Farming - Flowers

Sun Valley Group (SVG) is one of the largest flower growers in the United States. The Head Office and main farm is located in Arcata California, north of San Francisco. Its other main farm is located in Oxnard, California, north of Los Angeles. The PVA Continuous Improvement Project was scheduled for 28 calendar weeks. The project was conducted in both Arcata and Oxnard.

PRIORITY OBJECTIVES:

As a result of 2008 Immigration issues, SVG lost approximately 80% of its 10 years + experienced work force including Team Leaders (supervisors) overnight.

This led to the main objectives of the project being:

• To train the newly promoted Team Leaders for pro-active behaviors
• To develop and implement a comprehensive Management Operating System (MOS) to support the newly trained Team Leaders in managing their areas
• To increase overall productivity by 29%
• To increase production volumes (Yield) by 5%
• To install a culture of continuous improvement

PVA’S RESPONSE:

Master Schedules were developed and implemented in all farm areas to ensure proper crewing as per the Planting Plan. Daily Mid-Day Reassessment Activity/Meetings were implemented to adjust crewing at mid day as per remaining volumes in the field to be picked. A daily shift Kick-Off Meeting and Agenda was implemented in all areas to ensure that work was assigned with the right expectations and that the Team Leader tours ensured follow-up on the attainment of short term objectives.

All activities on the farm including crop tending, general work, etc, which otherwise were not being tracked were observed and a standard was developed to hold people accountable. Key communications were implemented with reports focusing on Key Operating Metrics which have meaning for everybody (stems/man-hour). All training material was translated into Spanish and sessions were conducted both in English and Spanish at the same time.

All floor Management Operating System (MOS) elements were developed both in English and Spanish as required by the Team Leaders. Floor elements were also developed so that, although there were poor abilities in regards to reading, writing, math, and computers, the user would still get the activity completed and collect the required information. A Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) structure was implemented to ensure timely identification and resolution of operational issues. Yield improvement measures were focused on Picking versus Planting only.

PROJECT RESULTS:

4 week roll productivity improvements attained 100% of the planned improvement levels for the Arcata and Oxnard locations.

Best practices related to picking and handling activities have been implemented which are having a positive impact on Yield. These are being continually “audited” for compliance in order to sustain both quality and yield improvements.

Sun Valley Group now manages their operations on a timely basis utilizing the various elements of the Management Operating Systems implemented across the farms. Master Schedules are used to plan every single activity in the operations. The flow of communication between key players has a structure and is conducted daily/weekly as required. Work process issues are being identified and solved in a methodical and structured manner through the CIP initiative.

Behaviors of the Team Leaders at the point of execution are now proactive, and the Perpetuation (Coordinator) program has been implemented to drive a culture on continuous improvements.

Bunching lines were balanced. Planting machines were rescued from non-utilization and brought back to production reducing overall labor requirements.

PERPETUATION OF RESULTS:

A detailed Perpetuation Schedule was developed and transferred to the President and CEO, as well as to the Coordinators. The Perpetuation Schedule is geared to ensure a continuation of improvements and it provides a solid list of the activities that need to be completed organization wide for the sustainment and continued advancements of the implemented behaviors and Management Operating Systems.

Through the Continuous Improvement and Audit phases, PVA continues to support and follow-up with SVG on the proper and timely completion of these tasks and review it both with the Coordinators and the President and CEO on an ongoing basis.