Upstream Value Generation – Applying Kaizen and Lean Methodology to Drive Results and Engage the Workforce

Client Context

A $30+ billion upstream oil and gas company sought to enhance its Continuous Improvement (CI) program to drive cost savings and margin improvements across its mining, upgrading, refining operations, and maintenance processes.

The company already had 25 CI practitioners delivering solid results but wanted to further develop their skills and achieve breakthrough improvements. EFESO was engaged to coach these internal leaders and implement a structured, fact-based certification program over a two-year period.

After three years, the initiative has positioned the company to generate $150 million in cost savings and margin improvements.

Key Challenges

• Capacity constraints in key process areas, including heavy loaders, boilers, and load/off-load racks, due to chronic downtime.
• Low maintenance productivity, with wrench time at 40 percent and inefficiencies in work execution and coordination.
• High contractor costs, with embedded contractor headcount at 70 percent of internal base maintenance staff.
• Lack of standardized performance management, causing inconsistencies in leadership execution.

Approach & Key Success Factors

EFESO partnered with the client’s CI team to deploy Kaizen and Lean methodologies focused on driving measurable financial impact:

1. Deployment of a Project Value Assessment Tool

Developed a structured tool to evaluate potential CI projects, prioritizing those with the highest financial and operational impact based on criteria such as:

• Equipment uptime
• Labor productivity
• Material and rental costs
• Contractor costs
• Safety, regulatory, and environmental impact

2. Debottlenecking & Throughput Optimization

• Mapped end-to-end value streams for truck scheduling, crushing, and equipment maintenance.
• Applied Cycle Time Compression (SMED) techniques, reducing hauler turnaround time by 20 to 25 percent.
• Led structured root cause analysis on crusher downtime, achieving a five-point increase in uptime.

3. Leader Standard Work for Shop Leaders

• Designed standardized workflows for supervisors, superintendents, and managers.
• Implemented visual management tools to track daily leadership activities.
• Improved accountability and efficiency at all organizational levels.

4. Visual Performance Boards at Maintenance Shops

• Launched Lean Boot Camps to train mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation teams in 5S, Visual Management, and Flow principles.
• Teams designed SQCD (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery) Boards to track KPIs and daily improvement actions.

Results

SQCD boards improved communication and alignment, reducing first-start times from 60 to 30 minutes.

25 %

Elimination of execution barriers improved maintenance wrench time.

$10 million

Hauler uptime improvements generated in business value.

Rapid Improvement Projects (Kaizens) and other CI initiatives delivered over $50 million in 18 months, reaching $150 million in total cost savings.

This initiative not only delivered tangible financial results but also strengthened the company’s CI leadership capabilities, ensuring long-term sustainability of improvements.