| Client
:- |
Manufacturer
Vehicle Seats, Nottingham, England |
| Situation
:- |
The Company had
recently been taken over by a Canadian Group who stated their requirement
for a 20% reduction in bottom-line costs over the next 2 years.
|
| Objective
:- |
Review
the Company’s plans for a new product that was due for introduction in
1999 to see if they could make inroads to the cost reduction programme
from the outset of this new line. |
|
| Proposal
:- |
HOSCA proposed to
take the initial design group and intersperse the team with some of
the operators proposed for the new line. From there, the team would
review the initial designs and plans, but then use modern thinking to
radically revise the intended way forward.
Establish a new
design concept and identify the potential benefits with the new process
and working methods.
|
| Approach
:- |
HOSCA
trained the team in current best practice concepts ranging from: |
| |
- Modern manufacturing
methods
- Self Directed
Work Teams (the Company were piecework based)
- Kanbans and MRPII
- Industrial engineering
methods for analysis
- Concurrent engineering
principles
|
| |
From
there the complete new-line process was re-designed, challenging any assumptions
that had originally been set. |
|
| Outcome
:- |
The
teams spent 5 days reviewing and revising how the new line would be effected.
All current processes were questioned for effectiveness and the new revised
line evolved taking account of: |
| |
- TAKT time based
on forecast
- Process flows
to minimise movement and space
- Line Balance
and Total Loss
- Ergonomics
to minimise lifting
- Operator flexibility
within the team environment
- Elimination
of the piecework system
|
| |
The
recommendations were accepted and trials of new methods were to commence
within 60-days.
|
|
| Benefits
:- |
This was a concept line and therefore the benefits are yet to be proven.
However, a comparison can be made with the expectations of the original
design:
|
| |
| Dock
to Dock time |
reduced
by 66%
|
| Manufacturing
Time |
reduced
by 69%
|
| Labour
productivity |
increased
by 20%
|
| Floor
Space |
reduced
by 15%
|
| Changeover
times |
reduced
by 43%
|
| Raw
materials |
reduced
78%
|
| Work
in progress |
reduced
by 88%
|
|
|
|
