Reengineering the plant for Lean Production for an Electro-mechanical Manufacturer
A U.S.
based division of a $1B Swiss conglomerate assembles a line of motor control drives and systems for industrial, commercial,
and residential applications. These
drives are used in the building automation, marine, power, transportation, and
manufacturing industries.
In spite of its continued
success in the markets it served, the company had challenges with respect to operational
efficiency. A tour of the
assembly plant revealed an inefficient floor layout, with a lot of
staging, though the assembly processes were automated. We observed a lot of nonvalue added time in
material handling by operators as they “fetched” components from surrounding
areas to begin their assembly work. This
resulted in lost time which had a direct impact on costs, and the income statement. Excessive inventory
resulted in cash tied up on the balance sheet.
The company wished to radically change the way it assembled products, and to be the best in the world. This company wanted to develop its resources and change its culture to a lean production, and Six Sigma environment. The objectives of the assignment were:
We
initially developed the base workcell for the assembly operation that would
eliminate the non-value tasks as much as possible. Once the base work cells were designed, we
then developed the logistical support using Supplier Supermarkets. When that was accomplished we developed the
physical flow for the plant using a new production model to prevent material handling interference
and cross-flow.
When the new plant design was completed, we began the short-term “quick-hitter” activity to reduce throughput time and increase capacity. After 12 weeks of on-site presence we were able to increase capacity in the first workcell by 50%, second cell 37%, and the third cell 50%. We focused in improving both supplier and internal assembly quality. Lean Production training courses were conducted in parallel with our efforts to educate both management and the workforce on Lean Production concepts and implementation. Results are shown above.
The company is in the process of implementing the recommendations.