Problems: Long changeover and
setup times between product runs were creating considerable
downtime. Buying additional equipment was being considered to
prepare for a forecasted increase in demand. Quality defects and
raw material waste issues that were considered "inevitable
in this business" were also of great concern. Lean Solutions: Using
S.M.E.D. (Single Minute Exchange of Die) methods, we reinvented
the entire operation and created a procedure that minimized
downtime. Setups and changeovers became well orchestrated events.
Due to the nature of the equipment we also relied heavily on 5S
and ergonomic tools to properly stage needed items and reduce
risk of injury and operator fatigue. Quality defects were
addressed by implementing a series of strategies for component
maintenance and machine calibration. Raw material waste was also
addressed through a "go, no go" procedure and a setup
innovation. Impact/Results:
Depending on the number of colors used on a job setups and or
changeovers were consuming between 3 and 7 hours, (5 hours on
average) of production downtime per machine. After implementing
the new procedures all setups/changeovers were completed in under
30 minutes regardless of complexity. This improvement negated any
need to purchase equipment to meet forecasted demand. Third shift
employees were brought to second shift and throughput increased.
Approximately 25% less raw material waste became standard, and
quality defects were greatly reduced. These improvements were
applied to six similar machines throughout the plant. Each of the
seven machines experienced an increase of + or - 5 hours per
shift additional uptime. The company gained shop floor production
time of about 5 hours per machine per shift (accounting for the
elimination of third shift), resulting in an additional 70 hours
of capacity per day with third shift available in the event sales
created even greater demand. These improvements resulted in more
than a $3 million dollar annual windfall without adding a single
piece of capital equipment or additional employees.
