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Issue link: https://mms.epubxp.com/i/155490
feature Benefits Go Beyond LaBor savinGs Given that Hogge Precision Parts had been running only one shift per day, achieving lightsout production was essentially equivalent to discovering a large amount of additional, lowcost capacity. The way to use this capacity is to distinguish between low-volume and high-volume jobs, Mr. Hogge says. Run the low-volume work during the fully staffed shift and devote the unattended night hours to high-volume production. He says efficient labor use is only one of the benefits that come from running this way. Others include: • Easier quality. Running high-volume parts in batches, or in stages involving multiple machines, entailed many measurements. Dif ferent setups and processes had to be validated separately. By contrast, reconfiguring a process to run each piece in a single cycle (by running the par t in a live-tool lathe, for example), and also to run the entire production quantity in a single night, dramatically simplifies quality control. Typically only the first and last pieces require inspection. • Reduced inventor y. Inventory is also simplified. Jobs that run in stages leave workin-process inventory throughout the shop. Parts queue at the various stations, and capital is tied up in all of this unfinished stock. But when a job is reengineered so that parts run in one cycle, the only inventory is raw material and finished goods. • Speed. By running large quantities through the night, Hogge can often fill orders in 2 days that might have taken 3 weeks in the past. The shop can respond to emergency orders more effectively than it once could. • Predictability. Setups make the timing of jobs hard to predict. But when jobs run unattended, setup time is a small enough portion of the process that Mr. Hogge can forecast with precision when a job will be completed. "I can tell three months out if I am going to hit the delivery date on a 300-piece order," he says. That level of confidence was never possible before. Inspection can now be as easy as just the first and last piece. Strong lighting was installed at gaging stations on the shop floor to make these inspections easy to perform at the machine. Thus, lights-out machining actually entailed installing more lighting. • The chance to get ahead. The time available for unattended production is abundant enough that the shop doesn't have to schedule all of it. Some is left open to deal with surprises. If no surprises come, the shop keeps producing and often runs ahead of schedule. In a typical week, the shop plans for 80 hours of unattended production, but might get 100. • Staffing stability. The shop's staffing is no longer directly tied to the state of business. During the next drop in the economy, he doubts he will have to lay off. Because so much of the shop's capacity is now unattended, he can cut the unattended hours first. mmsonline.com September 2013 MMS 95