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From mandatory Saturdays to 24/7, with no uptick in turnover
Milliken & Company
Manufacturing
24/7
transition with no uptick in turnover
10%
growth planned for
4-crew
24/7 structure
The problem
Pandemic demand for PPE fabrics pushed Milliken's two plants to 5.5 days a week, with mandatory Saturday overtime every other weekend. Burnout and turnover followed. With 10% more growth planned, the plants were not using their full capacity, and employees were skeptical of 24/7.
What we did
- Ran objective surveys showing employees wanted predictable schedules and optional overtime
- Fixed Mondays first with a Monday morning start and the same start time each day
- Set consistent shift turnover, startup, and shutdown procedures
- Implemented a Best Equipment Strategy for 24x7 operations with employee buy-in
The results
- No uptick in turnover through the 24/7 transition
- Reduced downtime and relieved bottlenecks between departments
- Higher production and retention
- Optional overtime: those who want it volunteer, those who don't can avoid it
We were able to move through the schedule transition without seeing an uptick in turnover, and while capturing back some of the idle time losses of our previous schedule.
Breanne Buzay, VP of Human Resources, Milliken & Company
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