Material Variance vs. Absolute Waste

Challenge: Supervisors and managers lacked a shared understanding of material variance and absolute waste, making it difficult to diagnose production issues accurately. Problems like excess ingredient usage or physical losses were discussed vaguely as "high costs" rather than as specific, actionable issues.

Solution: I created an interactive eLearning module that clearly defined both terms and demonstrated how to use them together to identify root causes on the production floor.

Results: Managers and supervisors reported greater ability to diagnose inefficiencies and can quickly distinguish between different loss types. This shared understanding enabled more precise problem identification and faster implementation of corrective actions during daily operations.

Part of a broader initiative across Finance and Operations to create a shared vocabulary across SK's four North American manufacturing facilities around waste reduction. The goal was to reduce absolute waste by 3% within one year.