Visual Management Cell Kanban System: Cell Scheduling The XLVI Brazilian Symposium of Operational Research – Salvador, BA - Brazil SIMULATION ALLIED TO LEAN TOOLS FOR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT OF A METALLURGICAL COMPANY Authors: Diogo Nunes Dalosto, Pedro Paulo Balestrassi, Rogério Santana Peruchi, Messias Borges Silva Institute of Management and Industrial Engineering, Federal University of Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil –UNIFEI Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Tennessee, TN – USA ABSTRACT Manufacturing companies struggle to meet a fluctuating market demand and deal with issues of price, quality and Lead (cycle) times. Synchronous Flow addresses theses issues by incorporating elements of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing principles, as well as simulation to test these improvements. Synchronous manufacturing employs the synchronization between customer orders and work stations. We employ synchronous flow in hydroforming and corrugating area at Fulton Bellows. The result shows substantial improvement in the process. Visual Management Cell Kanban System: Cell Scheduling Fig. Current state simulation Non-value added time: 3480 min. Value added time: 2.9 min. INTRODUCTION Fulton Bellows LCC is dedicated to the manufacturing of bellows with a range of more than 40 different models. Our aim is to improve the flow of material in the process line, specifically in the hydroforming and corrugating area; to decrease the amount of material in process and to speed the process to improve the delivery time of the orders and to be able to increase the productivity of this process. There are 7 operations, each has a different number of machines. Every bellow has an specific sequence to pass through different machines in each operation. There is no standard procedure to schedule the production and assign the machines due to variability in the processes of different models of bellows that are made and the non-constant demand. OBJECTIVE Improve the flow of the material in the process line, specifically in the hydroforming and corrugating area. Fig. Kanbam System METHODOLOGY Assign operators & machines for the first priority Highest demand is prioritized After analyzing the production process, two processes were found to be bottlenecks: hydro-forming and trimming operations. We propose cellular manufacturing. To make the cellular production feasible it was organized the principal twenty products in families, so each family has its own system, families then can be arranged in cells and will work with the schedule system. Celluar manufacturing In cellular manufacturing, work stations and machines are arranged in a sequence that provides a smooth flow of materials and components through the production process. It offers flexibility to customers the variety they want by grouping similar products into families that can be processed on same equipment in the same sequence. Shorten changeover time between products, reduces unnecessary transportation between stations. We focused on 20 products that have higher demand. Scheduling Identify the pieces by the color of the family. After that, prioritize according to the own needs (First in First Out, Highest Demand, Custom Priority). Fig. Scheduling FUTURE STATE Fig. VSM of future state PROCESS ILLUSTRATION Trimming Hydroforming Fig. Simulation of future state Fig. Production patterns A01505A0059 A00753A0017 A00753A0021 A01124A0093 Demand = 20.1% Set Perking Press Trim 14 Restrike & Pierce Green Press Deburr Sanding Belt 1 Restrike and pierce Deburr Set RESULTS Factors Actual Future state Delta Production capacity 15,600 pieces 26,400 pieces 69% Lead-time 3,923 minutes 463 minutes 88,2% Average utilization 24% 32% 8% Non - Value added activities 174 horas 7,1 horas Reduction 95,9% Fig. Cell- Family A Set Air Jig Trim 17 Restrike & Pierce Big Press 1 Deburr Sanding Belt 3 Fig. Cell-Family B A02505A0004 A02505A0036 A02505A0006 A02505A0035 Demand = 3.94% TRIM 16 A01484A0001 A01775A0001 Demand = 2.96% Fig. Cell-Family C CURRENT STATE Fig. VSM of current state Fig. Spaghetti chart Reduce Work in Process (WIP) and Inventory Reduce waiting time between stations Reduce transportation using Kanban system Mixed or dedicated cells to avoid setups Multi skilled processes – flexible. Standard work in cell – Avoid contamination Use of all machines Fig. Proposed layout