TigerStop: Tackling Fenestration Industry’s Automation Challenges

Introduction

Every plant manager or engineer in the fenestration industry faces the same problem of creating simple and flexible solutions within the work cell. The demands of reduced cycle times and reduced inventories are constant struggles. With cutoff operations using chop saws, cold saws, or band saws, the engineer is faced with process variables dependant on each operator working in the cell.

Problem Statement

The cut off work cell poses a particular challenge to the fenestration industry. On one hand, the repetition of the saw operation creates a relatively mundane work environment with the potential for high employee turnover. On the other hand, overall quality is significantly impacted by the output of the cut off saws. If parts are cut incorrectly, all downstream operations are impacted. This affects both in-process inventory and cycle time. And the concern over quality is highlighted in those businesses creating, customized products, where cut lists change regularly.

Length accuracy, length repeatability, quantities, setup time, material utilization or lack of optimization, marking or labeling and operator fatigue and boredom are all tangible issues for the manager or engineer. Readily available and affordable solutions that can adapt to a multiplicity of operations and machine types are virtually unknown.

Previous Options

Viable options that have been available are limited to manual stops. These have ranged from a c clamp and a hunk of material clamped to the machine table to well made systems that are attached to the out feed side of the machine. The operator sets these systems using a tape measure either attached to the stop system or manually measuring from the blade to the desired location. In either case, the final length is dependant on the operator. Parts cut on different days or by different operators will be different. The lack of consistency becomes a definitive issue down stream and causes constant adjustment to jigs and fixtures or subtle forms of rework such as sanding or filing parts in an assembly to final fit. The process lacks controllability and is dependant on subjective activity on the part of the operator, making it virtually impossible to eliminate process variation, even when the most rigid statistical process control is employed. One of the essential tools of lean / single piece flow work cell management.

Solution

TigerStop LLC has solved the problem with the first affordable, industrial positioner that can be readily adapted to existing equipment. A simple man-machine interface guarantees acceptance on the plant floor. Comprehensive accessories allow for easy adaptation to almost any saw or cut off device. The comprehensive software includes the ability to download parts lists or patterns generated by an optimization program. In addition users can configure label files to insure that each part cut has a unique label.

The 7 Wastes

Elimination of the Seven Deadly Wastes:

Overproduction - producing more than the production schedule calls for
Inventory – make to stock versus make to order
Motion - walking or reaching to get parts or tools
Waiting - poor balance of work, materials not available when needed, downtime
Transportation - long moves, re-stacking, pick up/put down
Over Processing - too much in Work In Process (WIP) hides problems
Defects - rework; material and labor are wasted; capacity is lost at bottleneck

So how does automating your cutoff operations accomplish this?

Over Production - No need to make extras. Make what you need when you need it.
Inventory - Less Work-In-Process (WIP) – Make what you need when you need it – Make to order – eliminate or reduce batching.
Motion – Add-on automation uses existing small machine tools, giving you right size solutions at the point of use, eliminating monumental machines and process villages freeing up both capital and plant space.
Waiting – When product is waiting to be processed it occupies not only floor space in the factory but means that your money (capital) is standing still not earning a return. 80 percent of the total throughput time that product spends on the manufacturing floor is simply waiting at process villages.
Over Processing - Eliminates Set-up, no need to establish economic order quantities (Inventory) based on amortizing set-up times. Set-up, a major waste, goes to zero. Order quantities of one are now your most economical choice.
Transportation - This point-of-use placement eliminates the waste of moving stacks of materials from one Process Village to wait in a queue at another for the next operation. In other words, make what you want where you need it, when you need it.
Defects – These become a thing of the past. Labor is not wasted producing bad parts, accuracy goes to 100%.
Improve yield – Available Optimization – This savings goes straight to the bottom line.
Increase Productivity – Get another 100 to 300 machine cycles per shift – machine operator can concentrate on production rather than set-up time and sorting through materials (Motion).
Operator Retention and Satisfaction – Automated stop and pusher systems lead to increased operator job satisfaction. Most employees want to be proud of what they produce. With the process improvements that automated measuring device provide, they hear positive feedback on a day-to-day basis.

Implementation

The plant engineer faces the following issues when implementing process improvements in a cutoff application:

Designing the right team. Team members should be drawn from across the spectrum of the organization. Within that selection, you need to find a decision-maker who can champion the team’s decisions without dominating the process or the outcome.
Proper structure of the process improvement activity or Kaizan event to engage the operators in identifying the issues and achieving buy-in from the cell team and its individual members. But, Kaizan teams should be cross functional across the functional spectrum of the organization. Once your team is established they need to be involved throughout the process. From justification to installation and until the improvement meets the objectives of the team. From start to finish, is the only way you will achieve the objectives, creating ownership.
Identifying and involving the cell team in understanding the functionalities of the equipment and tools (both software and hardware-based) that are available; and the benefits that they may or may not bring to the application.
Buy-in from General Manager and higher ups, making the case for the application and the high rate of Return-on-Investment (ROI). Cutoff operations are generally seen as ancillary or back room activities, to the main activities of the company and are relegated to the lowest paid team members.
Measuring your current state, quantify and measure the criteria for improvement. This becomes your Payback or ROI criteria for upper management. Without clearly defining this, you loose the opportunity to engage plant floor personnel in understanding the criteria that management has used historically for justifications of capital expenditures. This augments understanding and cooperation at all levels. Some of the criteria that you might want to measure are:
- Setup time
- Accuracy
- Productivity
- Rework
- Yield
- Inventory reduction or Batch Sizes (Kanban Sizes)
- Per square foot productivity
- Employee satisfaction and retention
Quantifying the payback or ROI of the process improvement. Once you have set your measurable, you are ready as a team to calculate your future state. These calculations need to be reduced to dollars and cents saved. This is where having a properly formed cross-functional team is an absolute necessity. The involvement of financially trained team members will give you a major leg up on creating a realistic calculation of the savings and pay back.
Once approval has been achieved for the improvement the first step is to order the correct equipment, again with the involvement of the Kaizan team. The process of approval needs to be mirrored during acquisition and installation of the new equipment. Do not have plant maintenance install the improvements over the weekend and expect that the Kaizan team and cell members will accept or have ownership of the process and equipment on Monday morning.
Purchasing and sourcing equipment. This can become a stumbling block where the outcome is a camel not a race horse. Speed to implementation most times is more valuable than allowing the process to bog down in this phase. Purchasing equipment is a highly specialized area. When you have brain surgery at the hospital the idea of inviting into the process the candy striper, the psychiatrist or the accountant can lead to unacceptable outcomes because of the lack of specialist knowledge. The delayed decision making and lost momentum of that team purchasing can result in immeasurable problems and a significant loss of credibility for the organization.
However, you have to engage the team in this process, and find a balance between delay and maintaining momentum. The team facilitator needs to be aware of the land mine that this phase can pose to the timely implementation and work throughout the process to get unanimous buy in from the team.
Installation of the equipment can also become a stumbling block. Do not have the plant maintenance install the equipment over the weekend and expect that the Kaizan team and the cell operators to have ownership on Monday morning.
Training; here lies the meat of the matter, without doing a proper job of training and working out the kinks success and long term sustainability will be lost. Document on a step-by-step the process for the future. Keep it visual and simple. Visual manufacturing is a key to sustainable results.
Measuring the New Current State, against the forecasted future state. Do not bypass this step in the process as so many do. By measuring and quantifying the results of your experiment you will enhance the knowledge of the team, identify where you were underestimating and overestimating your outcomes and last but, most importantly, your team builds confidence both in their abilities and the dedication of the organization to continuous improvement.
Celebrate. Make it a big deal, post your outcomes and your key lessons learned.

Summary

Consistent underestimation of costs and impacts of cutoff operations in fenestration industries have historically been ignored or minimized and relegated to the back room. Significant benefits can be derived for the organization by the simple automation of cutoff process and making sure that they are no longer thought of as back room operations. The benefits of Simple Automation, readily available on short lead times and quickly deployable can result in significant paybacks financially, in productivity, quality and in employee satisfaction.

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