Note : Activity 10 is the Preliminary activity in the As- sembly line.
Other Activities are supporting activities for delivering the right quality and quantity of child parts to the As- sembly line.
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Overall resource effectiveness, cycle time reduction & capacity improvements
E.K.Subramaniam, Dr.M.Sakthivel, K.Kanthavel, R.Krishnaraj, Deepan Marudachalam M.G, R.Palani
Index Terms— Cycle tine reduction, capacity improvement, resource utilization
—————————— ——————————
HIS project is about an automotive component man- ufacturing unit which is not able to meet the demand because of sudden increase in requirement. If the demand is not met, it will automatically give way for the competitor to enter. The survival and growth of the or- ganization is a matter of concern. The company is not in a position to add facilities to meet the customer need be- cause of very high investment. The purpose of the project is to improve Overall Resource Effectiveness of the Or- ganization using Industrial Engineering tools with min- imum possible additional investments. In most of the manufacturing industries the efficiency of manual assem- bly line is around 50 %.only. There are certain common contributing factors which lead to reduced efficiency. The reasons for the losses are identified. The aim of the project is to identify the cause and to provide simple solutions with less additional investment. Various reasons for re- duced efficiency are common for most of the industries. The findings of this project can be horizontally applied to other similar industries of this nature for improving the
efficiency.
This project starts with the analysis of the present condi- tion of the industry in terms of productivity, Loss factors,
quality , and equipment condition and employee morale. Influencing Ergonomic factors in assembly line are identi- fied. Optimal working environment is an important factor for maximizing the operator efficiency. Work posture has very high influence on operator productivity in assembly line. A module in CATIA-V5 is used to find out the effec- tive posture. Other functions considered for improvement are procurement, process, human resources and facility optimization.
Dr.Oded Tal, (2001) Max International Engineering Group
[1proposed that ]overall Resource effectiveness is the lev-
el of effectiveness in which we use all our resources,
equipment ,operators, technicians, floor management
and support systems. The major components in Overall
Resource Effectiveness are 1. EE, Equipment effective- ness percentage, 2. HRE, Human resource effectiveness and 3.IE, Infrastructure effectiveness. Added resource utilization created by ORE implementation will allow to improve flow time, cycle time or both. Reducing the cycle time by half is doubling the performance ,so does increas- ing the capacity by 100 %. To implement solutions for the opportunities found an inter disciplinary team should be initiated and involved in all stages. Representatives from operation, maintenance, process engineering, and facili- ties will be the key players. The added resource utiliza- tion created by ORE implementation allows to improve throughput, cycle time, or both. Rapid Upper Limb As- sessment –Mc Atamney Corelet, 1993 [ 2 ]. Industrial ac- tivities such as handling heavy objects or working in heavy machines causes musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) due to improper work posture. In the study, bio mechan- ics approach is proposed to evaluate the work posture and provide a safe working environment McAtamney and Corlett(1993) have developed a questionnaire-based tool named Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) for investigating the workplace ergonomically. The advan- tages claimed by the authors with this tool are (1) it does not require any special equipment for measurement and (2) Quick assessment. . Malchaire and Piette (2002) have proposed 4 action levels against grand score calculated in RULA .Hagg (2003 ) has improved working condition and quality of production in an assembly plant through participative self assessment using RULA. Lawson et al (2007) have introduced this method to compare working posture of a robotic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgeon with a standard surgeon. Choobinch (2007) have made modification in carpet hand weave.
Rexorth ,Bosch Group, have made seven step Ergonomic checklist . They are 1. Consider the work height 2. Con-
sider the size of grab area 3. Optimize parts container layout 4. No work above the heart 5. Consider the fields
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of vision 6.Match light intensity to the work task and
7.Properly adjust work equipment to the task. No Cost
Applications for assembly cycle time reduction –Steven
Brown,Joerg Momarchke and France Leible ,Balanstrasse
73 Munich [3]. The parameters which contribute for cycle
time reduction are1.Handler Dedication 2.Rework and
Retest 3.Unscheduled Down time 4.Preventive Mainten-
ance 5.Operator Training 6.Operator Staffing 7.Dispatch
Rules 8.Hot Lots 9.Changing Process Flow 9.Lot Size
10.Batch Size 11.Lot Release 12.Process Speed Improve-
ments. By applying simulation models and analysis, the
back end cycle time can be reduced by 60% while main-
taining the current capacity loading time. This paper dis-
cusses recommendations for the assembly area. Many
aspects and findings and recommendations for the study apply to complex manufacturing sites in general. For ex-
ample, the cycle time can be reduced by using smaller transport lot sizes. Operation of non-constraint equip- ment such that material flows smoothly to the constraint equipment. Lower variability in lot releases reduces the cycle time. ERP Implementation and Change Manage- ment-Nick Mutt 2010 [4]. Employees are the key players in ERP implementation. The employees of the organiza- tion will be in the capacity of process owners, software users and administrators of the ERP software. The main challenge of an ERP implementation is to achieve the ac- ceptability of the systems to the employees and for them to perceive the benefits to the organization and to their way of working. ERP system helps in changing the process; it is designed and developed by adopting best practices of specific industries. During implementation, organization may require to change some business processes to meet the software standards, which are in- dustry specific standards. Business process cannot change without top management support. It is quite necessary to change some of the business process. It helps in imple- mentation. Customization is costly and not good for any ERP project. Little bit customization is ok but too much
the productivity tools to be applied in a systematic way.
Sudden increase in market demand and the organi- zation is not able to produce the required quantity be- cause of capacity constraints. Capacity Vs Demand is pro- jected in Fig.1. Low productivity in the Assembly line is a matter of concern
Fig.1 Capacity Vs Demand
Increase the Assembly line performance shown in Table 1
Table 1
Present and Proposed Assembly line Performance
Performance Measures | Unit of Mea- surement | Presen t level | Target level |
Cycle Time | seconds | 20.5 to 48 | 20.5 |
Production per shift (Ideal conditions ) | Numbers | 920 | 1400 |
Production loss per shift | % | 15 | 0 |
Efficiency Im- provement | % | - | 80 |
Various functions in an organization contribute for the production and delivery of products to the cus- tomers in right time. The key functions / areas consi- dered for this study are,
customization will affect ERP project Detailed literature survey shows there is always a 50 percent scope for productivity improvement in any in- | 1) 2) | Improving Ergonomic Conditions In Assembly Line Productivity Increase Through Line Balancing |
dustry .To achieve this, the problem is to be defined and | 3) | Layout Optimization |
4) | Process Improvement | |
5) | Improvement In Procurement | |
6) | Job Scheduling | |
7) | Equipment Reliability Improvement | |
8) | Design / Product Improvement | |
9) | Mprovements In Hr Activities | |
10) | Improvement In Communication |
Note : Activity 10 is the Preliminary activity in the As- sembly line.
Other Activities are supporting activities for delivering the right quality and quantity of child parts to the As- sembly line.
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Initial Status of Assembly Line
Initial condition of Assembly line recorded after conduct- ing Cycle Time study. Required data were collected and the details are given in the table 2
Table 2
Assembly Cycle Time Study Results
( Study conducted during optimum production hours )
rework )
Rework percentage : 8 % Required Horn production per shift
considering rework : 1200 X 0.92
: 1100 Nos
Present output per shift : 920 N0s
)
Table 3
Average cycle time study
Note : Allowance included in the cycle time
Total Work time in all stations : 158.8 seconds
Line Efficiency : 158.8 / ( 9 * 24 )
: 73.5 % BALANCE DELAY : ( 100 – 73.50 % )
: 26.50 %
Number of Horns to be produced per shift : 60 / 24 X 60 X
8
( as per Time study report ) : 1200 Nos ( including
1. Action plans are different for different color codes
2. The level varies from 1 to 5. The action level is 1
for green color and 5
for red color
3. After the corrective actions the RULA score
should be less than 2
The key areas covered in the project are 1.Reduce
MTTR 2.Increase MTBF 3.Preventive Maintenance
4.Predictive Maintenance 5.Maintenance prevention
The following are the points to be considered in this project for improving the efficiency
1. Standard parts 2. Liberal tolerances 3.Reduce part counts 4.Combination of parts 5.Standardization of parts
6. Symmetrical parts 7.Self fixturing 8. Easy handling
9.Mistake proof or poka yoke
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Standardization of parts helps part suppliers rationalize their product lines and
allow them to
Reduce their overhead costs and subsidies, which allow them to be more cost competitive.
Improve their operational flexibility, resulting in bet-
ter delivery
Simplify their supply chain management
Free valuable resources to improve their operations and quality, implement better product development practices, and introduce new capabilities like build – to-order &mass
This project covers the importance and benefits
achieved because of standardization
Some of the common issues which almost all the indus- tries are facing now are,
1. Manpower shortage 2.Employee involvement 3.Skill level of employees 4.Employee cost 5.Productivity level
6 .Qualification level
We could overcome these problems to some extent with
the following policy decisions
1. Ensure job security to skilled / deserved operators 2.
Counseling 3. Match the salary to Industry standards
4. Training / Job rotation 5. Introduction of incentives 6.
Hostel, food and transport facilities for employees
7. Recruitment of female candidates and the introduction
of shifts for them
Effective, fast and right communication is an im- portant parameter in the supply chain management. With the support of IT, communication system developed for material flow and horizontally deployed to various func- tions
Standard Tools like ERP, Ergonomics study, Poka Yoke are available .Either they are not fully understood or not applied due to cost implications or lack of awareness. Some companies increase production but not the produc- tivity. Continuous training and creating good working environment motivates the employees for improved productivity.
All the bottleneck areas have been identified and simple solutions provided for the problems .We could achieve the results as per the plan. This methodology can be ho- rizontally deployed to similar industries for improving the overall efficiency
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ISSN 2229-5518
1 Overall Resource Effectiveness ,the key for cycle time reduction & Capacity Improvements- Dr.Oded Tal
2. Rapid Upper Limb Assessment -Mc Atamney
Corelet(1993)
3. No Cost Applications for assembly cycle time reduction-Steve Brown, Joerg Momarchke and France Leible
4. ERP Implementation and Change Management-
Nick Mutt(2010)
5. Successful Design for Assembly-Dr.Mike Shi- pulsky(2007)
6. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly- Johnyater
7. An Introduction to Supply Chain Management-
Ram Ganeshan &Terry P.Harrison
8. Supply Chain Management Cost Reduction- Dr.David M.Anderson,P.E.Fasme(2010)
9. Design for Manufacturability-Dr.David
M.Anderson(2010)
10. Part Standardization-Dr.David
M.AndersonP.E.CMC(2010)
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