Case study deck · 9 slides
Paints & coatings
A unit of a leading global paints & coatings player
The challenge
There was no benchmark for how long a changeover should take or how many hands a batch needed, so every headcount conversation was an argument between two guesses. The harder problem was honesty: a floor that knows it's being watched runs by the book, and existing norms had only ever been checked against a calm Tuesday day shift, never a night handover or a short-crew week.
The approach
We spent time on trust before tracking a single task, looping supervisors in early so they had a stake in the numbers being accurate. Once that held, we logged task-level activity across roughly 80% of running batches to derive draft norms per activity. Because a norm built on average conditions breaks on a bad day, we simulated every draft against night handovers, batch-size swings and short-crew shifts before anything went live.
What we built
We redesigned the workflow around the model, then built the pieces that make it run every day.
Activity-wise task log covering ~80% of batches, by role and station
Manpower norms per activity, derived from observed task time
Shift/edge-case simulation against handovers and short-crew scenarios
SOP and training rollout translating norms into a floor staffing guide
Inside the build
How activity-level floor observation turned into shift-tested manpower norms, from first walk-through to plant recognition.
Tools & systems
Floor trust-building
Consultants walked the line with supervisors, explaining the purpose of observation before recording a single task.
Unstaged task tracking
Logged task time and role coverage across roughly 80% of running batches without altering shift routine.
Norm derivation
Built per-activity manpower norms from observed task time across mixing, filling, packing, and QC.
Shift & edge-case simulation
Ran draft norms against night handovers, mid-run batch-size changes, and short-crew scenarios before rollout.
Training & SOP rollout
Converted validated norms into shift-level SOPs and ran supervisor-led training across all shifts.
Internal recognition
The unit received an internal award from Asian Paints for cost optimization following the sustained man-hour reduction.
Results
Significant reduction through data-backed manpower reform
Of batches tracked at task level to build the norms
Norms simulated across shifts and exception scenarios before rollout
Recognized by the parent company for excellence in cost optimization
How it stuck
The norms held because supervisors had seen the raw data and argued the edge cases before rollout, so there was no credibility gap to close. Six months in, the plant used the same benchmarks to catch a new packing-line bottleneck on its own, without calling us back.
“We stopped guessing at headcount and started staffing to what the batch actually needed. That's the part that stuck.”
Plant Manager, Production Unit
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