Acme Stamping Steering Bracket Value Stream Improvement Project

Countermeasures :
Background
•Create continuous flow in through Weld and Assembly
• Product: stamped-steel steering brackets (left- and right-hand drive). •Establish Takt Time: Base the pace of work through Weld and Assembly on
• 18,400 brackets/month; daily shipments in pallets of 10 trays of 20 brackets. customer demand
•Customer State Street Assembly y is requesting
q g price
p cuts and tightening
g g •Set new Weld
Weld-assembly
assembly cell as pacemaker for entire value stream
delivery requirements. •Establish EPEX build schedule for stamping based on actual use of
pacemaker cell and pull steel coils from supplier based on actual usage by
Stamping.
•Reduce Changeover time in Stamping and Weld
Current State Problems •Improve uptime in Weld
•Production Lead time:23.6 days •Establish material handling routes for frequent withdrawal and delivery
Processing time: only 188 seconds
•Processing seconds. •Establish new production instruction system with Leveling Box
•Large inventories of material between each process. Future State Map
•Long changeover times; downtime in welding.
Production
Current State Map Supplier Control Customer
Production Daily
MRP Control
Supplier Customer Order

Daily
Weekly Schedule
Order

I I I I I I 4.5
Lead Time
days
DELIVERABLES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 RESPONSIBLE REVIEW
CCF at Pacemaker Plt Mgr
Lead Time 23.6 Kaizen each c/t to <TT Smith (IE)
VSMgr
days Weld uptime to 100%
c/o reduction to <TT
Plt Mgr,
Pull at Pacemaker Jones (PC)
FG = 2 days MH Mgr
Analysis KB VSMgr
•Each p
process operates
p as isolated islands,, disconnected from customer. Mt’l handling
Leveling Box
•Push system; material builds up between each process. Pull from Stamping Jones (PC) Plt Mgr
•Each process builds according to its own operating constraints (changeover, WIP = 1 day MH Mgr
downtime, etc. c/o < 10 min
VSMgr
•Plans based on 90 and 30-day forecasts from customer. Weekly schedule for Pull from Supplier
Info flow Durham (Mt’l) PC Mgr
each department. System is frequently in expedite mode to make delivery. Daily delivery Plt Mgr
RM = 1.5 days VSMgr

Goals: Improve profitability while meeting tougher customer demands:

•Reduce lead time – 23.6 days to <5 days Follow-up
•Reduce inventories: Stamping – <2 days Confirm reviews and involvement of related departments:
Welding – Eliminate / Combine with Assembly
Production Control and Material Handling, Purchasing,
Shipping – <2 days
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