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Case Study  Lean Implementation


        Company Background
        This case study is based on work carried out at a manufacturing and assembly company based in
        the North West of England with 70 employees. The manufacturing area was organised with
        common services (Goods In, Paint Shop and Dispatch) and three dedicated production areas for
        various product lines. Previous Lean/CI activity had included 5s audit display boards, workplace
        flow paths, introduction of kanban totes and some line balancing activity. Much of this previous
        work had not been sustained.


        The BIUK Approach
        A decision was made to carry out an in-depth Lean Diagnostic to identify current status and
        indicate areas for improvement. A summary of the scores is shown below:



                                                         Lean Manufacturing Summary
                                        Quality                                                                     Cost                                                                     Delivery
        5




        4




        3
Score




        2




        1




        0
                                                                                                                                                       Order Levelling




                                                                                                                                                                                                 Flow Manufacturing
                                                           Training




                                                                                      Quick Changeover
                                          Organisation




                                                                                                                                                                         Material Movement
            Quality




                                                                                                              TPM




                                                                                                                                       OVERALL COST
                                                                      QUALITY SCORE
                      Visual Controls




                                                                                                                                                                                                                      DELIVERY SCORE
                                                                                                                           Team Work
                                           Workplace




                                                                        OVERALL




                                                                                                                                          SCORE




                                                                                                                                                                                                                          OVERALL




                                                                                                         Lean Element




                                                                                                                                                      Improvement Through People
An overall score of 51% was achieved against the fifty-five criteria with Quality and Cost scores
being below average while Delivery was above average.

When the above results were combined with detailed area-by-area observation, the following
recommendations were made:

   re-instatement of the 5s programme with regular audits and responsibilities
   review of line side stock levels to create better flow and space utilisation
   consideration of the use of dedicated tool sets for assembly stations rather than several large
    tool boxes
   enhancement of the visual display/information available across all production areas,
    including real time performance display
   analysis of selected processes in terms of muda (the seven wastes)
   more involvement of all process personnel in improvement suggestions and actions (the
    eighth waste)
   consideration of area requirements in terms of storage and visual control of stock
   use of basic SMED principles to reduce changeover times in the Paint Shop
   consideration of the calculation and use of takt time to balance and create flow where
    appropriate


Implementation and Results
Many of the recommendations above were implemented as part of a Business Improvement
Techniques programme, with a substantial percentage of the workforce taking part. This resulted
in many improvements that impacted on Quality, Cost and Delivery performance.

The BIT programme having established a solid foundation for Continuous Improvement, BIUK
consultants worked with the company to identify further improvement opportunities, two of
which are outlined below.

Order Entry Process
A process mapping exercise identified major errors in the order entry process. These errors often
resulted in lack of validation of customer required dates and impacted on production, delivery and
work in process levels. A new procedure was developed that correctly validated customer delivery
dates resulting in substantial savings on costs and improved customer service.

Build to Order
Analysis of current stock quantities revealed that many product lines were built in advance of
customer orders. This resulted in a huge stock of kitted product that took up an entire storage
unit. The solution was to identify and create Min/Max levels for key subassemblies and smaller
unique parts. This resulted in customer orders being kitted within one day of receipt and the
storage unit being surplus to requirements.




                                                                          Improvement Through People

More Related Content

Case Study - Lean Implementation (Manufacturing)

  • 1. Case Study Lean Implementation Company Background This case study is based on work carried out at a manufacturing and assembly company based in the North West of England with 70 employees. The manufacturing area was organised with common services (Goods In, Paint Shop and Dispatch) and three dedicated production areas for various product lines. Previous Lean/CI activity had included 5s audit display boards, workplace flow paths, introduction of kanban totes and some line balancing activity. Much of this previous work had not been sustained. The BIUK Approach A decision was made to carry out an in-depth Lean Diagnostic to identify current status and indicate areas for improvement. A summary of the scores is shown below: Lean Manufacturing Summary Quality Cost Delivery 5 4 3 Score 2 1 0 Order Levelling Flow Manufacturing Training Quick Changeover Organisation Material Movement Quality TPM OVERALL COST QUALITY SCORE Visual Controls DELIVERY SCORE Team Work Workplace OVERALL SCORE OVERALL Lean Element Improvement Through People
  • 2. An overall score of 51% was achieved against the fifty-five criteria with Quality and Cost scores being below average while Delivery was above average. When the above results were combined with detailed area-by-area observation, the following recommendations were made: re-instatement of the 5s programme with regular audits and responsibilities review of line side stock levels to create better flow and space utilisation consideration of the use of dedicated tool sets for assembly stations rather than several large tool boxes enhancement of the visual display/information available across all production areas, including real time performance display analysis of selected processes in terms of muda (the seven wastes) more involvement of all process personnel in improvement suggestions and actions (the eighth waste) consideration of area requirements in terms of storage and visual control of stock use of basic SMED principles to reduce changeover times in the Paint Shop consideration of the calculation and use of takt time to balance and create flow where appropriate Implementation and Results Many of the recommendations above were implemented as part of a Business Improvement Techniques programme, with a substantial percentage of the workforce taking part. This resulted in many improvements that impacted on Quality, Cost and Delivery performance. The BIT programme having established a solid foundation for Continuous Improvement, BIUK consultants worked with the company to identify further improvement opportunities, two of which are outlined below. Order Entry Process A process mapping exercise identified major errors in the order entry process. These errors often resulted in lack of validation of customer required dates and impacted on production, delivery and work in process levels. A new procedure was developed that correctly validated customer delivery dates resulting in substantial savings on costs and improved customer service. Build to Order Analysis of current stock quantities revealed that many product lines were built in advance of customer orders. This resulted in a huge stock of kitted product that took up an entire storage unit. The solution was to identify and create Min/Max levels for key subassemblies and smaller unique parts. This resulted in customer orders being kitted within one day of receipt and the storage unit being surplus to requirements. Improvement Through People