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IKW is a Mechanical Engineer, Industrial Engineer with world-class expertise in operations management including production, quality, procurement, planning, warehouse and engineering
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A client in the consumer power tool industry requested help to optimize the final assembly process for gas powered blowers due to a surge in sales volume. The final assembly process was using batch and queue processing between workstations which had out of balance standard work times.
The process elements were analyzed and broken down to standard time elements taking into account performance rating factors for each of the operators. A takt time was established for the output of the final assembly cell based on current and forecast sales data. A kaizen team was formed with the operators and supervisor to analyze the data. Training classes were initiated to educate the operators and floor supervisors on the kaizen process. Analysis by the kaizen team led to the following changes;
- Subassembly operations were transferred to the final assembly area to eliminate material handling and separate production scheduling.
- Material buffers were eliminated and the workstations were ergonomically redesigned to accommodate a continuous flow (One-piece at-a-time) assembly process with a balanced processing time for each workstation.
- A U-shaped assembly line was implemented to allow the flexibility to staff the line with multiple crew sizes and achieve multiple production rates with minimal effect on the labor required per unit.
- Subassembly operations were transferred to the final assembly area to eliminate material handling and separate production scheduling.
- Material buffers were eliminated and the workstations were ergonomically redesigned to accommodate a continuous flow (One-piece at-a-time) assembly process with a balanced processing time for each workstation.
- A U-shaped assembly line was implemented to allow the flexibility to staff the line with multiple crew sizes and achieve multiple production rates with minimal effect on the labor required per unit.
The final result was an assembly line that was able to achieve a 40% increase in production output with the same crew size, reduced production scheduling, flexible run rates and a more satisfied production crew.
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Kevin Kennedy & Associates, Inc.
Rapid Response Engineering® Solutions
3905 Vincennes Road, Suite 320
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268
(317) 536-7000 voice
(317) 536-7220 fax