Lovair
Washroom Fittings & Systems

To provide mentoring support to company Operations Director to
​guide his implementation of  Lean Manufacturing tools and techniques into his assembly process.

Project Description:
Operations Director, Murray Boyt, knew that the theory behind his implementation of a flow line Production methodology should improve efficiencies in the manufacture of their wash trough product range. However, the results were not as dramatic expected and Murray turned to IW Process Solutions to help him understand why.

Initially, the mentoring focused on truly understanding the data supporting the flow line concept. This exercise unearthed flaws in the process timings for the products which then led on to the grouping of products into four categories based on the manufacturing assembly times once all the necessary data had been collected.
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With the categories determined, Murray was encouraged to develop a revised takt time for the process using more detailed historical Sales data to understand the demand for individual products and, following that, for the categories. This brought to light that the Production Planning system needed to be altered in order to maximise efficiencies and modified the planning process to develop weekly Production plans (or buckets), sequencing products based on their category from highest assembly times down to the lowest. These weekly plans were based on the available capacity within the assembly department and it was recognised that, if the base data of the product timings was accurate, then adherence to this weekly plan would equate to maximum efficiency. Therefore, the plan also provided a Performance Management aspect as adherence to the plan could be assessed at any time during the week.

This picture shows the assembly area set up for single piece flow and after a 5S implementation.  The final assembly station is behind the Perspex screens to create a clean environment for the finishing operations.

"With many years of hands on experience, a logical thinker and someone who is able to communicate his advice, support and follow up in a clear and succinct manner, Ian was just what we needed."

MURRAY BOYT - OPERATIONS DIRECTOR AT LOVAIR

Cleland McIver
Household Textiles

To assess the current process and apply appropriate Lean Manufacturing tools and techniques to achieve a more efficient manufacturing operation.

Project Description:
Phase 1
For Operations Director, Paul Adams, something wasn’t quite right regarding his manufacturing costs.  To provide the detailed information he required to confirm his suspicions, IW Process Solutions was commissioned to collect process data from all areas of the business as a Time & Motion study.

As well as collecting data, from observing the processes within the factory, IWPS were able to put forward a number of improvement recommendations to increase Productivity and reduce manufacturing costs even further.  These were presented back to Cleland as a series of flip chart pages/email summaries which steadily grew as the project continued.
 
From the data collected, a final Target matrix was developed by IWPS which set the output targets achievable for all areas depending on the labour resource available and the configuration employed.  Short Interval Control boards were introduced into several areas of the factory to drive performance in real time with significant impact.

These pictures show notations on flip chart paper of opportunities for improvement identified following analysis of the current process:
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Phase 2
Towards the end of Phase 1, a restructuring of the Production Management team took place.  A new Production Manager was identified but Paul Adams recognised that he required some further support if the opportunities from Phase 1 were to be fully delivered.  IW Process Solutions were commissioned to mentor the new Manager through his initial 6 month period in the role to equip him with the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver the improvements.  At the end of the 6 month period, significant improvement had been made in the majority of areas with all key metrics being on or above target.

"It was apparent something wasn't right, we could see that efficiencies' had been reducing.  I contacted Ian to discuss his thoughts; to get an opinion from someone outside the business.
From the first meeting Ian's knowledge and insight was obvious; sometimes you just need to see it from another perspective.  A vastly experienced consultant, whom is extremely personable which helps when you are trying to implement changes!!  Ian had the team buying in to collective ideas results speak for themselves.

We have only looked at part of the business and already have plans to see how we can improve others. An insightful and very successful project - I would 100% recommend IWPS.  Thanks Ian."

PAUL ADAMS - OPERATIONS DIRECTOR AT CLELAND McIVER

Renray Healthcare
Furniture Manufacturer

To mentor the Operational Management team to apply appropriate Lean Manufacturing tools and techniques to achieve a more efficient manufacturing operation in the Carcass Assembly area.

Project Objective:
The overall business objective was to manage the carcass manufacturing cell processes to world class lean standard.  The aim of the project therefore was to mentor the Operational Management team to achieve the business objective. 

Project Delivery:
Current State:
Renray Healthcare manufacture a wide range of furniture specifically for a range of Healthcare environments such as Hospitals and Care Homes.  The carcass cell consisted of two CNC Router’s which fed up to eight Assembly benches with machined carcasses.  Other components were added to the pallets of machined board such that the Assembly operatives received a “kit” which should allow the completion of the order for that item(s) of furniture.  Typical issues occurring in the Current State:

• Assembly area cluttered with a multitude of part finished products due to shortages.  Poor stock accuracy in the Warehouse was a major factor contributing to this as orders were launched only to find components were missing.
• Lots of componentry and consumables WIP held on the shop floor to “guard” against shortages
• Assembly and CNC areas were untidy, dirty and shabby.
• Efficiencies were extremely variable
• High degree of manipulation required of the weekly plan by Operational management team.

This photograph shows the condition of the assembly area before the project commenced.

Future State:
 To aid the visioning of what the Future State should look like, several key targets were set:

• Improve the value stream to achieve a 20% reduction in labour costs
• Single Piece Flow

          - Ensure individuals in cabinet assembly completely assemble one product at a time.
          - Man CNC machines and assembly benches for full shifts.
          - Reduce WIP in front of assembly to initially 2 shifts and determine ideal level for the future.

• Capacity Planning

          - Match and plan assembly capacity to sales volumes, and only increase shifts in a controlled manner. Manage lead times in the same way as upholstery.

• Planning

          - Ensure adherence to plan and any change if required is carried out in an orderly manner.
          - Issue weekly plans for each CNC which requires no manipulation.  
          - Issue weekly plans for each CNC which requires no orders to be skipped due to missing parts.                                

• Efficiency

          - Manage the Assembly process to meet standard assembly times at all times.
          - When the CNC machines are running, minimum efficiency to be 80% of the full shift time. Deciding to shut machines down at lunch time is time lost. Staggered breaks and reliefs need to be considered.
          - Investigate right first time rates and ensure any item that is started to be assembled is completed in 16 hours. (this assumes if parts need re-machining on the CNC's these are done in a planned way but within 16 hours to stop a build-up of part finished product in the assembly area)
          - No programme should be run on the CNC unless all the parts required to assemble the product are on site.
 
The project was delivered in a number of Phases.  Throughout each phase, following each visit, an action plan was created to drive the Operational Management team to progress
 
Phase 1 – Key performance Indicators (KPI’s)
A number of key performance indicators were agreed with the Operational Management team to establish baseline performance in a number of areas:

• Assembly Weekly Efficiency measured against standard times

         - Directly linked to Efficiency Target

• CNC 1 and CNC 2 Efficiency performance (Uptime)

         - Directly linked to Efficiency Target

• CNC Downtime Causes

          - Continuous Improvement

• Cost per Minute performance

          - Directly linked to Labour Reduction, Capacity Planning and Efficiency Targets
 
Notice boards were set up in the Assembly and CNC areas to display these charts on a weekly update basis.
 
Phase 2 – Material Control / Planning
The WIP holding area between CNC and Assembly was modified to limit the amount of pallets of work which could be held and CNC operatives directed to switch off if WIP capacity level reached.  The area also included a “Fast-Track” lane for orders which had been skipped due to late delivered components.
 
Weekly Plan developed to split work between CNC1 and CNC2.  System set up for Warehouse Manager to review weekly plan before issuing to advise as to which orders did not have all components available on site so those orders had to be skipped.  List of missing items fed back immediately to Procurement for them to chase.  Number of shortages reduced drastically throughout the project due to work done by the Procurement team.
 
Phase 3 – Layout
Assembly area was disorganised so the layout of the area was changed to accommodate “Standardised” workstations set out in the most effective way.
 
Phase 4 – Workplace Organisation
Having developed standardised workstation layout, the area was cleaned, painted and re-demarcated.  New stock shelving units were built as part of the standardised workstation which were set out using a two-bin Kanban system with daily replenishment carried out on all workstations by Warehouse personnel.  The introduction of the Kanban system allowed:

• The elimination of a paper-based ordering system which the assemblers had to write out and take through to the warehouse in order to get parts, thus improving efficiency.
• The removal from the shop floor of significant levels of WIP which gave the Warehouse greater potential for stock accuracy.

To support the project throughout, operatives were trained in Lean Awareness and the 5S Workplace Organisation methodology to develop an understanding of the changes planned and the reasons why.

These photographs show the Assembly area following it’s re-organisation.  The workbenches are standardised and each have a storage rack which incorporates a shadow board for tools.

"Ian is a Lean consultant who has worked with a wide variety of manufacturing businesses to support, train and implement Lean processes and thinking into their working methodologies. That was exactly what we were looking for and Ian has delivered exactly what we needed. He possesses the ability to communicate with all levels of the business to communicate his ideas and engage people in the improvement process.

I found Ian's approach to be extremely logical and the use of a structured approach to denoting actions and accountability with our Operational Management team was instrumental in effecting change. This ensured that the project maintained impetus. I would highly recommend Ian to other companies."

 GRAHAM SILMAN - MANAGING DIRECTOR AT RENRAY HEALTHCARE

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