What a hot end audit is (and is not)
A hot end audit is a structured, on-site, data-and-floor diagnostic of a container glass plant's hot end — from batch house through to lehr exit — producing an EBITDA-ranked punch list, a 30/60/90 implementation plan, and a KPI uplift forecast. It is not a sales call. It does not result in a vendor proposal. It does not require capex to act on the headline findings.
Scope: 6 zones, 8 mechanism families, 24+ defect modes
The six zones a Lean Glass hot end audit walks down:
- Batch house and furnace charging — cullet ratio, raw material consistency, dust control
- Furnace and conditioning — pull rate, redox, refining, working end, distributor, forehearth
- Gob delivery — orifice, shears, scoop, trough, deflector, funnel alignment
- Forming (IS machine) — section timing, blank/blow side mechanisms, mould cooling, plunger
- Hot-end coating — SnCl₄ or MBTC dose, application uniformity, surface check
- Ware handling and lehr — cross conveyor, ware spacing, lehr loader, lehr profile
Vendor-neutral vs OEM-tied audits
Most container glass audits are conducted by consultancies adjacent to OEMs — equipment manufacturers, sensor vendors, or EPCs. The structural conflict shapes findings whether the consultant intends it or not. Lean Glass is independent: no equipment for sale, no commissions, no referrals. The audit is the product. We disclose any prior commercial relationship in writing before quoting.
The deliverable
Four headline outputs:
- Variance map — every checkpoint scored against benchmark plants
- Prioritised punch list — every finding ranked by impact, effort, time-to-fix
- KPI uplift forecast — % pack rate, OEE points, defect reduction, $ EBITDA recovery
- 30/60/90 implementation plan — owner, milestone, KPI by week
Process and timeline
Five days on-site across all crews and shifts, with at least one full job change observed. Two weeks of off-site analysis and benchmarking. Findings workshop with leadership and floor teams. Optional 90-day implementation support.
What it costs
Engagement fees range from $35k to $120k+ depending on plant size, scope (full hot end vs forming-only), and whether 90-day implementation support is included. We quote against scope, not staff days, and disclose all assumptions.
What ROI looks like
Typical findings deliver 3–8 percentage points of OEE uplift and 15–35% defect reduction within 90 days of action. A medium-sized plant ($150M revenue, 15% margin) recovering 5 OEE points realises ~$11M annualised EBITDA from operational findings alone. Payback on the audit is rarely longer than 90 days.