International Part, Component, and System Manufacturer

Situation * Market changes to more product variety and features, smaller production quantity runs, lower price requirements.  and compressed time to market reduced profit margins, even threatened some product lines.  Technology solutions in product data management systems, group technology, and CAD / CAM were not able to offset declining profits.

Actions - AMT facilitated a 1/2-day planning session with senior management to define mission and objectives, resource requirements, a project manager, and 12 experienced, capable knowledge workers representing customer service, product/project management, mechanical and electrical engineering design.  manufacturing, production planning, and control. purchasing/supply chain management, manufacturing, industrial engineering, quality management. and MIS.

AMT trained and coached the 12-person PDLC improvement team for 12 one-half day workshops to define the “as-is” and “to he” value stream maps (AMT coached team.in learning and applying customer oriented process analysis and documentation methods. e.g. Plexus turtle and IDEF 0/1 input-process-output-resource-constraint process mapping, and  new technology solutions, e.g., database, web devices, wireless. ERP BOM setups,  group technology, simulation, and graphical quality system documentation for training.

After the PDLC completed the new process definition, build with cross functional consensus, senior management approved it and directed that the new process be applied to current years projects, to the extent feasible.  Next, AMT facilitated a 100-person. six-hour, PDLC improvement workshop for people responsible for design, project management, manufacturing, purchasing, etc. for each of 4 new models and products that were being developed and introduced during the year.  Breakout teams for each of the l4 models and products completed a color-coded evaluation of a PDLC checklist to define the project status as compared to. the new PDLC model using a red, yellow, or green coding scheme to designate failure danger, caution, OK, respectively.

Top management charged each of the teams to correct the 52 “red’ items on the checklists, which ranged from one item to 12 items for each of the 14 new model / product products being developed and launched,

Results - For the first time in five years, 100% of the 14 new year models and products were introduced on-time, on or below budget cost. The PDLC project documentation was used for the client’s quality management system documentation. The client formed a new business unit based on the new PI)LC to provide customer services throughout the product life cycle.

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Large Midwest Tool and Die Manufacturer 

Facing declining profits due to price-cutting by foreign competitors and cost increases, the client retained AMT to streamline operations and product development. AMT trained and coached four teams of die designers, customer service estimators, NC programmers. machinists, die makers, and project managers to define and implement improvements, including:

·      Organizational delayering, removed one level of project/program and operations management and moved decision-making closer to value stream operation. e.g.. NC programming moved to machinist, estimating moved to lead die makers.

·      Technology insertion and coaching start up, e.g.. graphical NC programming. parametric estimating. group technology component family machining, ceramic cutting tool inserts, and die assembly setups.

·      Standardized machining setup and tool selection, die construction and die tryout procedures.

·      Visual factory management.

·      Design for manufacturability / 3D design.