Facility Expansion to Improve Process Flow

Facility Expansion to Improve Process Flow - Auto Parts Supply Manufacturer Case Study - TechSolve

Company Profile

The client is a Tier One and Tier Two supplier of automotive parts and components. The privately held company, located in central Ohio, also maintains long-standing expertise in tooling and die-cutting.

Project

Before launching a much-needed expansion project, the client partnered with TechSolve to develop an improved facility layout. They wanted to establish improved material flow within the facility, and create a structure for Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery and removal of supplies and product. In addition, they wanted to to consolidate materials spread throughout the current facility, rental trailers, and a remote storage facility.

A project team, consisting of the Lean team and Kanban project personnel, was established to formulate a plan and implement a timeframe. The current state was determined and a longrange vision established to recommend equipment and production work area placement in the existing facility.

After determining each department’s space requirements, a new floor plan was formulated to optimize floor space utilization, focusing on material flow paths and staging locations. A material delivery concept and methodology was established to provide JIT service to the production work areas, while minimizing clutter and floor space storage.

Results

  • Freed up approximately 40,000 square feet of space in the existing facility, which eliminated the need for (and cost of) the offsite storage facility
  • Reduced aisle space from 23,375 square feet to 20,744 square feet with the introduction of one-way aisles
  • Rearranged the entire plant layout to ensure correct flow using an integrated approach that considered aisles, materials staging and delivery, and work flow, and involved eliminating archaic equipment, relocating difficult-to-move existing equipment, and incorporating new equipment
  • Worked with the Continuous Improvement team to make processes more efficient and cost effective
  • Created designated locations for “stores” in manufacturing to replenish through a Kanban system
  • Relocated Maintenance department to a more central location