Lean2sixsigma


Cellular Manufacturing at India's largest Aircraft Manufacturer
The Company is a reputed manufacturer and supplier of a Military Aircraft and Aerospace sub-systems in India.
Due to the multi-project nature of business, the management staff at the company's division in Bangalore were facing a problem in the task of Production Scheduling and WIP tracking. The changing priorities were further adding to the complexity.
The management then invited Kaul Associates (KA) to study their process and identify improvement opportunities.

Study of “AS IS” System
This was carried out in the following manner for the range of products:
	Grouping of components : Components required in manufacture were broadly divided into 16 families based on the concept of Group technology.
	Lead Time : Actual lead time taken to manufacture 22 randomly selected components, two from each family, was computed and analysed to find out percentage of actual work content to lead time. This was found to vary between 20% to 1%.
	Set-up Time : Based on the batch quantities, the percentage of set-up time to cycle time was computed to be 40% at an average.
	Inventory: The value of work-in-process inventory was computed and the inventory turns in number of months was found to be 15.3.
	Flow Paths: The actual flow paths moved by the components in the process of manufacture was mapped and found to vary between 5.2 km and 0.1 km.
	Shortage Analysis : A shortage analysis was made for a selected engine which revealed that about 60% of shortages came from ‘C' class items like pipes & fittings and hardware.

Summary of Observations and Findings
Based on the study of the system, the probable causes of the existing problems were identified to be:
	Process oriented shop organisation and complex flow paths
	Shop organisation not focused leading to diffused ownership of quality and delivery.
	Production hold-ups due to:
		Inspection & rework
		M/C breakdown
		Tool not available
		Absenteeism
		Low employee involvement & teamwork

Leading to:
	Long lead times and failure to meet delivery commitments
	High requirement of inventory & space
	Excessive time for corrective and preventive action
	Lack of control on production
	Low employee morale

Recommendations
The following action plan was recommended for improving the existing situation:
	Manufacture in cells
	Re-organise for cellular manufacturing
	Implement Pull System of Planning
	Reduce set-up times to improve productivity
	Implement TPM to improve machine availability
	Introduce new measures of Performance
	Involve all employees to make continuous improvement and introduce reward/ recognition systems to motivate employees

Implementation Methodology
The pipes and fitting group was selected as the pilot area for implementation of cellular manufacturing which was carried out in the following manner:
	An improved cellular layout of manufacture was designed
	All necessary machines were moved and re-organised for cellular manufacturing
	All required bins and tools were placed appropriately for ease of flow and operation
	A team of workmen was selected with one team leader to run and manage the cell
	The team was provided training in flow concepts and the operation of the cell.

Results Obtained
	Reduced lead times, inventory and space requirement
	Improved delivery performance
	Visual control of production
	Higher employee morale and involvement
	100% increase in productivity