October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources A case study of increasing profitability through the development of a world-class supply chain. Background Perkins Engines at Stafford intended to support rapid growth in volumes and to drive an increase in profitability by developing a supply chain capable of world-class performance. The Challenge Perkins Engines at Stafford produces medium-to-large size engines for the Electrical Power Generator industry, employs 500 people and has sales of £133m. Having seen a substantial increase in volumes in Year 1 to more than 2000 engines (from 600-800 in previous years), and plans to deliver a further 30% increase in Year 2, Perkins’ supply chain was under pressure. The Objectives Key objectives for suppliers in Year 2 was to support Perkins’ intention to achieve Class A re-accreditation: 40% reduction in both customer and supplier delivered quality defects Significant improvement in supplier delivery performance – currently 66% 30% increase in capacity in Year 2 100% increase in stock turns Further development of lean manufacturing capability The Industry Forum Solution A 2 year project was delivered by SMMT Industry Forum under direction from Project Champion Paul Lloyd, one of Perkins 6 Sigma Black Belts. It built on the success of a pilot project that took place in Year 1, where Perkins worked with two key suppliers to increase their manufacturing capacity, overhaul their management control systems, deploy lean thinking and encourage a culture of continuous improvement. The programme was developed through a 6 Sigma DMAIC process (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve & Control) A Business Improvement Review was used to analyse supplier performance in terms of quality and delivery performance, spend, growth in spend since Year 0, and strategic importance. Subsequently, a ‘supplier day’ was held to fully explain the challenges that faced Perkins and its supply chain. Key training and improvement activities: Change Agents underwent training and assessment during the lifecycle of the project Value Steam Mapping’ was used to establish the current position, assess the future position and identify opportunities for improving QCO performance A Partnership Assessment survey was used to evaluate ‘interface waste’ and identify gaps in cross-functional relationships with suppliers The ‘7 measures of QCD’ were implemented to analyse performance, identify gaps in Class A requirements and create action plans Quarterly Steering Committee Meetings reviewed progress against the activity plan and agreed KPIs The Customer’s View “Significant growth in Perkins’ business has put severe pressure on the Stafford facility and its workforce. Over the last 2-3 years we have invested several million pounds in new plant and equipment both at Stafford and within the supply chain. The issues now facing the Stafford business are the development of key processes and people to maximise the return on assets and assure future prosperity. We see the Supply Chain Group project as a cornerstone of future process development. Improved effectiveness of our suppliers will enable Perkins to operate a more lean and agile business.” Robin Mackness, General Manager, Perkins Engines Reference file: Download Case Study (pdf)
October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources Industry Forum is working with Owens Corning to roll out the tools and techniques of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) across all of their plants to increase process and plant reliability. As a consequence, Owens Corning hopes to have all of its plants ready for the JIPM TPM Award by 2018. “It has been a great experience to work with Industry Forum these last two years. We’ve been learning a lot…it’s a great partnership and we’re ready to share our experiences with other business within the group.” “Industry Forum is helping us to change our operations mainly in the way that they coach and teach because they challenge us in a very good way.” “We are seeing results in less downtime in our machines, better quality, less waste and for sure in the bottom line we see we have some big savings.” Luis Martins, Vice President, Global Operations, Glass Reinforcements, Owens Corning “The scheduled visits every six to eight weeks to come into the facility really team with us and help us do all that is required to ensure we understand we are on track with the programme.” “They go above and beyond ensuring that the trainer supplied during the process was meeting the needs of our facility” “The key to success is getting sustainability and it was after one or two years as we started to see the culture change moving towards a culture of continuous improvement that we knew this approach was working for us.” Chuck Taylor, Plant Manager, Owens Corning, Jackson Tennessee Facility
October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources Improving assembly processes through the application of lean manufacturing. Background Leyland Trucks manufactures the full range of DAF Trucks, from 7.5 to 44 tonnes, at its facility in Leyland. All vehicles are produced on one line at a rate of 20,000 per year. The facility operates in line with the Paccar Production System (PPS) and Leyland Trucks is one of the best performing assembly plants within the Paccar family. In addition, Leyland Trucks has a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, has won the IMechE MX award in two consecutive years, and has recently been awarded the Bronze Shingo Award. Leyland Trucks can demonstrate strong continuous improvement, grounded in Six Sigma, and the company is striving for new ways to improve its business. The Challenge Leyland Trucks wanted to target productivity and quality improvements of a minimum of 10% by implementing advanced lean manufacturing mentoring. The Objectives With the largenumber of vehicle specifications and options, maximising efficient production is a significant challenge, from both an assembly and material flow perspective. Leyland Trucks wanted to create a template for theenhanced, sustainable deployment of advanced lean techniques within the Paccar Production System. Specific assistance was sought in the facilitation and mentoring of staff in key aspects such that they could roll out the techniques across the facility. The intention was to enable a dedicated team to support this project, with specific mentoring support in work standardisation, 5S, visual team processes and lean material flow. The Industry Forum Solution The programme received funding assistance and advice from the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) Business Excellence (BE) programme and was delivered by SMMT Industry Forum Ltd. The activity focused on the identification and elimination of waste from manufacturing operations in a specific cost centre with a team of 11 operators. The project was resourced by Leyland Trucks to include five permanent team members from different areas of the business to provide a broad range of knowledge and abilities. The time period for the improvement activity was set at 40 days to provide sufficient time to complete all the phases and to maximise operator involvement. Key objectives of the activity were: Improve visual management Create standardised work Have an impact on key metrics – Defects per Unit, Inventory Accuracy and Truck Hours Implement a 5S standard Sustain the changes The Customer’s View The activity successfully implemented changes within the cost centre, achieving improvements in all of the key objective areas. An important outcome of the activity was the implementation of a cost centre team board to present and record information relevant to the team. This became a focal point for the team and has been extended to other cost centres in the business. The outcomes of the project included improvements in the following areas: defects per unit for air conditioning assignment; process time for radiator assembly; inventory accuracy – by part location and by quantity. In particular, a focused improvement on the assembly process for clutch pipe assignment and the reduction of waste brought about a 25.9% decrease in the number of reported defects. John Keegan, PPS Co-ordinator, Leyland Trucks Ltd “The support from the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) Business Excellence programme has enabled Industry Forum to work with and our team to implement practical, common sense solutions, which have resulted in significant outcomes in a number of areas such as a reduction in defects and improvements in productivity.” Reference file: Download Case Study (pdf) This case study has been produced with the kind permission of Leyland Trucks Ltd & The Northwest Automotive Alliance All information in this document is copyright of Industry Forum © 2013
October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources A business process improvement programme resulting in a 60% reduction in lead times. Background ENER-G designs, develops and finances energy efficient, sustainable and renewable solutions on a business-to-business basis globally. Components, primarily engines, are purchased from automotive suppliers to support the business. The engines are used at the heart of ENER-G’s efficient Combined Heat and Power systems which allow businesses to save money on their energy bills whilst reducing their carbon footprint. ENER-G was established in the 1980s and since then the company has grown through acquisitions and organically to a current turnover of £130 million. ENER-G employs more than 750 people globally and has a presence in 17 countries. It operates more than 365MW of generation capacity, which enables its customers to reduce their collective CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes per year, equating to the environmental benefit of taking 1.7 million cars off the road per year. The Challenge ENER-G identified a need to improve the cost base and delivery of its products due to increased pressure from the marketplace. The Objectives The project aim was to improve competitiveness and the ability to respond quickly to market conditions. The Industry Forum Solution With funding assistance from the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) Business Excellence (BE) programme and advice and mentoring from Industry Forum in quality, cost and delivery (QCD) both internally and through ENER-G’s supply chain, the following initiatives were undertaken in the Combined Heat and Power business based in the North West: A manufacturing improvement programme including a manufacturing diagnostic looking at QCD data, material flow, value-add/non-value-add analysis with improvement workshops. A business improvement project for the company’s sales order and planning process, consisting of a value stream mapping exercise together with capacity analysis, development and implementation of a new framework. The Industry Forum ‘learn by doing’ approach encouraged staff on the front line to identify and carry out improvements themselves rather than be told what to do, in order to get things right first time and the mantre was carried across to include the quality of all supplied parts. Rework activity was identified and waste eliminated. To help with this, employees were provided with globally recognised tools and techniques to make the improvements. The Customer’s View Since the project, significant benefits have been seen in QCD performance – both internally and within key suppliers. ‘Right first time’ has been improved by an impressive 80%. Robust systems have now been put in place within the supply chain resulting in suppliers now taking responsibility for quality issues instead of ENER-G having to fix problems inherited from suppliers. An important outcome is that there have been significant reductions in assembly time and lead-time in excess of 60%. “A key element of our business is sourcing and working with automotive engines, and the NAA provided excellent support to improve quality and efficiency in this area. I am hugely impressed by the outcomes that this project has delivered and I would certainly recommend the NAA Business Excellence programme to others.” Craig Allen, Group Manufacturing Director at ENER-G Holdings plc Reference file: Download Case Study (pdf) This case study has been produced with the kind permission of ENER-G Holdings plc & The Northwest Automotive Alliance All information in this document is copyright of Industry Forum © 2013
October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources Industry Forum worked with Electrolux to develop their global lean manufacturing programme, the Electrolux Manufacturing System (EMS).Currently, it is used throughout their global operations with great success and has helped to improve process and Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD). “The key to success is getting sustainability and it was after one or two years as we started to see the culture change moving towards a culture of continuous improvement that we knew this approach was working for us.” “The standard of implementation we’ve very high and that was largely due to the support received from Industry Forum. The knowledge and training that has been passed onto our people has been invaluable in getting that culture of continuous improvement.” Gareth Berry, Vice President, Global Operations/EMS, Electrolux
October 1, 2018 Case Studies, Resources A case study in the introduction of lean training for employees. Background Formed in 1955, and privately owned since 2000, ELE Advanced Technologies (ELE) located in Lancashire, specialises in non-conventional machining for aerospace and land based industrial gas turbines. They also produce precision components for the automotive industry. Key customers include Rolls-Royce, Siemens and Alstom. UK operations currently employ 100 people on a 3.6 hectare site and their plant in Slovakia employs 50 people. The Challenge ELE wanted to engage their employees in the improvement process and to increase sustainability while at the same time giving their entire workforce an overview of the concepts and benefits of continuous improvement. Particular focus was required on one piece flow, smaller batch sizes, 5S and workplace organisation. The Objectives The aim of the Lean Awareness training was to give all employees an appreciation of the impact that lean tools and techniques have on profit and cash flow in the business. The Industry Forum Solution The Industry Forum training programme was facilitated through the use of the ‘Plug Production System’, a simulation activity designed for small teams that combines the practical application of lean tools and techniques with the theory behind it. Through ‘manufacturing trials’ within the game, teams identified wastes such as poor flow, workplace organisation, material presentation and layout. The session also highlighted the connection between the teams’ performance and that of the external supplier, illustrating the need for the whole value stream to be able to achieve the target output rate and operate at ‘Takt time’. The Customer’s View “We had a need for Lean training on waste reduction and the 7 types of waste and we approached various lean training providers for ideas on how to give a taster on lean thinking to the entire workforce. Over the course of two weeks, Industry Forum led the entire workforce through half day training sessions from which they gleaned an understanding of the 7 wastes, especially overproduction, excessive inventory, line balancing and defect reduction. To spice things up a little, a leaderboard of profits or losses incurred was collated, with the winning team receiving recognition! I have no hesitation in using Industry Forum again and cannot fault the service we have received.” Peter Calderbank, Operations Director, ELE Advanced Technologies Reference file: Download Case Study (pdf)
September 27, 2018 News, Resources Industry Forum will be attending SMMT’s Open Forum which brings together 300 delegates for a day of presentations, knowledge sharing and discussion. The events offer excellent networking opportunities with leading senior figures from the automotive industry, focusing on opportunities in the UK’s automotive supply chain, with experts and key decision makers speaking on a variety of industry topics. For information on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, e-mail supplychain@smmt.co.uk To read more information and to book a place please visit the SMMT website
August 31, 2018 Industry Forum Blog, Resources General Information In 2005, the industry-specific standard Automotive SPICE®, derived from the new ISO 15504 International Standard (IS) for software process assessments, was published by the Special Interest Group Automotive. This mandatory method is consulted more and more as an objective process evaluation and for the process improvements resulting from it on the project and organisational level. Initial Situation The market demands for environmental-friendliness, safety, economic efficiency and user-friendliness require innovations with increasing complexity at shorter and shorter intervals. The shorter development periods connected to this and the increasing requirements on reliability make the improvement of the development processes indispensable. Scope of Automotive SPICE® In principle, automotive SPICE® has two dimensions: the process dimension and the process capability dimension. The processes in the process dimension are based on the ISO 12207 that has been extended and modified with automotive-specific additions. The process capability dimension corresponds to the six process capability levels as they are defined in the ISO 15504. An ISO 15504-compatible assessment model is available for conducting assessments. Process Capability Dimension The lowest level (Level 0) means that not all processes are carried out and therefore, certain important work products (plans, specifications, design documents, test descriptions etc.) do not exist. In Level 1, all important documents are available; in Level 2, everything is systematically planned and tracked; in Level 3, there are uniform guidelines for the complete organisation,and in Levels 4 and 5, the processes are statistically measured and optimised. Process Dimension This illustration lists the different processes that the ISO 15504 International Standard (IS) examines. Moreover, the processes that have been adjusted (A) and additionally newly implemented for Automotive SPICE® are marked (orange). The HIS scope as the minimum requirement of the processes to be examined in an assessment is highlighted in blue. Industry Forum’s SPICE® courses: intacs™ certified Provisional Assessor (Automotive SPICE®)(ID 910)(5 days) Need support? Purchase Volume
August 31, 2018 Articles, Resources IATF 16949, The Quality Management System for the Automotive Industry requires organisations to develop a way in which warranties will be managed. Before going any further it would be necessary to understand what the concept of warranty means. In a typical manufacturing environment we can distinguish three types of “bad feedback” sources regarding quality of the product: First – internal scrap / complaints – occur when the next process within the organisation detects non-conforming product. This type is the best source of data for making our processes better. Costs associated with this will mostly be confined within the organisation, without a need to hire external help. However it is essential that the organisation needs to address the causes and implement corrective actions. Second – so called “zero kilometre” complaints – this occurs when the direct customer (the organisation that uses your product to make parts) finds it’s not what it should be. Now there will be internal costs and external services to deal with, not to mention that our process of resolution needs to be fully in line with customer expectations which can vary between customers, adding to the complexity and cost of the entire process. Third is a field failure, actual warranty cases. It occurs when a problem is detected by the final customer (driver). Costs can rise easily to millions depending on how severe the case is, and if wider recall action becomes necessary. Recall action means that the organisation will replace all potentially faulty products in all cars already on the road. This is the main reason why organisations need to very carefully analyse all cases of failures to avoid warranty issues and if there is a warranty issue it needs to be very quickly identified, assessed, contained and removed before it escalates to recall action. A typical warranty case (even a single item) will already generate quite significant costs. Firstly, a dealership will charge the OEM (car maker) with labour and parts, then there are added logistics of bringing the faulty product to the OEM. The OEM will then perform their analysis (which, of course, is not free) and if a fault is recognised as originating from the supply chain, the same scenario will repeat down the supply chain with logistics, analysis, and so on, as presented in the graphic on the right1. To present the extent of this issue, in 2014 the global annual cost of warranty was in the range of 50 billion US dollars, which is a big increase compared to 30 billion in 2006. All of this means that organisations wanting to survive, and not lose their profits, must address the possibility of warranty cases in their Operational / Business Systems. This links to two clauses required by IATF 16949, which are located in section 10. “10.2.5 Warranty management systems When the organization is required to provide warranty for their product(s), the organization shall implement a warranty management process. The organization shall include in the process a method for warranty part analysis, including NTF (no trouble found). When specified by the customer, the organization shall implement the required warranty management process. 10.2.6 Customer complaints and field failure test analysis The organization shall perform analysis on customer complaints and field failures, including any returned parts, and shall initiate problem solving and corrective action to prevent recurrence. Where requested by the customer, this shall include analysis of the interaction of embedded software of the organization’s product within the system of the final customer’s product. The organization shall communicate the results of testing/analysis to the customer and also within the organization.”2 IATF 16949 presents the requirement but it’s down to the organisation to define the warranty process and how to analyse returned parts, bearing in mind that those parts are actually used, and may not be identical to products that are newly out of the production line. The answer has already been developed by VDA with input from OEMs and Suppliers, see graphic on the right1. It is called VDA Field Failure Analysis (VDA FFA). The objective of VDA FFA is to introduce a comprehensive concept for warranty returns analysis. This will consider processes and interactions involved, including analysis on various levels of depth and dealing with results. VDA FFA will also address how to approach cases when a defect is not discovered, which is referred to as a No Trouble Found (NTF) process. This standard might be an answer to managing your warranties in a value added way, not just to tick the box, and also will help the organisations to address IATF 16949 requirements. Industry Forum offers a two day course, developed by the German automotive industry Field Failure Analysis which defines a joint approach between the customer and supplier for the analysis of field returns including no fault found scenarios. Book now Purchase volume 1 Graphics used are part of VDA Field Failure Analysis training material 2 IATF 16949:2016 “Quality management system requirements for automotive production and relevant service parts organizations”
August 13, 2018 Automotive, News Industry Forum is a proud sponsor of the Northern Automotive Alliance Business Awards & Networking Dinner – People & Skills award Category: NAA People & Skills Award Sponsor: SMMT Industry Forum Open to: All SMEs Established in 1996 by British government, the SMMT and vehicle manufactures, Industry Forum exists to improve both performance and competitiveness in UK supply chain. Central to our ethos is a ingrained dedication to developing people and skills in the Automotive sector. As part of our commitment to continued development of skills and people, we sponsor the NAA people and skills award which serves to acknowledge and celebrate investment in skills by a small to medium sized enterprise employing less than 250 people in the engineering and advanced manufacturing sector. This award is designed to recognise an exemplary business that invests in both the training and development of its workforce. We will be looking for applicants who can demonstrate that they are a leading light in this area by showing clear evidence of how investment in skills can bring benefits to people and businesses alike. We ask that applicants answer the questions as fully as possible, keeping to the word count. We also welcome the inclusion of photographs or diagrams that help support your application. This award may consist of a 2-stage process. The first stage is the People & Skills Award form from which 3 companies will be short-listed. Dependent upon the applications there may be a second stage will take the form of on-site visit to further investigate each application and its background. Feedback will be provided to each company that receives an on-site visit. The on-site visits will be undertaken during October 2018. Forms can be downloaded here and closing date is midnight, 31st August. PLEASE NOTE: The NAA awards are open to all companies, you do not need to be an NAA member to enter the awards. About the awards: Northern Automotive Alliance Business Awards & Networking Dinner Thursday 8th November 2018 7pm – 12pm at The Mere Golf Resort & Spa, Knutsford, Cheshire. The event is is an opportunity to network with NAA members over dinner and drinks. The attendee numbers have grown year on year and this year is expected to be better than ever. It’s recently been announced that Master of Ceremonies and guest speaker for the 2018 NAA Awards will be Robert Llewellyn, actor (Kryten in Red Dwarf), comedian, writer, TV presenter (Scrapheap Challenge), presenter of the highly successful Fully Charged series on YouTube about electric vehicles, and most recently, the man behind the inaugural Fully Charged Live Event. Entry for award applications is now open. Becoming a shortlisted applicant at the NAA Business Awards will provide your organisation with the opportunity to be recognised as a leading player in the automotive industry. Award Categories: Trade Innovation Logistics Excellence Marketing Excellence Manufacturing Excellence People & Skills (for SMEs) Industry 4.0 Dinner Booking: Table of 10 : £800* Individual Tickets : £85* All the above include a three course meal with coffee and drinks. Dress Code : Gents – Lounge Suit; Ladies – Long or Cocktail Dress If you would like to book a place or receive more information on event sponsorship, please e-mail zoe@northernautoalliance.com *Above prices are subject to vat. A number of rooms have been reserved at a preferential rate from £125 on a B&B basis – if you would like to reserve a room, please contact the hotel and quote our event and date.
