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Monday, 16 November 2009 21:59 |
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Fabritek utilizes the Theory of Constraints and Lean to model its improvement program. Theory of Constraints provides a focus to uncover the resources that restrict the ability of Fabritek to serve its customers. Next it employs the tools of Lean to remove waste and reduce the impact of non value added activities.
Improvement activities have included areas such as marketing, sales and office functions as well as traditional shop floor projects.The time between improvement projects is about 1-2 months and the projects typically take a team of 3-6 employees 2 weeks to complete. The size and makeup of the team is defined by the nature of the project. Please take a minute to look at some of our recent projects.
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Beneficial aspects resulting from our efforts:
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Time savings in looking for required materials
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Safer working environment
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Opening of floor space for production
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Quicker setups
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Please visit our Continuous Improvement blog often to find out what initiatives we are taking to provide better services to our customers!
Improvement Projects:
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Friday, 20 November 2009 11:42 |
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Project: CNC Department, CNC Lathes
For this improvement project we involved a diverse group employees from all areas of the shop; fabricators, machinists and project managers were all represented in this improvement team.
The simple goal was to standardize setup for CNC lathe jobs so that work could flow smoother and lead times reduced.
The process involved laying out the ideal work environment and implementing the changes.
Results:
- Non-value added time was identified and greatly reduced, thereby reducing lead time
- Vertical storage was increased allowing the removal of tables and other clutter in the area, less time is spent looking for tools and tooling
- A standard setup cart was designed and built in house so that it perfectly suits our CNC department. This setup cart will act as a template for future projects.
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