Situation
Our client was a company that provides parts and components that are machined to exact specifications for the Aerospace industry. The company is currently transitioning from a Tier 3 to Tier 2 manufacturing operation and is a 100% Canadian owned and operated with over 15 years of success serving the manufacturing industry.
Requirements
Schroeder & Schroeder was commissioned to determine productivity improvement potential by:
- Pinpointing opportunities for productivity improvement
- Offering an external opinion on how the organization may be able to improve productivity
- Delivering Process Mapping and Ishikawa Diagram
- Delivering Key Performance Factor Audit
- Delivering Value Added vs. Waste Analysis
- Identifying Challenges and Priorities
- Recommending Initiatives and Potential Gains
- Creating awareness of the importance of continuous improvement
Challenges
The main challenges faced on this project included:
- Very tight timeframes to analyze data collected between and during visits to client
- Limited amount of time exposed to the client environment (2 consecutive days) so one does not
- know if what we observed was typical or atypical however was told by the client that it was typical
- Limited time in the budget to conduct an in-depth analysis and findings for the customer impacts
- the depth of analysis and recommendations that could be provided
- Data points for manufacturing were unreliable since they were all manually generated and recorded
Actions
After analyzing the project requirements our consultants addressed the challenges presented and performed the following actions to deliver results to the client:
- Conducted a Business & Manufacturing Analysis – used Lean methods, Process Mapping and Ishikawa Diagrams to identify challenges. A key performance factor audit and waste analysis was conducted to identify opportunities for improvement. Observations were also made during facility visits and connected to Value Creation variables (sales, raw materials and labour).
- Identified Challenges and Priorities – identified key issues related costs, delay, and quality. Translated key issues into two fundamental priorities: essential optimization projects and advanced optimization projects.
- Identified Potential Gains – conducted a sensitivity analysis to identify potential gains with, and without, growth along with estimated dollar value.
- Established Action Plan – defined a project management approach and created multiple projects with individual activities timelines, impacts and budgets.
Results
Through this approach, Schroeder & Schroeder delivered operations productivity improvement recommendations and plan with multiple projects and goals for the company, including:
- Guidance for supervisors on how to empower their workforce toward operational excellence.
- Workplace organization (5S methodology) recommendations to improve daily organization.
- Performance dashboards, including select performance indicators and objectives that measure specific performance indicators to improve productivity
- Definition of custom optimization projects such as an automated operations planning and scheduling system, integration of real-time information between manufacturing and business management system, and layout optimization, designed to improve operational agility.
- Continuous improvement investment recommendation required in order for the organization to improve competitiveness.
Upon conclusion of the project, all key success factors had been achieved, and the client was highly satisfied with both the project deliverables and the value added by Schroeder & Schroeder Inc.