Custom Race Car Thermal Suit Producer: Needed to cost and reduce manufacturing cycle time. Assessment was completed and implementation roadmap developed. A new facility layout was developed and manufacturing cells designed with one-piece flow. The roadmap was implemented and the employees trained. Production output increased 54% and manufacturing cycle time reduced from 4 weeks to 4 days.

 

Aerospace and Commercial Forgings Company: A Value Network Map (VNM) was developed for one part family.  A Theory Of Constraints (TOC) analysis of the VNM showed that a group of three departments – Clean, Buff & Burr and Visual Inspect – contributed to approximately 40% of the total door-to-door time for any order.  Analysis showed  by grouping and co-location of the three departments into a manufacturing module, denoted as “CI” in Table 1, CII could significantly reduce transportation costs, WIP and queuing delays. Figure 2 shows the travel distances in the existing facility layout for the flows between the pairs of departments that are listed in Table 1. 

 

Custom Sensor Manufacturer:  Could not reliably meet promised delivery dates. Provided process design for one-piece flow and cellular manufacturing. Simulated performance with a simulation model. Client implemented with oversight from Manufacturing Engineering. Cycle time from 4 weeks to 4 days. On-time delivery achieved in nearly all cases. Net income increase of $2 million, over 4 years.

 

Custom Forge Shop:  Value Stream Map was developed for the flow to identify opportunities for reduction of customer lead time.  Number of inactive dies on the shop floor reduced by 66%. Projected the  flow time for a die for a critical part of the process could be reduced from 15 days to 1 day.  Unneeded shelf space (~410 sq. ft.) was eliminated. Reduced floor space by 270 square feet. Number of steps in the Value Stream reduced from 48 to 32. Total Process Time reduced from 251 minutes to 50 minutes.

 

Specialty Materials Producer: Objective was to reduce cost and improve delivery performance with an improved layout to be implemented at a new manufacturing site. Assessment completed and roadmap developed. Business goals and guidelines were established. Value streams were defined and mapped for the entire business. Developed an understanding of the scheduling and material planning.  Processes were redesigned to achieve flow, reduce cycle time, reduce WIP, and integrate equipment procurement plans. Plant layout was developed and implemented with the move to the new facility. Inventory down $383k, Capacity increased 18%, and labor productivity increased $462,000.