In the world of canned seafood and fish, Jealsa stands out as a business group that has achieved a balance between production efficiency and employee well-being. Alejandro Bernardo García, a member of Jealsa, takes us through the company’s Lean transformation, highlighting how they have integrated employees into the production system and significantly improved their processes
Jealsa, a giant in canned food production
Jealsa, with its global presence and an annual production of 1.3 billion units, is an undisputed leader in the canned seafood and fish sector. With seven industrial plants across the globe, the company has proven its ability to manage large-scale operations while maintaining high standards of quality and safety.
The decision to implement Lean
The implementation of a Lean management system at Jealsa emerged from the need to organise a large-scale and complex industrial plant. The company aimed to focus on what truly matters: improving productivity and the efficiency of its production lines.
“Truly focusing on what matters. Driving actions through PDCAs and striving to improve productivity and the efficiency of production lines.”
The Human-Centred Lean approach at Jealsa
The most significant factor in Jealsa’s adoption of Lean was its focus on employees. Fully integrating the workforce into the production system has been key to the success of the project.
“What truly drove us to implement this system was involving people and ensuring they were fully integrated into the entire production system.”
Project Results
The implementation of the Lean system has led to tangible improvements in efficiency and productivity. However, the most noteworthy achievement has been the effective integration of employees into the production system, enhancing communication and problem-solving in daily operations.
“The greatest achievement of this project has been integrating people into a production system—truly listening to them, actively engaging with them.”
Collaboration with SGS PRODUCTIVITY
“Because it’s a company that understood us from the very beginning… We have a tailor-made management system thanks to them.”
The choice of SGS PRODUCTIVITY as a partner in this process has been essential. Their personalised and adaptive approach has enabled Jealsa to develop a tailor-made management system suited to its specific needs.
What can we learn from Jealsa?
Jealsa’s transformation through the Lean system, with a people-centred approach, perfectly illustrates how innovation and respect for employees can go hand in hand. This evolution has not only improved processes and efficiency, but has also strengthened the human core of the company, preparing it for future challenges in a competitive global market.
“Thanks to Lean, we’ve been able to integrate people into a production system—truly listening to them, actively engaging them, ensuring they feel comfortable in their workplace, and enabling them to critically analyse the problems that arise in our day-to-day production. This allows us to escalate issues and actions, and ultimately resolve them in an organised and highly effective way.”
Meet Alejandro Bernardo García, team member of Jealsa
Alejandro holds a degree in Chemistry and a Master’s in Triple Management Systems. He has experience in various companies within the industrial sector, where he has led projects focused on process improvement, cost reduction, and environmental impact mitigation.
He has implemented Kaizen improvement systems and led projects aimed at enhancing efficiency and productivity.