduction of site hazards

Improved learning of processes delivering LFE to similar operational projects on the site both now and in the future

Recognised by management organisation as a company benchmark for operational improvement projects


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Outstanding Results: The team has been awarded Team of the Year at Sellafield and were PEX Network’s European winners of the Honorary Mention for Best Project Over 90 Days.

Demonstrated the value of managing a site wide Ideas Scheme

The key point of learning, though, says Richard Brown, was not about the materials used or the process improvement techniques employed. It was about the importance of involving employees in the solutions.

“If you have a problem, the people who have the best ideas on solving it are the ones that are closest to it. It’s not the people sitting up in an office somewhere that are going to dream up a solution – you have to get out on the shop floor and ask the people who do the work what they think,” says Richard.

Michael Mainwaring agrees and adds that the Idea Generation Scheme gave a boost to staff morale. “We really feel like we’ve been listened to and it was also really nice to be rewarded and recognized for our idea,” he says.

For the results delivered, the project and operational team has won several internal awards at Sellafield Ltd including Team of the Month followed by Team of the Year and also became a benchmark standard for other site operations at Sellafield Ltd.

In April 2012 the company received a PEX Network honorary mention for Best Project under 90 days, a Pan-European award judged on operational and business results as well as clarity in execution throughout the process and sustainability of change.


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WHY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IDEAS COME FROM THE SHOP FLOOR

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD BROWN, SITE OPERATIONS TECHNICAL AUTHOR, SELLAFIELD LTD

Richard Brown is a Site Operations Technical Author at Sellafield Ltd’s Capenhurst site. Richard has worked in a number of roles across many of the former plants. This knowledge helps him provide the operations team with the support they require. As well as this Richard is one of the sites Lean Champions. The lean champions are drawn from across all areas of the site who have taken the step to develop their Lean knowledge and are the driving force behind the sites improvement plan.

WHY DO YOU RUN THE CAPENHURST IDEAS GENERATION SCHEME?

We really believe that those employees closest to the process have the best ideas on how to improve it. That’s really the main reason that we run the Capenhurst ideas scheme – to make sure that the brilliant ideas that the shop floor workers have, are able to get heard and implemented. We also wanted to make sure that employees feel empowered to identify those opportunities for improvement and be able to get them heard. Again, it goes back to the fact that those closest to the work have the best ideas on how to improve it.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE CAPENHURST IDEAS SCHEME FROM DEGENERATING INTO NOTHING MORE THAN A SUGGESTION BOX?

We evaluate all the ideas and through our “You Said, We Did” scheme we make it clear where ideas have come from and what was

done as a result of them. That’s an important part of the process – to make sure that people are recognised when they submit a good idea, but also ensure that they

Making sure employees know the result of suggestions is an important part of the Capenhurst Ideas Generation Scheme


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know what their suggestion leads to. It really helps to encourage even more ideas.

When we decide to run with an idea we also give ownership over making it happen to the employee themselves, that way improving the way we work is not something that’s done “to” employees but done with them, and by them.

When we started up the scheme initially, we encouraged employees by offering to donate money to a selected charity if an idea was selected. Now, though, I think employees really see the benefit to them of submitting ideas – and they realize that if they see a problem or have an idea, they’re able to make a difference and help improve things.

CAN YOU TAKE ME THROUGH HOW THE CAPENHURST IDEAS GENERATION SCHEME WORKS?

We have boards set up all over the plant where employees are able to submit their ideas. Those ideas are reviewed regularly by the Team Leaders where they are evaluated and it is decided which ones to follow through on. This can happen as often as weekly.

FINALLY, IF YOU HAD TO SAY THERE WAS ONE KEY LESSON LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT - WHAT WOULD IT BE?

The biggest lesson is that if you have a problem, the people who have the best ideas on solving it are the ones that are closest to it. It’s not the people sitting up in an office somewhere that are going to dream up a solution – you have to get out on the shop floor and ask the people who do the work what they think.

“If you have a problem, the people with the best ideas on solving it are those closest to it. It’s not the people sitting up in an office somewhere that are going to dream up a solution – you have to get out on the shop floor and ask the people who do the work what they think.” – Richard Brown


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ABOUT PROCESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Process Excellence Awards have been established to honour, recognize and celebrate projects that demonstrate true best practices. Entrants are assessed on the use of methodology, business impact, and excellence within the practice of Lean, Six Sigma & Business Process Management (BPM). Judges for the PEX Network awards are assembled of experts and business leaders working in industry.

All full list of European award winners 2012 can be obtained on PEX Network.com.

http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/process-excellence-news/press-releases/winners-announced-at-european-process-excellence-a/


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ABOUT US

WHAT IS THE PROCESS EXCELLENCE NETWORK?

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The Process Excellence Network has a membership of 80,000+ process professionals with an additional 20,000 connected to us via our social networks and a global contact database of over 450,000.

In addition to online resources, PEX Network organises 30+ targeted face-to-face events globally per year with industry specific focuses on Financial Services, Telecoms & Utilities, and Energy. We also hold major cross industry summits on process excellence in Orlando, FL (PEX Week) and in London, England (PEX Week Europe) every January and April.

CONTACT US

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ABOUT THE EDITOR

Diana Davis is editor of PEXNetwork.com and follows trends in process excellence including Lean, Six Sigma, and BPM. She worked previously as a producer with Associated Press Television News and she has also worked in marketing and business development in the software industry. Davis holds a Master's in International Journalism from City University, London and a BA in English from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She can be reached on [email protected].

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Process Excellence At Sellafield Ltd Capenhurst Site Case Study