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Case Study - Ben and Jerry SPC

Ben & Jerry's uses high quality ingredients and strict standards to ensure consistent ice cream quality. They previously used a paper-based quality tracking system that was slow and inefficient. Ben & Jerry's deployed the InfinityQS ProFicient system to automate real-time data collection and analysis across production lines. This identified opportunities to improve processes and reduce raw material waste, saving costs while maintaining product quality. Reports now generate instantly, improving efficiency.

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MohamadDanielBinYaacob
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242 views

Case Study - Ben and Jerry SPC

Ben & Jerry's uses high quality ingredients and strict standards to ensure consistent ice cream quality. They previously used a paper-based quality tracking system that was slow and inefficient. Ben & Jerry's deployed the InfinityQS ProFicient system to automate real-time data collection and analysis across production lines. This identified opportunities to improve processes and reduce raw material waste, saving costs while maintaining product quality. Reports now generate instantly, improving efficiency.

Uploaded by

MohamadDanielBinYaacob
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CASE STUDY:

Ben & Jerrys Ensures Consistent Product Quality in Every Pint

Ben & Jerrys is a Burlington, VT-based corporation,

and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever. The company produces


a wide variety of super-premium ice cream and ice cream novelties,
using high-quality ingredients including milk and cream from family
farmers who do not treat their cows with the synthetic hormone
rBGH, eggs from hens on Certified Humane cage-free farms, and
brownies from Greyston Bakery, a social enterprise in Yonkers, NY.
Founded in 1978 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the company
now has just over 500 employees and nearly 700 Scoop Shops
worldwide, with manufacturing operations at facilities in Waterbury,
VT, and St. Albans, VT, as well as some production lines at the
Unilever plant in Henderson, NV.
Offering beloved flavors such as Phish Food, Cherry Garcia, Chunky
Monkey and more, Ben & Jerrys products are distributed in over
35 countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores,
franchise Ben & Jerrys Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues.

Challenge
Ben & Jerrys maintains the strictest standards of product quality to ensure its customers get the full flavor experience
each time they enjoy a pint or cone of Vermonts finest ice cream. This attention to detail can be seen from cow to
cone, as the company says, meaning that each step of its supply chain from suppliers and distributors to manufacturing
operations must comply with the companys three-part mission statement, which emphasizes product quality, economic
reward and a commitment to the community.
Focusing on its manufacturing operations, Ben & Jerrys maintains quality procedures for key performance indicators
(KPIs) that ensure consistent product quality for every pint produced. To track quantitative data, the ice cream
manufacturer had previously been using a paper-based system, which was proving to be cumbersome for operators and
data administrators alike. Operators would take individual readings and calculate an average of those readings to plot
on a paper chart. Quality assurance personnel would then perform manual calculations to compute trends and create
reports.
This system was not only slow and inflexible, but also costly in terms of man hours required for calculation and analysis.
Ben & Jerrys needed a fast and reliable way to collect and analyze the vital quality data of its super-premium ice cream
products.
What sets Ben & Jerrys apart from our competitors is not only our insistence on high-quality ingredients, but also the
extra and unique flavors we use to create a euphoric customer experience. Ensuring the final product reflects the passion
and quality that we put into each pint required a quality solution that emphasized the same attention to details that we
do. said Melissa Corcia, quality manager, Ben & Jerrys.

InfinityQS International, Inc. | Washington DC | Seattle | London | Beijing |Shanghai | www.infinityqs.com

Solution
Ben & Jerrys decided to deploy InfinityQS ProFicient enterprise quality hub to streamline its quality control procedures.
Powered by a statistical process control (SPC) analysis engine, the system easily automates data collection and integration
from terminals on the shop floor, while its real-time monitoring and analysis functions enable the quality department to
acquire Manufacturing Intelligence by tracking variability across each production line.
Because each line has a different run capability, Ben & Jerrys created run charts within ProFicient based on Six Sigma
data collected on the plant floor to determine variations specific to each individual line. By measuring, monitoring and
controlling four main product attributesweight, volume, air addition and inclusion amountsas the pints come off
the production lines, quality teams can work with production to quickly make adjustments in real time as products or
processes approach specification limits.
Quality teams can also compare the data acquired through visual cut-upsa process where a pint is cut into quadrants
to ensure the proper amount of inclusions appear in each servingto the run capability data in ProFicient to identify the
source of any variability in inclusion or variegate distribution and volume as identified during the cut-up.

By utilizing InfinityQS ProFicient to implement SPC and Six Sigma best practices across
our manufacturing processes, Ben & Jerrys will continue to identify opportunities for
cost savings and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. The result is the
perfect pint for our customers.
- Nina King, Quality Supervisor, Ben & Jerrys

Results
Since implementing InfinityQS ProFicient, Ben & Jerrys has used Manufacturing
Intelligence to identify instances to improve run capability and raw material
usage. Because high-quality ingredients are typically high priced (up to $800
for a single barrel of swirl), the ability to fine tune processes with more precise
specification limits results in less raw material variation, increased cost savings
and a higher quality product for the consumer.
Furthermore, with ProFicients advanced reporting suite, the ice cream
manufacturer is saving a significant amount of time by eliminating manual
calculations and time-consuming report creation. Reports now run in seconds
as opposed to the eight to 10 hours that quality assurance personnel previously
spent calculating data. Operators have dramatically reduced paper usage and
can better focus on improving production processes and efficiency.
Nina King, quality supervisor, Ben & Jerrys, said, By utilizing InfinityQS ProFicient
to implement SPC and Six Sigma best practices across our manufacturing
processes, Ben & Jerrys will continue to identify opportunities for cost savings
and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. The result is the perfect
pint for our customers.

> Manufacturing Intelligence


identified opportunities
for improvement in run
capabilities and raw
material usage.
> Decreased raw materials
variation created cost
savings.
> Ability to tighten
specification limits resulted
in even higher quality
products.
> Advance reporting
capabilities generated
time savings and improved
efficiency.

InfinityQS International, Inc. | Washington DC | Seattle | London | Beijing |Shanghai | www.infinityqs.com

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