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96 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2018 and approaching retirement when the factory closed down. In a related story line, Charlie's father was also recently downsized at the local toothpaste factory after being replaced by a ro- bot to reduce costs. Consumer pricing pressure had certainly caused the Batch family to fall on hard times. Side Note: This part of the story was based on personal experiences from Dahl's childhood. The two largest British candy firms, Cadbury and Rowntree, sent so many moles to work in competitors' factories that their spying became legendary. 2 — Reducing Costs Outsourcing After closing the factory, Willy Wonka trav- eled the world looking for a low-cost country (LCC) in which to re-establish his business that would allow him to become competitive again. He was beginning to lose hope, but then Willy reached LoompaLand, where he discovered an entire population of highly skilled and dedicated workers, the Oompa Loompas, who were destined for extinction by the monsters of their na- tive land. So, instead of bringing the facto- ry to the low-cost country, Willy brought the low-cost country to the factory (reshoring)! 3 — Eliminating the Seven Deadly Wastes Defect Waste Jidoka built-in-quality was evidenced throughout the process, with my favorite ex- ample being the team of squirrels performing quality-at-the-source verification in the nut- shelling department. Years of continuous pro- cess improvement has resulted in the develop- ment of a chocolate waterfall that provides an automated, low-cost chocolate mixing system which produces Wonka's world-class "light and frothy" chocolate. Robust statistical pro- cess control and capability study programs have allowed continuous process improve- ment that has resulted in the factory's ability to achieve and maintain the current six sigma level of performance. Motion Waste All the manufacturing processes were de- signed to be highly automated, with each having an advanced technology control cen- ter requiring minimal manpower to operate. Through the 6S methodology, all materials and tools are stored at the source to eliminate inter- nal travel time waste. Every task within each control center has also been ergonomically designed for the Oompa Loompas so that ev- ery control, gauge, and monitor is within easy reach. Waiting Waste Given the vast size of the operation (the larg- est in the world), moving people and product around the factory is quite the task. Queue time (waiting waste) was virtually elimi- nated with the Won- ka-invented flying el- evator, which quickly transports employees and WIP through- out the factory. Lean practices are evident throughout the oper- ation, and the art of chocolate making has de- veloped into a continuous flow manufacturing process. A hovering spaceship sucks up thou- sands of gallons per hour of WIP from the choc- olate river and transports it throughout the fac- tory for real-time subsequent processing. Overprocessing Waste The factory was designed to produce only products featuring qualities that customers not only want, but are willing to pay for. Un- derstanding customer needs and preferences was accomplished by performing a critical to quality analysis of Wonka's products based on voice of the customer feedback. The fantastical manufacturing technology employed by Won-