Little Changes, Big Savings

We recently held a Kaizen at our Mogadore facility to address upcoming required changes in component needs as well as a change in the tubing used in assembly. After identifying that the method for transporting, accounting and staging of assembly components was not as lean as it could be, a team was put together with the responsibility of reviewing the current system. Their goals were to identify waste, implement changes to improve the process, reduce the component footprint in the warehouse, improve the flow of materials from the warehouse to assembly, and improve inventory accuracy.

During this Kaizen the team identified areas that had waste and addressed them with new solutions. The biggest savings will be moving the components closer to the assemblers, with a new layout that places the most used components closest to the assembly room. The team will also create an additional packing station that will eliminate making excessive boxes by having the assemblers make boxes as they pack. Not only does this cut back on waste, it will help eliminate possible contamination of the assembled products. The recycling will also be moved closer to the components to save steps. To improve the flow of materials and inventory accuracy, the team also eliminated the need for the tender to write lot numbers by placing the skid sheet in the packing sleeve on the rack.

We thank our team for putting their close attention to detail to work to identify and implement these small changes that will add up to big savings!