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Improve visibility into all production processes, eliminate the burdensome, time-consuming paperwork, and take frontline worker engagement to a new level.
Deploy QAD Redzone Connected Workforce Solution to improve productivity through a holistic approach to manufacturing processes.
Founded in 1996 out of a family kitchen, Raining Rose is a leading manufacturer of natural and organic body products, known for their utilization of only the highest-quality ingredients. The company has since grown to have roughly 300 employees at two facilities, each over 100,000 square feet, and now manages over 120+ products. The company runs eleven production lines fulfilling thousands of orders daily.
“We mostly manufacture for brands located in the US. They distribute their products both nationally and globally,” said Raining Rose COO, Kyle Hach.
Living by its core values, ASPIRE (Attitude, Safety, Passion, Integrity, Relationship, and Evolve), Raining Rose drives strengthened relationships with customers and employees. The company spares no effort to make its production environment as worker friendly as possible.
“When somebody is visiting our production space for the first time, they cannot believe how bright, colorful, and clean everything is,” noted Hach. “We put a lot of energy into making sure that employees are heard. Here, our workers understand that they’re valued.”
Raining Rose is constantly analyzing its operations, looking for areas of improvement. After additional analysis, Hach and his team decided it was time to further improve visibility into all production processes, eliminate the burdensome, time-consuming paperwork, and take frontline worker engagement to a new level.
“For some time, we were relying on spreadsheets and boards to keep track of everything,” notes Hach. While this approach worked to some extent, visibility and consistency were still below Raining Rose’s high standards.
“Unfortunately, only two people could access the information,” says Hach. “That’s what is happening when you have software systems that don’t talk to each other and are difficult to access and extract data from.”
Continuity was another issue.
“You could walk up to a line to see how we’re performing, but as soon as supervisors walk away, they lose track of what’s going on,” said Hach. “The next shift had no idea what had occurred before them.”
Workforce retention was another problem. Before 2019 the company stayed at 15-25% turnover which was the acceptable industry average.
The Raining Rose team realized that the solution is in a technology platform that would offer a holistic approach to manufacturing processes. After in-depth research, the company decided to adopt a set of QAD Redzone solution modules – starting with Productivity and Compliance.
“It was clear QAD Redzone had already thought through what companies could gain value from, and developed that into the software,” said Hach. “The company brought in a coach that understands manufacturing and has a different view of the process. They taught us not just how to use the product, but also how to use existing information to achieve continuous improvement.”
To establish and maintain a seamless communications channel across the factory floor, QAD Redzone package included tablet-based endpoint devices for frontline workers.
“Our workers, for the first time, got their digital identity – something assembly line employees rarely have,” said Hach. “They got the opportunity to collaborate effectively, send alerts and provide feedback for management.”
Mobile technology helped Raining Rose teams significantly optimize equipment management processes.
“My favorite QAD Redzone Learning Module application feature allows me to walk up to any line and scan a unique QR code,” said Hach. “Immediately, it pulls up every video, every instruction attached to that asset.”
Like with any other software deployment, there were some holdups. Raining Rose and QAD Redzone teams figured out a way to resolve them without falling behind schedule.
“In our labeling area, where we are changing a line every five or six minutes, the operators thought the new system would not be able to help them and wanted to stick with papers,” noted Hach The QAD Redzone coaches persuaded them to try the new system for just a few days. Eventually, they became comfortable with the new way of doing things and smoothly navigating the app.”
In our labeling area, where we are changing a line every five or six minutes, the operators thought the new system would not be able to help them and wanted to stick with papers. The QAD Redzone coaches persuaded them to try the new system for just a few days. Eventually, they became comfortable with the new way of doing things and smoothly navigating the app.
Kyle Hach | COO, Raining Rose
The immediate result was the significant reduction on the reliance of paper document management.
“We got rid of the quality control, pallet, and wrapper management paperwork,” said Dominic McNeese, Raining Rose operations packaging assistant. “All information is in QAD Redzone now. It is easy to look up the datasheet history and find references. Operators don’t have to fumble with spreadsheets. That gives them more energy to make sure their lines are running efficiently.”
QAD Redzone deployment gave the Raining Rose team a single view of the production process, essentially transforming the organization into a visual factory.
“Previously, our main database and a business intelligence system worked in silos,” notes McNeese. “Now we have one point of control that integrates everything, including data collected by the QAD Redzone endpoints.”
But the key benefit was increased worker engagement and satisfaction.
“Once you introduce your workforce to Redzone, nobody wants to go back,” said Hach. “All the information they need is right there at their fingertips.”
For example, looking for work instructions became easier. “We have marked all instructions by specific part numbers,” noted Hach. “The app eliminates the guessing game and prevents you from selecting the wrong option and potentially packing a whole order incorrectly. Now, when the line lead types in a job number, the app immediately pulls up the instruction.”
Raining Rose management now can rapidly inform operators about the latest production changes.
“Once we had to run a new component of deodorant – it had a different shape, a larger stick than normal,” recalled McNeese. “We did a successful trial but were not sure if the next shift would be able to replicate it. So, we took a leap of faith, compiled detailed instructions, and pushed them to our night shift’s mobile devices. It took us about 15 minutes. When we came in the morning, we discovered that the line had been running great the entire night. It has been a huge help and confidence booster.”
Following the deployment, Raining Rose workers’ engagement has gone up. For example, Redzone technology allowed them to rapidly identify weak spots and offer suggestions to fix them.
“Workers are coming up with troubleshooting recommendations literally every other day,” said McNeese. “We film these recommendations right away and add them to the library. Each useful tip gets rewarded with “vendo bucks” for our company store.”
Overall progress is displayed on big screens installed in key areas of the factory floor – an important tool to offer feedback and encourage friendly competition.
“Workers can look up and see their team’s race cart icon chugging along, and they know if they are winning,” said McNeese.
“It’s exciting to see how confident they have become and how engaged,” added Hach. “The employees see that we have put a lot of energy into making sure they are heard. Employees understand that they’re valued.”
As a result of these combined efforts, labor turnover went down dramatically, from the pandemic 50% to just 5% by end of Q4 2022.
“Now that we have identified the issue, I’m confident we will be able to stay within this range,” said Hach. “Every manufacturer has equipment, and every company has employees. How we are able to engage with our employees, and how we are able to effectively work together to maximize equipment, is what makes the difference and impacts retention.”
With QAD Redzone, the company was able to accelerate its continuous improvement processes.
“The results we saw following a Kaizen event we did with QAD Redzone were pretty incredible,” noted Hach. “Our productivity per work hour went up and continues doing so. For example, our equipment availability was hovering around 60% when we started with Redzone in 2019. Now our target is 70%.”
Following the QAD Redzone adoption, Raining Rose has recorded an array of other productivity improvements, including:
Another critical area that does not directly affect productivity is compliance.
“Compliance is critical to our operations and customer relationships,” said Hach. “The fact that we can now see all weak spots can be a curse because everything is visible, but also a blessing, as it allows us to see and correct any issues before they become larger problems. Using the QAD Redzone Compliance Module we can fix problems before they become an issue. Having this visibility is a certain win.”
Raining Rose analysis shows that QAD Redzone deployment was instrumental in driving efficiency and results.
“The solution paid for itself within the first 4 to 5 months,” explained Hach. “And we are factoring in all expenses, not just the annual subscription. Our estimate includes the upfront cost of the installation and all the hardware. These are gains we now expect to see year over year.” “We gained so much from working with QAD Redzone,” concluded Hach. “I would absolutely recommend it to our manufacturing peers.”
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