IMEG was hired by a light & flagpole manufacturer to study, analyze, and recommend improvements regarding capacity utilization plans and future facility layouts of a 335,000 sq ft facility.
PROJECT GOAL
Long lead times for ordering light poles
Excessive amounts of WIP because of bottlenecks at work centers
Incorrect target of poles per hour for each work center and falsely achieving 80% uptime
Not understanding what work centers are overutilized or underutilized
THE PLAN
Develop product groups based on which work centers apply and assign to value stream
Time study all product groups
Capacity Utilization Model creation using current and forecasted annual sales volumes to determine where additional work center capacity is required
Calculate optimal WIP levels to maintain work centers based on rate variation between product groups
Use optimal WIP levels to determine floor space requirements.
Utilize AutoCAD layouts to identify floor space utilization for equipment, material storage, and support equipment
THE RESULTS
Increased efficiency by improving work center utilization based on product sales volumes
Plant layout to sustain the changes by capturing locations for equipment, material storage, and support equipment
