Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and improvement of an absence management process
Situation Our client is a large organisation with a complex structure and operates across many separated locations. Groups within some of the larger sites had developed their own absence management processes. Whilst each of these worked reasonably well as standalone processes, when viewed as a whole, the system had glaring inconsistencies, was difficult to measure […]
Creating A Lean Furnace Process
Situation The client company manufactures specialist industrial heating equipment and associated materials. One of their processes is a continuous furnace feed through which sub-assemblies must pass. The company wanted to maximise the production capacity and minimise the cost of their furnace operations. Problem Definition The continuous-feed furnace process was well established and produced high quality […]
Creating A Lean Chemical Recovery Process
Situation The client company manufactures specialist additives for chemical coating of metal surfaces. The original process created significant amounts of waste in the form of a metal and solvent mix. This had to be disposed of in an environmentally safe way which incurred a high cost. Fresh new solvent had to be purchased to replace […]
Reducing the variation in a production process to improve customer satisfaction and minimise scrap
Situation Our client’s international business produces colour coated films used in product packaging and presentation applications. Consistency in the film colour produced is a critical quality characteristic. When we started working on this project, the required consistency was not being achieved, resulting in poor customer satisfaction and high value material being scrapped. The OTIF performance […]
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and improvement of a vehicle hire process
Situation Our client is a construction business specialising in roads and other civil engineering activities. We were asked to work with a department who provide the vehicles and equipment for their Operations group. The vehicles are specialist earth moving equipment, road laying and road repair machines. The department plan the provision of vehicles from their […]
Change from 100% End-Of-Line Inspection to Inline Controls with Higher Customer Quality
Situation The client manufactures precision plastic parts for prestigious automotive customers who have extremely high quality standards. On one particular product line, the client had established a 100% end-of-line inspection, in addition to a variety of other in-process inspections, as a belt and braces way of delivering the required quality. The resource that all of […]
How to Improve the Quality of an Assembly Process in High Volume Consumer Products.
Situation We were introduced to a manufacturer of sub-assemblies for high-volume consumer products that was experiencing process yields that were lower than goal. Sub-assemblies were moved through a multistep process to completion. Each step was manned by different teams in very different physical environments. The steps included print, cure, assembly, paint, cure, etch, and inspect. […]
Transforming the process for obtaining Contractor Access into a High Security Site.
Situation A major construction project commissioned by the UK Government requires the highest levels of security access. However, there are in excess of 200 contractors and other professionals to be admitted to this campus every day, with no diminution of security. Management were increasingly concerned about the access process time and cost as well as […]