Situation
Osseo Plastics is a growing family-owned, small business that recognized that its current manufacturing methods are a limiting factor to their growth potential. Specifically, the cell used to manufacture their septic tank baffle products was not meeting their needs to efficiently manufacture a high volume of units (25,000-30,000 annually). Recognizing that much of their management and all of their employees had little or no exposure to formal process improvement methods or work experience outside of Osseo Plastics, they enlisted the Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC) to provide proper training and assistance to evaluate and implement improvements to this manufacturing area.
Solution
Matt and Nick from the MOC completed a Value-Stream map with an in-depth process observation and cycle time study on the baffle line. Matt and Nick were extremely hands-on and “rolled up their sleeves” as they not only taught Osseo Plastics employees , but worked alongside them through the entire process and helped transform their operation in the span of one week. During this time, the process was reconfigured, manufacturing equipment was modified, the entire workplace was reorganized through analysis and implementation of 5S, and a level scheduling tool was created to manage labor capacity allocation and drive on-time delivery. After completing a current and target condition plan, Osseo Plastics saved ten seconds per baffle produced, resulting in an annual cost savings of approximately $40,000.
Results
- Time: Cycle times have been reduced by 18%, improving lead times and throughput. Increased scheduling capacity.
- Cost Savings: Improved cycle times have realized labor cost savings, $3,000 annually.
- Culture: Introduced a culture and mindset of 5S and continuous improvement that is being applied to other areas of the company.
- Growth: Controlled product costs and increased capacity better service for existing customers and future growth potential.
Testimonial
“Osseo Plastics is an established small, family-owned company with good growth potential and significant unrealized capacity within our manufacturing facility. Complacency and limited experience outside of Osseo Plastics has created limitations based on a “how we do things” mentality. The MOC was recognized as a great option and opportunity to expose our management and employees to outside ideas and methods that would improve all aspects of our business. The MOC team (Matt and Nick) proved to be great resources in providing expert-level instruction and implementing ideas based on real-world experience. The area that was chosen for this specific project was an obvious one for us because of the relatively high volume of “standard” parts being produced and general unorganized fashion that it was being processed within. Beyond the goal of improving our manufacturing process, the most important element of this project was to expose our employees to these ideas and begin to create a culture of Lean Manufacturing and process improvement. Since the formal project was completed, numerous other opportunities have been identified by our employees with some being implemented. Improving other aspects of the manufacturing facility.” - Brandon Leinon, Vice President of Osseo Plastics