An exciting project has been underway that is helping us take another leap forward in our Veg Box evolution. And it wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise, guidance, and generosity of the incredible team at Toyota.
What does a car manufacturer have to do with a farm, you might ask? The Toyota Production System (TPS) is known worldwide for its focus on eliminating waste, achieving the best possible efficiency, and putting customers/people first. The Toyota Production System Support Centre (TSSC) has been sharing their philosophy with organisations outside of Toyota in Australia for almost 10 years and are now helping us improve how we pack veg boxes.
Years ago, it made sense for Green Connect to pack similar orders together and modify them as needed. But as we have grown to offer more flexibility and variation in what we offer customers (e.g. Pick Your Produce, add-ons, …), this batch packing and subsequent rework was placing a growing physical strain on the team and made it difficult to catch errors.
With Toyota’s guidance, we have now completely redesigned our veg box packing process. Boxes flow smoothly through the system, staff work with comfort and ease, and produce is handled less. Our goal was to make fewer errors and build our capacity to pack more boxes in the same time with the same resources; We’re thrilled that after a few short months, we are exceeding our targets and seeing a range of other benefits too!
The best part was how involved the entire farm team was in the process. As the most experienced packers, Su Meh, Eh Moo, Shay Reh, and Pleh Meh played a leading role in deciding what system would work best for them. Emily and Lindsay updated the administration and set-up procedures to support the changes too. We are excited to keep up the Toyota concept of ‘Kaizen’ (continuous improvement) to continue surfacing and addressing problems in our veg box packing and around the farm for the benefit of our customers and our staff.
Your involvement is important in this process too; we’d love to hear how we’re doing! If you have any issues with or feedback about your veg box, we would love for you to let us know.
Sincere thanks to the incredible Toyota team, especially Richard and Andy, for making this transformation possible. Learn more about their work at https://tssc.com.au/
Lindsay Burlton
Fair Food Coordinator