Royal Canin reinvigorates faltering Abnormality Reporting Program with Weever.

The Challenge: Revitalizing a Broken Process

At Royal Canin’s Lebanon, Tennessee, factory, Abnormality and Deviations Reporting is more than a process—it’s a cornerstone for continuous improvement under the principles of World Class Manufacturing (WCM) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Yet, for Sergei Pinchuk, the Supply Excellence Manager responsible for capability building and coaching, the existing system was failing.

The factory relied on its legacy system and paper forms to manage abnormalities—a cumbersome process that struggled with usability and discipline. Technicians found it challenging to filter issues, track progress, or assign responsibility. The backlog of unaddressed opportunities grew to over 300 unresolved issues, creating significant inefficiencies and missed improvement opportunities.

As Sergei observed, “Nothing got fixed. The lack of discipline and poor usability for action owners left us spinning our wheels.”

Choosing the Right Platform: Why Weever?

In May 2023, Sergei partnered with Weever to reimagine the abnormality reporting process. Weever’s platform stood out for several reasons:

• Structured Flexibility: Unlike overly complex tools, Weever struck the perfect balance. Its customizable templates and intuitive logic empowered users without overwhelming them.
• Ease of Use: For frontline associates reporting issues as they arise, simplicity is critical. Unlike mandatory assigned inspections, associates will not report issues if the process isn’t simple. Weever’s user-friendly interface and Okta SSO integration ensured seamless access and adoption.

Integration with Power BI: Leveraging Royal Canin’s existing Power BI infrastructure, Weever’s API made data visualization and KPI tracking effortless, providing real-time KPIs and insights.

A Rapid Turnaround: Success in 3 Months

In just 90 days, the impact was significant:

• Over 100 abnormalities were logged by more than 60 active users, representing a massive increase in participation.
• Maintenance teams could efficiently evaluate and assign tasks resulting in 100% of issues being evaluated and assigned.
• Automated reporting offered instant clarity on overdue items and action ownership.

With time, the process matured, allowing Sergei to step back. Now, he gets involved only if action items remain overdue for 45 days, which occurs only if parts are backordered —a testament to the program’s newfound efficiency.

Becoming a Regional Leader

By late 2024, the Lebanon factory had achieved remarkable milestones:

• Nearly 3,000 abnormalities were captured.
• A 95% close rate driven by effective workflows and reliable data.
• Recognition as the leading Royal Canin facility for abnormality handling in North America.

Sergei highlights the simplicity and stability of Weever as one of the key contributors to this success, stating, “Weever removed barriers, making it easy for associates to report issues, and the data’s accuracy gave everyone confidence in the process.”

Expanding Weever’s Impact Across the Facility

Inspired by the success of abnormality handling, other departments embraced Weever for various use cases, including:

• End of Shift Reporting
• Behavior-Based Safety Observations (BBSO)
• Sanitation Checklists
• Vacation Requests
• Process Confirmations
• GMP Audits
• CILs and Centerlines
• Scrap Reporting
• And so on…

The results speak volumes. With 6,000+ monthly submissions, the platform saved over 7,000 hours annually, enabling associates and supervisors to focus on high-value tasks. Most importantly, the improved processes are instrumental in driving millions of dollars in savings through continuous improvement.

A Template for Success

Royal Canin Lebanon’s journey with Weever showcases how a user-focused, integrated platform can transform factory-floor operations.

From breathing life into a stalled abnormality reporting process to becoming a North American benchmark for efficiency, the partnership demonstrates what’s possible when the right tools meet the right vision.

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