Lean Principles for Steel Frame Panelizing
Executive Summary:
The objective of this consulting effort was to recommend cost justified system enhancements that improve productivity and increase capacity of a new steel frame panelizing operation. The study took a lean, data driven approach to develop the capacity estimates. Typical product configurations and related work content were developed using actual production orders and drawings. Production cycle times and related non-value added delays were developed from extensive observations. The key finding was that the primary bottleneck in the new operation was the specialized framing tables. 50-75% of the available production time on these tables were consumed by unnecessary delays and by tasks that, although essential, did not need to be performed on the tables. Delays represented 25% of total time, resulting from: difficulties reading drawings, framing table breakdowns, workers idle/absent, and system problems. An additional 30-50% of time was consumed by tasks that could easily be performed at other stations. Production tests using streamlined lean methods demonstrated over a 100% increase in system capacity.Technical Reports & Papers:
Proprietary
