Case study · 10

Finding a Hidden Factory Inside an Existing Plant

How a loss mapping baseline and daily management routine lifted OEE 22 percent in nine months at roughly one tenth the cost of a proposed capacity investment.

Sector: Industrial components manufacturing
Engagement: Operations performance transformation

22% in nine monthsOEE improvement

Cut by more than halfChangeover (die change) time

Roughly one tenth of the costVs. proposed capital investment

01 The Problem

The operating constraint behind the numbers

A mid sized industrial components manufacturer, squeezed by import competition, believed it needed a major capacity investment. Its critical lines told a different story once measured, with capacity being lost daily to changeovers, minor stoppages and quality escapes that nobody tracked consistently.

02 The Evidence

The evidence leadership could act on

Changeover (Die Change) Time: Before vs After Redesign

Before changeover redesignBaseline die change time

After changeover redesignCut by more than half

Source: Changeover redesign cut die change time by more than half

Overall Equipment Effectiveness Improvement Over Nine Months

Start

Baseline OEE

+22% OEE improvement

9 months

Source: Overall equipment effectiveness improved 22 percent in nine months

03 The Kingswell Response

What changed in the management system

Build a loss mapping baseline

A loss mapping baseline was built on the four constraint lines.

Redesign changeovers

Changeover redesign cut die change time by more than half.

Install live stoppage visibility

Low cost sensors and a stoppage tracking screen gave line leaders live visibility.

Run daily loss reviews and add in-line quality measurement

Daily loss reviews assigned every recurring loss an owner, and in line quality measurement was added at the two steps generating most escapes.

04 What Remained

The management system installed

Loss mapping baseline

Low cost sensors

Stoppage tracking screen

Daily loss review rhythm

In line quality measurement

05 The Result

What the organisation could do next

A loss mapping baseline was built on the four constraint lines. Changeover redesign cut die change time by more than half, low cost sensors and a stoppage tracking screen gave line leaders live visibility, daily loss reviews assigned every recurring loss an owner, and in line quality measurement was added at the two steps generating most escapes. Overall equipment effectiveness improved 22 percent in nine months, equivalent to the output of the proposed capital investment at roughly one tenth of its cost. The plant manager credits the daily management routine more than any device installed.