Eye-tracking-based process diagnostics in a metal roofing sheet factory
Industrial manufacturer from Central and Eastern Europe, specializing in metal sheeting for roofs and facades (metal roof tiles and corrugated sheet metal), with integrated production and logistics/warehousing operations.
Confidential case study — anonymized. Full details available under NDA upon request.
2 weeks. Operators wore eye-tracking glasses during normal activity — measuring what they actually did, minute by minute.
DILO + RACI + Pareto analysis. Full 23-step process map and raw-material consumption structure.
New identification/storage methodology (Kanban, 5S, Visual Management); activities redistributed across roles.
8 weeks tracking efficiency, cost, and delivery KPIs against baseline — impact validated with data.
| Objective Finding | Measured Value |
|---|---|
| Share of actual production time within the total production cycle | 53% (remainder: 25% set-up, 11% packaging, 11% waiting/correction) |
| Average time spent searching for a raw material coil on the production floor | 6 minutes |
| Average time to prepare and load a new coil | ~19–20 minutes |
| Share of actual collection time within warehouse picking time | 59% (remainder: 30% relabeling, 11% correction) |
| Actual concentration of raw material consumption | 22 coil types = 90% of volume consumption; 5 types = 50% — information not previously structured |
| Objective Finding | Measured Value |
|---|---|
| Quantity productivity / hour (pilot week vs. baseline week) | +17% |
| Metal roof tile line efficiency (before → 3 weeks after implementation) | ~45% → 94% |
| Number of line operator activities (new process vs. initial process) | -42% |
| Overall production cost/efficiency KPI (baseline → month after implementation) | ~68% → ~90% |
| Delivery KPI — actual vs. planned (baseline → after implementation) | below 50% → stabilized at ~80% |
The difference from a conventional operational consulting intervention was not the improvement methodology itself — Kanban, 5S, and RACI are well-known tools. The difference was the starting point: instead of interviews and managerial assumptions about where time was being lost, the diagnostic began with objective measurement of actual behavior, minute by minute. Eye-tracking showed exactly where operators’ time went — not where management assumed it went — and results were validated with real KPI data over 8 weeks, not merely presented as a theoretical recommendation.