Case Studies

Read our in-depth accounts of how customers have reduced scrap, waste and rework using Hertzler software.

  • Setting the "data jockey" free
    By automating reports and eliminating the role of “data jockey”, the Valeo team has dramatically reduced the cost and effort required to serve their customers. They’ve increased the reliability of their data and as a result, their credibility with the customer. The automated reports have also enabled them to anticipate or identify problems much earlier and thereby become much more proactive. The team expects that this will contribute to ongoing improvements in the supplier / customer relationship, which will in turn lead to both repeat and new business.

  • Creating a data-driven, fix-to-root-cause culture
    “Obviously if the yield is better you don't have to repair defect product. And then the scrap and inventory carrying cost savings per month follow. That’s all driven by the yield.” By building product right the first time, Crown nearly eliminated a substantial ‘hidden factory’ that took a substantial amount of time and held up work in process.

  • Reduce Risk and Cost with Lean & Quality - Video Presentation
    Larry Coburn, Senior Vice President of Operations at Crown International describes the audio amplifier's lean quality journey at the 2008 Aberdeen Manufacturing Excellence Summit.

  • GainSeeker Suite turns art into science at baking company
    A cover story in Quality Assurance Magazine describes how the Process Improvement Team at Consolidated Biscuit Company uses GainSeeker Suite to make baking a science. By applying Statistical Process Control to production processes the largest privately-held bakery in the country has improved consistency and better cost control.

  • Real-time Data Drives a Hole-in-one
    The current issue of Plastics Business magazine examines Hertzler customer Acushnet Company in this feature story. Acushnet is the maker of the number one ball in golf: Titleist. According to Ken Welchman, Director of Corporate Quality, “When you are The #1 Ball In Golf, everyone is gunning for you. In order to maintain our competitive advantage, we need to improve our products and services every day. The quality of our products is judged every day by the best golfers in the world.”

  • Hormel Foods Weight Control Program - Video Presentation
    In this live video presentation, Marty Slagel, Corporate Staff Quality Engineer, describes how Hormel Foods implemented real-time weight control across their corporation.

  • Acushnet Supplier Improvement Program - Live Podcast
    In this live podcast from the IQPC Six Sigma Summit on January 30, 2008 in Orlando, Florida, Ken Welchman, Director of Quality, Golf Ball Operations at Acushnet Company, describes how the company (makers of Titleist Golf Balls) has built their Supplier Improvement Program around GainSeeker Suite.

  • Walking the talk - How Micropump built a comprehensive data system to empower their people with data
    While you'd be hard pressed to find a Six Sigma Black Belt who would say that data is not important, our actions often speak louder than words. Too often projects are scoped using estimates, and Black Belts and Green Belts scramble to find data to quantify the problem. This article describes how the Six Sigma effort at Micropump and Hertzler Systems' software solutions have come together to yield outstanding results.

  • GainSeeker OPC solution boosts OEE from 65% to 75%
    New features in GainSeeker Suite V7.2 speed integration with process control systems, result in substantial payoff for Hertzler customer.

  • Down time analysis reduces waste
    Automated down time analysis helps auto supplier reduce waste, improve throughput and increase productivity.

  • Controlling Net Contents and Reducing Give-Away
    How the second-largest privately-held cookie and cracker producer in the US made their balance sheet smell as good as the cookies they bake.

  • McCormick Flavor Division reduces overpack and material costs by 10-30%
    McCormick Flavor Division saves 10-30% annually in material costs by using GainSeeker to collect overpack data. By statistically monitoring and controlling fill weights, the company is able to reduce variation and shift the average overfill closer to the target weight. This translates into significant cost reductions and increased profitability.

  • Building a Six Sigma Measurement System in Financial Services
    Deploying Six Sigma in a service or transactional environment usually entails working with various information systems, which may seem “data rich” at first glance but are, in fact, data poor due to their design and implementation. This case study looks at one company’s experience deploying and implementing a set of Six Sigma projects within the context of a robust data systems infrastructure – the establishment of which is a fundamental first step in developing an effective transactional Six Sigma initiative. With such an infrastructure in place, projects can proceed more rapidly and with greater success.