Rheaco
Background
Rheaco, Inc., a privately held company, fabricates sheet metal and extruded metal products for the aerospace and commercial markets. Rheaco was founded in 1967 and employees 65 people in their 40,000 square foot facility.
Actions
ARRI personnel assisted as Rheaco’s top executives examined the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and obstacles. This provided the basis for a vision statement and an Enterprise Excellence plan that guides the company and helps them set direction for their future.
An assessment of Rheaco’s situation revealed that:
Customers were reducing their supplier base and demanding products of continuously improving quality, on shorter delivery schedules, at reduced costs.
The workforce had performance and participation problems including a resistance to change, inconsistent application of company policies, inadequate communication, and lack of cooperation between departments.
Current business processes were inadequate to cope with changing demands of the marketplace.
A Process Improvement Team (PIT) was created to study the “Paperwork Processing” system to improve the completion and accuracy rate. The process involved all operations affecting the creation, use, and final disposition of the paperwork.
Results
Analysis indicated an unstable paperwork process with wide variations in completion rates. The PIT determined that product flow through the factory significantly impacted the paperwork accuracy and completion rate.
The PIT recommended changes in three primary areas: paperwork layout; paperwork procedures; and product flow. The physical layout of the paperwork was revised and procedures for completing the paperwork were developed. Training for all involved personnel was conducted. To maintain traceability, split-off tickets were implemented to identify all work-in-process when the router is separated from the order.
Holding areas were created for subassemblies. Hardware and tools required to complete the assemblies are stored in the holding areas to improve turn-around-time and reduce non-value-adding activities. Final assembly paperwork is sent directly to the designated areas to await the required sub-assemblies.
The PIT recommended adopting cellular manufacturing practices, locating all processes associated with a given product together. This reduces travel time, improves communication, and facilitates continuous flow of the product. The team recommended a phased approach to minimize cost, minimize possible disruption to on-going operations, and increase the probability of success.
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