AUTOMOTIVE. This project involved union representatives and plant personnel in developing and maintaining accurate labor standards for two plants' manufacturing transmission components. The labor standards led to capital justification for methods and layout redesign. CHEMICALS. This project saved a $500,000 capital cost by showing that rearrangement of an existing filling line system would achieve capacity targets. Time study and methods analysis evaluated manual operations. The evaluation also included facilities layout review, cost-benefit analyses, and both static and dynamic simulation models performing 'what if' analyses of design alternatives. CONSUMER GOODS. A completed planning model enabled engineers to evaluate staffing and resources requirements for alternative production volumes and mixes. Time study and predetermined work measurement systems formed the basis of warehousing and packaging labor standards. The model was also used to analyze warehousing and packaging capacity to identify system bottlenecks and improvement opportunities. EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING. Engineers identified improvements, accounting for 30 percent savings on labor after a customized course on time study and methods improvement. They learned fundamental time study techniques, practiced pace-rating operators, conducted two shop floor studies, and developed a methods improvement checklist for evaluating labor aspects of existing and new operations.

CHEMICALS. This master plan provided a roadmap for capital plan prioritization, building expansion and cost justification. The plan document identified the five-year implementation plan with associated capital costs after site review and evaluation of mechanical, electrical and construction systems. DISTRIBUTION. This project met its goal of developing and implementing a new distribution center design to meet future storage volume requirements. After a series of conceptual layouts and a process flow summary and storage analysis, a single best design was selected and cost estimated to minimize labor picking and storage times and to maximize space efficiency. SUPPLIER. Comparing a number of future scenarios for facility utilization was the basis for planning to meet production needs while minimizing costs. The modeling process led to consolidating the activities of five existing facilities—including the successful closure of one—to reduce overall costs. TRUCKING. This project to design a new truck assembly plant in Seattle involved facility layout planning, cost estimation, simulation modeling of painting and assembly operations, labor methods development, and implementation assistance.

FURNITURE. Designing and implementing a cellular manufacturing system for a 120,000 square-foot furniture manufacturing facility in Grand Rapids produced a 20 percent improvement in floor space utilization, a 90 percent reduction of work-in-process, and lead-time reduced from three weeks to one day. Project work included product mix, process flow, productivity, storage and capacity analyses, capital equipment estimation, and implementation planning.

AUTOMOTIVE. Modeling die-cutting operations allowed this Japanese automotive supplier to investigate manning requirements and scheduling parameters with an eye to maximizing cutting utilization. The information helped identify the costs and benefits of upgraded equipment and increased staffing. CONSTRUCTION. Three U.S. plants benefited from the development of several models of shingle packaging systems. The models enabled rapid experimentation with alternative designs and their impact on capacity and tracked element utilization and production output to understand system performance. Accompanying downtime and machine time studies provided accurate system input information. PAINT. The simulation model of a proposed paint manufacturing plant revealed the impact of design alternatives, estimated resource capacity and validated system design. The model proved useful for considering number and size of processing tanks required to meet projected one- and five-year volumes. PAINT. Developing a computer simulation was a way to efficiently evaluate the effects of many alternative processing operation designs. The custom model could test more than fifty alternatives without operator intervention, saving results in an Excel spreadsheet. Model results included not only number of gallons produced annually by each alternative but also detailed information on every process step.