 |
Quick Response Manufacturing Project
Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Project
Object Oriented Programming Project
Kinematics of Machinery Project
Appropriate Technology Project
Projects at UW-Madison
Independent Study Project (Dec 2002 - May 2003).
Title: Capacity
Improvement and Lead Time Reduction in
Executive Summary: RenewAire, located in Madison, WI, is a leading manufacturer of Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV) products in the United States. RenewAire has introduced ERV to customers throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.
RenewAire has two lines of products, residential and commercial. The residential products primarily focus on single-family households whereas the commercial products are mainly concerned with multi-family homes, schools, medical clinics and nursing facilities. The focus of this project is on the residential line.
Residential line has three types of products: EV 130, EV 200, and EV 300. The demand of EV 300 is very less compared to other two and hence EV 300 will not be considered for the analysis purpose. Residential products see seasonal pattern in demand. In 2002, from January through September low demand was observed whereas from October through December, the demand was significantly high (on an average 350 per month for EV 130).
The residential line consists of four sub-assemblies (blower, core, Electric Box, Door), and a final assembly. Apart from these workstations, there is a separate workstation for insulation cutting, which are called quick jobs. Three out of four sub-assemblies require quick jobs to begin the operations.
The motivation for this project can be attributed to the insufficient capacity and the high lead demand for residential products during high demand periods. The capacity utilization is more than 90% in case of two sub-assemblies, which is considerably high. Also, the lead time in the assembly and the office is more than 7.5 days during high demand, which is far above the desired lead time by the customers. Based on the study of the processes and collected data, the following goals were enumerated:
- Provide recommendations to reduce the lead-time from 7.8 days to 2.5 days throughout the year
- Provide recommendations to maintain sufficient capacity in order to meet the lead time goal in the environment of rapidly growing demand (30 % over the year 2002 demand).
The methodology and approach to achieve this goal included several steps, such as process mapping, data collection, and data analysis. First of all, the entire process in the assembly and in the office was mapped in order to understand the various steps in the assembly and the order-processing. Secondly, several data regarding lead time, touch time, workers, and demand were collected. That was followed by the analysis of those data using tools such as spreadsheets and MPX modeling software, among others. During the data analysis, the assembly line was balanced in order to achieve the minimum delay at various workstations. Then, the assembly was modeled using MPX modeling software. MPX modeling provided with the optimum lot-size, and the worker allotment for the different sub-assemblies and final assembly. Analysis also suggested that on an average the workers’ unavailability is 25%, which was entered as an input in the MPX. Furthermore, demand data were analyzed to come up with the optimum number of safety stocks for different customer fill-rates.
Based on the data analysis, various recommendations regarding lot-size, workers allocation, production pattern, safety stock, and material handling were made. They can be summarized as:
These recommendations result in the reduced lead time of 2 days in the assembly and 0.5 days in the office. The workers utilization is on an average less than 85%. The Work-In Process (WIP) inventory reduces by 30-40% for most of the components.
The implementation starts with the careful recognition of the high and the low demand periods because that changes every year. Next step is to hire additional workers for the high demand period and then ramp up the production. RenewAire should continuously maintain the recommended safety stock based on the desired customer fill-rates. To reduce the workers’ unavailability, RenewAire should provide lead time-based incentives to the workers.
The key investments that are required for the recommendations to be implemented include the additional workers during high demand, and additional material handling equipments. The primary benefits will be in terms of increased capacity, enhanced demand fulfillment, improved on-time delivery, and finally, increased customer satisfaction.
Quick Response Manufacturing Project (Jan 2002 - May 2002).
Title: Lead-time reduction in order-processing and manufacturing operations of MC6 products at Twin Disc Inc., Racine, Wisconsin.
Executive Summary: To become more competitive in their industry, Twin Disc has decided to implement POLCA plant-wide as a material control and replenishment system. The yellow team began the project with this motivation for POLCA implementation. Also, the two corporate goals of 50% lead time reduction and 30% inventory reduction have formed the basis for the team’s goal-setting process. The project focus cell was MC6, which contains three subcells. Subcell 1 produces links. Subcell 2 produces links, hand levers, shafts, and forks. Subcell 3 produces brass collars, iron collars, and separators.
The yellow team
also noted that MC6 did not satisfy two of the prerequisites for POLCA
implementation. Specifically, MC6
experienced unplanned lead time, and also had problems with discipline. For the
purposes of this project, the measurement of lead time starts when a customer
order is received, and then ends after manufacturing has been completed.
Indicated by the following diagram, there is significant non-value added time
(99%) in the 20.5 days of lead time. This indicates that the corporate goal of
50 % lead time reduction is achievable in MC6.
|
Project Goals
and Duration
When considering the company’s desire for plant-wide POLCA implementation, along with the corporate goals of lead time and inventory reduction, the primary project goal became to reduce lead time in order processing and manufacturing of MC6 products by 50%. Additionally, the secondary goal was to analyze inventory issues to address after-market “emergency orders.”
These goals were
to be achieved in the span of three months from February through April 2002. To address the unplanned lead time in order processing and
manufacturing, and the inventory issues, the team interviewed company employees
and observed the related systems. Through this observation period, the team
identified non-value added activities, bottlenecks, and other problems. Then, the team focused on areas where significant opportunity
existed for lead time reduction and improvements with inventory. Following a
brainstorming process and evaluation of alternative solutions, the team
formulated recommendations for Twin Disc.
The team
identified many factors contributing to unplanned lead time for MC6 products.
Some of the key factors were: order batching, the absence of a lot-size policy, the
company’s earned hours compensation policy, unplanned picking of parts by
after-market, and multiple hand-offs during order processing.
Resulting from observations and analysis, the yellow team gained some insights and formulated the following recommendations to achieve the goal of 50% lead time reduction for MC6 products. The recommendations based on the insights are organized into three main categories: order processing, manufacturing, and inventory.
Order-Processing
·
Expand the use of the CRIS web-based order entry system.
The team found that it is a more
efficient process than traditional methods of phone, mail, or fax ordering.
·
Schedule jobs for manufacturing 3-5 days (depending on the
manufacturing lead time) prior to manufacturing instead of the current standard
of 2-3 weeks in advance. This will reduce the variability in the schedule, the
need for rescheduling by the materials planner, and the tendency for order
grouping by the shop floor operators.
Manufacturing
·
Follow the lot sizing policy based on MPX analysis, in place
of the current lot sizes for better responsiveness.
·
Eliminate the earned hours policy, which encourages 100%
utilization and order batching. Use
lead-time reduction as the measure, instead.
·
Update the current system data, which does not reflect the
operating reality inside the cell.
·
Follow
printed manufacturing schedules. Currently, operators are not always obeying
them, thus putting additional variability into the system.
Inventory
·
Control the
over-production inside the cell. Currently,
production is consistently higher than the demand.
Avoiding this will lead to an estimated annual savings of $1.5
million in operational costs, and enable a better allocation of resources.
·
Maintain a 10
% safety stock to handle after-market rush orders because after-market demand
was found to be fairly stable, with only 10% rush orders.
·
To continuously monitor inventory, begin taking frequent physical
inventory counts instead of using current accounting systems, which uses too long of a time
frame (5 years) for inventory reporting.
· Separate the staging area between assembly and inventory parts in order to monitor inventory levels and the frequency of emergency after-market orders.
To implement the
above recommendations the team came up with a three-phase implementation plan.
Phase one consists of training
the operators on basic QRM concepts, eliminating earned-hours incentives,
expanding the use of CRIS, establishing lot sizes based on MPX analysis,
updating current system data for run times and set-up times, and maintaining
separate staging areas for assembly and after market. Phase two will be to
schedule jobs based on manufacturing lead time, and to implement safety stock
policy. Ultimately phase three will be to implement POLCA in MC6.
Some challenges to implementing these recommendations will be traditional
cost-based mind-set on the shop floor, the earned hours policy, and an absence
of discipline on the shop-floor.
Upon completion of the implementation plan, the team
estimates a reduction in lead- time by at least 50 %
Comments: Our group started with the goal of reducing the overall lead-time for MC6 products from 21 days to 10.5 days and successfully brought it down to below 7 days. Here is a snapshot of our group working in Twin Disc during one of its several visits. To see the pdf version of the report, click here.
Facilities Planning Project (Sept 2001 - Dec 2001)
Title: Complete Layout design of New View Technologies, an LCD manufacturing company.
Executive Summary:
New View Technologies is a fast growing company involved in the design, manufacturing, and servicing of Liquid Crystal Displays, which need relocation of its facilities due to rapid growth. Subsequently, there is a requirement for a new layout utilizing work-cell concepts keeping cost minimization as the primary consideration. Prior to this analysis, management was provided with an initial rough-cut capacity-planning estimate followed by a detailed proposal for cellular manufacturing. This report presents the final recommendations for the project.
The
primary consideration in deciding the number of cells and all related parameters
for the new facility is cost, along with feasibility of operation, long-term
practicability in terms of growth rates and various ergonomic issues.
While
analyzing the data, the results from Stage 1 were utilized, but were modified in
a number of areas as growth figures and simulation results were taken into
account. The key changes between Stage 1 and stage 2 are enumerated later. The
results from simulation were used to finalize the number of shifts and machines,
the number of operators and their cross training levels. Iterative procedures
were used in calculation of number of these parameters keeping cost as the
primary driver.
The
report is divided into a number of sections, as detailed below.
In the first section, the assumptions under which the
recommendations are valid are stated. These include all the assumptions made at
different stages of the project.
This
is followed by a brief description of the approach adopted. In the subsequent
section, there is a detailed proposal involving the operating plan. The final
recommendations suggest a single cell single product dedicated layout. The plant
will follow a practical format of JIT, and will operate in one shift for all
three years for Models 860 and 970, where as it will run for three shifts in
year 3 for Model 1080. The details of shift timings, operator requirement and
cross training levels and other production support people required is discussed
in detail in the subsequent sections. The office personnel required for
efficient operation is also discussed in detail. The report also discusses the
Incentive Schemes, The Team Building processes as well as the suggested
Performance Measurement systems for the new facility.
Material
handling issues with a detailed ‘from to’ analysis is discussed
subsequently. The pros and cons of each option for each category are analyzed
and a final recommendation is made. Based on the cost and convenience factors,
three docking boards, two dock doors, two hand stackers, two hand pallet trucks
and three kitting carts were selected as material handling equipments.
This
is followed by a financial analysis for the next three years for the plant. The
revenues and costs are calculated for year and an estimate of the profit is made
for each year. Current figures show that the plant should just about break even
in the first year, but should be fairly comfortable in the next two years. In
dollar values, the plant is projected to have a profit of $160836 in the first year followed by $ 2064171 in the second
and $
2621015 in the third year respectively.
The
report also suggests a plant layout for the proposed facility. While designing
the layout, care was taken to ensure efficient material flow between various
departments and was prepared using a non-flow relationship diagram, included in
this report. Shop floor support areas (utilities, training, spare parts rooms,
etc) are in direct proximity with the cells. The size for the whole facility is
112850 sqft of which 47% is the built up area with sufficient space for further
expansion.
The
final phase concludes with a brief overview of the final recommendations and
explains how future factors have been taken into cognizance while designing the
new facility.
The
report, in subsequent sections, explains the methodology adopted in detail and
also presents sample calculations with detailed worksheets on the logic behind
these decisions. An appendix is provided at the end for ready reference.
Comments: Designed the facility layout for a LCD manufacturer (virtual company) having three different streams of products with variable demand. The layout was designed considering three year of demand. Initially, an spreadsheet analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel that was subsequently used for the simulation using Starcell.
Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Project (Fall 2001)
Designed, process planned and fabricated a CAD model in Computer-Integrated Manufacturing environment using Esprit 2001, a geometric modeling CAD/CAM package. The manufacturing operation was conduction on a 2 1/2 axis Dyna milling machine. Click here to see the pdf version of the report.
Financial Accounting Project (Fall 2001).
Executive Summary: The
current downturn in the economy has hit Sony severely and the forecast for net
sales and net income has shown a considerable decline over the next three years.
This impact includes a preliminary estimate by management of the effects
of the terrorist attacks, which occurred in the U.S. on September 11, 2001.
In
the Electronics business, Music business, overall sales are expected to remain
at a level just below the forecast as of July 2001. However, profit performance
in certain product categories, in particular semiconductors and PC-related
components, is expected to deteriorate significantly due to the slowdown in
sales.
Although
Sony has been proactively reengineering its business processes, particularly
with respect to Electronics, Sony fully recognizes the imperative to accelerate
the implementation, and to augment the substance, of reengineering to address
dramatic changes in the global business environment. Especially in the
Electronics business, Sony intends to implement the following countermeasures,
in addition to strategically introducing attractive new products, reducing
selling, general and administrative expenses, and shrinking inventories, to
improve profit performance.
In
the current severe operating environment, Sony intends to focus on key
businesses. It will make an attempt to establish a system where profit can be
achieved even if sales do not increase, Sony will reduce fixed costs at Sony
Corporation and at manufacturing and sales subsidiaries.
It plans to discontinue unprofitable businesses and reduce redundant
assets; Sony is seeking to strengthen its strategic procurement of key devices
such as semiconductors and Liquid Crystal Displays, and will enhance its global
procurement system. Through these measures, Sony expects to achieve more than
15% cost reduction in procurement in the Electronics business in the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2002, compared with the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.
Sony
is strategically implementing counter measures to reduce the decline in net
income and gaining competitive advantage in areas where it does not have a
presence in. Nokia and Sony
Corporation have tied up to manufacture common platforms and Motorola and Sony
have formed a joint venture to manufacture hi-tech mobile phones.
These strategies are providing Sony newer avenues to gain a first mover
and a competitive advantage.
Comments: Performed a case study of Sony Corporation. The study included comparison of Sony's financial statements and ratios with its main competotors. The analysis considered last four years of data. Click here to see the report.
Rapid Prototyping Projects (Sept 2002 - Dec 2002)
A. Process Review: StereoLithography (SLA) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
B. Space Solid Freeform Fabrication
Comments: Click here to see the full report.
Projects at IIT Bombay
Senior Year Thesis (May 2000 to June 2001)
Title: "Plug-In Utilities For CAD/CAM applications"
Project Advisor: Prof. B. Ravi, Mechanical Engg., IIT Bombay.
The aim of the project was to identify external plug-ins in solid modeling packages and develop the prototype of one of them.
There are several application and geometry related functions, which are not performed by the solid modelers. The aim was to identify such functions and develop a prototype, which could be tested and further implemented by the potential users of the modeling packages. After coming up with several potential plug-ins, one of them, namely TopoDiff, was chosen for prototype development. TopoDiff identifies the topological difference between two CAD models and produces the output as an .xml file. The project was done in a visual C++ environment on Windows platform.
This project was funded by `Geometric Software Solutions Co. Ltd., India. To view the pdf version of the report, click here.
Junior Year Seminar (Jan 99- Apr 99)
Title: "Flexible Manufacturing Systems"
Advisor: Prof. Narayan Rangaraj, Mechanical Engg., IIT Bombay.
Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) are the backbone of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) environment. CNC machines, Robots, Material Handling Systems (MHS), Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) are one of the few important components of this system. The performance of any CIM system depends upon the robustness and flexibility of FMS. The above mentioned components were studied in detail and analyzed for the relative importance.
Mini Project (Jan 2000 - April 2000)
Title: "Developing CIM Cast Website"
Advisor: Prof. B. Ravi, Mechanical Engg., IIT Bombay
Developed a vertical internet portal for the computer Integrated Manufacturing applications in the field of casting. The website had links to government institutions, professionals, research centres, universities & colleges, casting suppliers, casting buyers and many other related organizations. The website was registered with many search engines. The portal can be viewed by clicking here.
Object Oriented Programming Project (July 99- Nov 99)
Simulated a semi-closed network in the job shop using object oriented programming (in C++). In the network, there was an unlimited queue before the jobshop. Jobs entered the jobshop as long as the total number of jobs in the jobshop was less than a specified no. The programme was used to calculate the utilization of machines, mean and variance of flow time and waiting time of jobs.
Kinematics of Machinery Project (Jul 98 - Nov 98)
Designed and fabricated a marble separator, which distributed marbles from a lot into two equal groups of marbles irrespective of the number of marbles in the parent lot. Slider-crank mechanism was used for this purpose.
Appropriate Technology Project (Jan 2000 - April 2000)
Performed comparative analysis between four available technologies in the field of telecommunicating using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. AHP is a mathematical technique that uses eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices and does pairwise comparison of the various parameters and comes up with the best solution. The technologies compared were optical fibers, Telephone lines, Digital Subscriber lines, and coaxial cables. Various parameters like maintenance cost, customer satisfaction, fixed cost, labour, speed etc. were considered. Optical fiber was found to be the best for “developed” countries whereas telephone lines was found to be the best for "underdeveloped" countries.
Quality Control Project (Jan 2000 - April 2000)
Performed a comparative analysis of various manufacturers in Press industry having different design and manufacturing parameters using Quality Function Deployment (QFD). QFD is a technique used to find out the areas of improvement for a particular product/industry by comparing it with its competitors. There are different matrices for comparison and combining all the matrices give the final result. All the matrices of QFD were formulated and analyzed to choose the best manufacturer.
Graphics Project (Jan 2000 - April 2000)
Designed a virtual shop floor using Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). The shop floor consisted of CNC machine, walls, roof, floor, animated door, windows and lights. Several functions such as color transformation, scaling, background selection etc. were introduced to enhance the flexibility of the design.
CIM Project (Jan 2000 - April 2000)
Designed tools, processes and machines for the sheet metal operations in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Environment. The design was further passed on to other groups dealing with Material Handling Systems and AS/RS of the CIM system. All the groups together finally constituted a CIM environment for this sheet metal industry.
[ Read / Sign my guestbook ] Get a free Guestbook
