Stober Drives Time Study By: GROUP 4

Introduction Stober Drives is a manufacturing company located in Maysville Kentucky. Stober specializes in making gear boxes that are used in a variety of applications. The purpose of this study is to determine if we can improve the process on Stobers paint line. The company has recently implemented six sigma into their manufacturing process. As a result, the paint time has been drastically reduced from 29 hours to 6 hours.

Why We Chose Stober Drives We chose Stober Drives because we wanted the opportunity to study a company that has already implemented Motion and Time study. We wanted to not only see first hand how the process works, but also to see where we could improve even more on the process..

Our Procedure Break down process into each individual step. Time each step Record data

Data Collected Single application of paint = 47 seconds Drying time= 1 Hour ( 1 cycle around the conveyor) Food Duty model receives 4 coats of paint. (1 coat of primer, 2 coats of stainless steel, and 1 coat of antimicrobial paint) Total Time from start to finish of painting process= 4 hours 2 minutes and 8 seconds.

Data Collected PROCESS STEPS IN PAINT PRODUCTION 1.Enter line by overhead conveyor 2.Apply first coat of primer 3.Continue along overhead conveyor to oven 4.Proceed by overhead conveyor along closed system to allow dry time 5.Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for second application of paint (using first coat of stainless steel coating)

Data Collected 6. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for third application of paint (using second coat of stainless steel coating) 7. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for fourth application of paint (using coat of clear antimicrobial paint) 8.Exit line by overhead conveyor

Photos Paint pumping station with quick release valves

Photos Overhead Conveyer

Photos Paint being dried by oven and fans

Paint Booth Work Station Drawing

Data Analysis Paint is mixed to fill 5 gallon buckets once every 4 hrs. It takes the painter approximately 30 minutes. By changing the bucket size to 10 gallons, it would reduce the amount of time spent mixing paint by a factor of 2. The paint would only have to be done once per 8 hour shift instead of two times Delay allowance= 30 min/ (480min/shift)= 15% (Meyers & Stewart, 2002)

Data Analysis Ergonomics- After analyzing the paint line at Stober Drives we found that there are three ways to improve the ergonomics of the painting booth. These include: Cushioned work mat Increased lighting Corrected standing working height Paint Booth

Cushioned Work Mat Reduces fatigue from standing long periods of time Improves employee moral and productiveness Provides traction to reduce slipping

Improved Illumination Current lighting is poor and the product being painted is hard to see. Improving the illumination of the paint both can: Reduces eye muscle fatigue, bloodshot eyes, and headaches (Meyers & Stewart, 2002) Improved quality of painting

Corrected Standing Work Height Work height is currently above elbow height which can cause fatigue over time (Meyers & Stewart, 2002) Lowering the conveyor would reduce fatigue and improve productivity

Recommendations/Discussion Increase size of paint buckets from 5 gallon to 10 gallon so one batch will last an entire 8 hour shift. This will decrease the stop time by a factor of 2. Lower parts on overhead conveyor to the correct standing work height to reduce fatigue (Meyers & Stewart, 2002). Install cushioned work mat in paint booth to decrease fatigue and improve ergonomics. Increase lighting in paint booth to reduce eye strain and to improve quality of the coat. Provide protective clothing for the painter to reduce exposure to paint.

Conclusion In conclusion, we as a group conducted a time and motion study on the paint line of Stober Drives to determine what improvements could be made in the process. After completing the study, we have determined although Stober has previously implemented six sigma, improvements can still be made in the area of ergonomics and in the paint process.

References Myers, F., & Stewart, J. (2002). Motion and Time Study (3rd ed.).