Viasystems-Milford Pilots Lean Operations to Increase Productivity
Viasystems-Milford supplies contract manufacturing services to the electronics industry. The 110,000 square-foot facility, located in Milford, Massachusetts, employs 175 people.
The company was building on a shop floor layout that required the products to travel thousands of linear feet; permits storage of thousands of pieces of semi-finished work-in-process (WIP); promotes little or no communications linkage between operations; and rewards performance metrics in operating departments that are counterproductive. The company realized that it needed to make significant changes to its facility and operating processes, and contacted the MassMEP, a NIST MEP network affiliate, for assistance.
Applying Lean MassMEP began a lean evolution at Viasystems by offering training in lean concepts – through its Lean 101 and Time Wise workshops – to all company employees. After everyone at Viasystems understood the basic concepts and procedures behind the lean manufacturing philosophy, MassMEP conducted a value stream mapping (VSM) exercise, which documents every operational step of the company’s PCB product family. During this exercise, MassMEP guided Viasystems through the conceptualization and design of a more efficient and productive system. Finally, MssMEP scheduled selected kaizens to implement the lean production system designed during the VSM activity, with specific focus on the company’s Prep-Slide area.
The initial 5S Workplace Organization kaizen resulted in the removal of over 30 items and 75% of excess WIP from the production area. The next kaizen, Cell Design, built on the results garnered from the 5S and resulted in a 75% reduction in linear feet traveled by the product, a 50% reduction in space required to produce the product, a 50% capacity increase, and a 30% increase in productivity in the production area. Viasystems is now saving space, time, and money thanks to its leaner production system.
Results
Removed 30 items from the shop floor.
Reduced WIP by 75% for a total savings in excess of $25,000.
Reduced traveling distance for raw materials and finished goods by 75%.
Reduced space required to produce the product by 50%.
Increased plant capacity by 50%.
Increased productivity by 30%.
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