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by Stephanie Neil, MA Editorial Staff   | Abstract: | Auto parts supplier's quest to measure equipment efficiency reaps additional rewards in the form of better business decisions. |
As automotive makers get ready to roll the 2008 models off their lines, Tier 1 suppliers, such as Martinrea International Inc., are pushing the pedal to the metal in their own factories to keep pace with their customers. It's difficult to drive production, however, when you don't have a clear view of data traffic moving through the factory. Martinrea, a maker of metal parts and assemblies, such as engine chassis, was always able to meet its customers' needs, even when their product volumes increased unexpectedly. But doing so often meant overtime and sometimes downtime, if production systems were pushed too hard. These inefficiencies, resulting from a lack of data to measure overall equipment efficiency (OEE), cost money. To offset that trend, the engineering department at Martinrea's Hopkinsville, KY, facility (formerly ThyssenKrupp Budd) in 2002 went looking for a solution. They needed a way to consolidate manual processes and paperwork. What they quickly realized was that the project, which would automate and capture all the data related to machinery failure, faults, and downtime events, would impact much more than just the factory floor, as the data collected could be used to send electronic reports to the ERP system or to keep track of historical information to improve Six Sigma projects, and it could even help manage workforce schedules. [Click to continue] |