Increasing Yield & Reducing Energy Losses in an Ammonia Production Plant
Embedding a Culture of Continuous Improvement in a Multi-Line Fertilizer Facility
Obstacles Our Experts Have Transformed into Opportunities
A large-scale fertilizer complex operating ammonia, urea, and nitric acid units had made past efforts to implement Lean—but results were short-lived:
Disconnected KPI Tracking
Operational KPIs were tracked inconsistently and often not linked to actual plant goals
Unstructured Improvement Efforts
Improvement initiatives stalled due to lack of structure and cross-functional ownership
Siloed Team Operations
Teams operated in silos, each solving their own problems without alignment
Lagging Metrics Without Root Cause
Performance reviews focused on lagging indicators (e.g., OEE, rework) with no root cause frameworks
No Frontline Visibility
Frontline employees lacked visibility into daily performance expectations or results The leadership wanted more than dashboards—they needed a culture of operational discipline and problem-solving.
TEEC’s Expert-Led Solution
Our Experts rolled out their Operational Excellence Implementation program to instill structured, sustainable continuous improvement:
What Our Experts Did
Performed a maturity assessment across production, maintenance, and quality functions
Designed and launched a Daily Management System (DMS) with performance boards, huddle routines, and short-interval controls
Embedded Lean Six Sigma tools like 5S, RCA, and PDCA into daily work routines
Trained and mentored supervisors and team leads on facilitating improvement workshops
Linked business objectives to tiered KPIs, ensuring everyone—from control room to GM—was aligned and accountable
This wasn’t just about tools—it was about building people and habits that deliver results consistently.
Execution Approach by Teec’s Experts
They implemented a practical, people-first Operational Excellence (OE) program grounded in daily execution:
- Evaluated existing KPIs, continuous improvement practices, and accountability mechanisms
- Surveyed frontline teams and managers to understand perceptions, gaps, and barriers
- Scored the plant across TEEC’s OE pillars: performance visibility, standard work, problem solving, and engagement
- Built visual performance boards for production, quality, and maintenance KPIs
- Created standard templates for daily shift huddles, short interval control, and action tracking
- Embedded roles and rhythms (e.g., 15-min daily reviews, weekly tiered escalations)
- Rolled out foundational Lean tools: 5S, RCA, PDCA, value stream mapping
- Mentored team leaders to run improvement events (Kaizen) and apply structured problem solving
- Built SOPs and training plans to integrate OE into everyday routines
- Facilitated weekly coaching sessions with team leads and middle management
- Installed ownership dashboards to track shift performance, action closure, and improvement impact
- Created a library of internal success stories to drive momentum and recognition
Results & Impact
Improved throughput by 7% through simplified workflows and issue escalation
Reduced shift-to-shift variability by 36% across three units
Launched 9 internal Kaizen projects—5 delivered ROI within 90 days
Increased frontline engagement: 100% of operators contributed to daily KPI reviews
