Implementing lean best practices in an automotive component parts manufacturing company

Abstract

Flextech Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd manufactures Control Cables and Rear View Mirrors for the local as well as global automotive industries. The company, situated in Pretoria Gauteng is also known for its manufacturing of tools and the production of plastic mouldings. The aim of this project is to investigate the lean tools available, select the best suited approach to develop a waste reduction priorities in a specific area in Flextech. Constraints were identified based on an investigation of the environment of Flextech through structured discussions with management, constraints were identified. The Front Park Brake Cable production line of Ford South Africa was chosen for this project to implement Lean thinking tools. The Front PKB can be better described as the framework of the new Ford Ranger’s hand brake. Gaps in the Front PKB process were identified using engineering techniques and lean tools such as Value stream mapping. Each of these identified problems was analysed in detail. Solutions or improvements were developed. The brazing area was seen as the key problem where the proposed lean implementation road map could be used. The problem was thoroughly analysed by investigating the current situation at Flextech. The goal was established as improving the throughput at the Brazing area for the Front PKB Brackets, meeting daily requirements of 600 brazed brackets per day using only the day shifts. Countermeasures identified improved the Brazing layout and provided visual target boards for each individual operator. Changing the layout resulted in improving the continuous flow of the material as well as eliminating double handling of the material. The target boards motivated the operators to achieve their requirement of 38 brazed brackets per hour. A Gantt chart was prepared to show the steps of a Lean Road Map implementation improvement plan for the brazing area. This Lean Road Map will be used as a foundation of improving other problems in Flextech. The follow up plan, according to the Gantt chart as steps 10-14, will be completed during October 2012 to mid-December 2012.