To deliver the expected added value, organisations need to achieve their industrial performance objectives in terms of Quality, Delivery and Costs.
Discover how in’Xpert has contributed on the four main levers to this objective through case studies:
Choose the most appropriate Supply Chain industrial scheme
Optimise and successfully industrialize new products
Produce internally at the expected level of performance and implement a continuous improvement approach
Monitor suppliers' performance and contribute to their development
Co-construction of a 3-year project schedule to secure FAI delivery committed to the customer.
BACKGROUND
The company has won a new contract but has no experienced project manager available. The various departments do not have a consolidated view of the project schedule and have poor communciation with each other.
The Program Manager is looking for a cross-functional manager capable of working legitimately with the design office, manufacturing engineers, test engineers, quality and purchasing.
APPROACH
Sequenced group work, active listening and co-construction to build a shared vision of hypotheses, scope of the project and risks.
Work Breakdown Structure method used, by breaking down activities sufficiently to get blocks that can be estimated by analysis or analogy with other completed projects.
Convince people that the process is iterative: don’t try to reach the ideal schedule on the first try. Explain that a schedule that is 90% accurate is better than no schedule at all for organizing and managing the project.
RESULTS
Delivery in 4 weeks of a project schedule to serve as a baseline.
Identification of critical path, actions taken to address load/capacity issues on targeted tasks.
Creation of a team spirit with motivation based on intermediate milestones expected and monitored by the customer.
Leading a multi-disciplinary team in a Design to Cost approach
BACKGROUND
The company had to design an improved version of an aeronautical equipment (more robust, better performance) without increasing the manufacturing cost, in order to maintain its margin and business plan. A cultural change is required on this project, where technical choices must not dictate everything.
APPROACH
Manufacturing costs are contained in the product definition. A Design-to-Cost approach aims to make the cost of choices made by the Design Office visible to all stakeholders (Estimating, Purchasing, Methods, Quality), open up the choice of possible designs (brainstorming, benchmarking, group creativity) to reach the best acceptable compromise.
It is relevant to combine it with a manufacturability feedback process. This identifies irritating technical issues raised over the years by manufacturing methods and suppliers, with earnings calculation to be made from the requested changes in definition.
Use of the product bill of materials to focus on parts accounting for 80% of total cost, sorting and prioritization of subjects, summary of Performance / Cost recommendation for each subject to facilitate decision.
RESULTS
Without sacrificing product performance, this global approach enabled to optimize production costs by 10% for the improved version of the aeronautical equipment.
Audit of 2 Suppliers to prepare selection for production outsourcing.
BACKGROUND
The company has decided to outsource the manufacture and assembly of a relatively complex piece of equipment: BOM of 400 parts, tight dimensional tolerances in certain areas, special processes, specific testing. The choice of supplier had to be made objectively, taking into account all the factors that would contribute to sustainable performance.
APPROACH
Use of a 10-axis maturity assessment matrix, ranging from company organization to technical expertise and the ability to manage its own supplier supply chain. Visits to suppliers sites, interviews with management and operators, fact-checking based on documents and parts to assess the level achived and potential.
Radar display of results, summarizing key strengths and points of attention.
RESULTS
The supplier selection committee decides on the basis of objective factors, in addition to the prices submitted by suppliers. Actions to reduce risks and provide support to the selected supplier are decided upon to secure the product industrialization (quality, lead time). No crisis situation to manage, despite the high initial risks associated with outsourcing.
Implementation of an industrial planning system to restore performance and secure customer commitments.
BACKGROUND
The company is experiencing a deterioration in its OTD (On-Time Delivery) due to :
Stronger-than-expected recovery in production volumes (sales 30% ahead of budget)
Limited capacity in some workshops while staff are recruited and trained, and capacity constraints at some suppliers.
Difficulty arbitrating priorities between different products that use common resources (machines, fitters, NDT resources, etc.).
In order to recover an acceptable level of service for major customers, and to avoid losing their confidence, the mission goals are to put in place :
A robust industrial planning cascade: S&OP (Sales & Operations Plan), MPS (Master Production Schedule) and feedback on actual demand
A shared vision of the target for operations and therefore a collective commitment to industrial performance level based on the contribution of each department : reliability of forecasts, supliers development, adherence to planning, improved productivity.
Production management routines based on visual performance management
APPROACH
Work on the reliability of forecasts, in particular Spares and MRO, as input to the Demand Management / S&OP process.
Create a regular and systematic sequence and schedule for updating forecasts and the long-term plan (Sales & Operations Plan), the medium-term plan (Master Production Schedule) and the short-term plan (Production Planning).
Balance load and capacity based on demonstrated capabilities, for in-house manufacturing.
Consolidate the procurement process and stabilize order books: dispatch procurement plans with each MPS update.
Monitor execution and close the loop on a weekly basis with KPIs on adherence to procurement and production plans.
Orient workshop performance management towards problem-solving (visual management and QRQC) and the use of sequencers for common resources.
RESULTS
The joint implementation of the supply chain planning cascade and visual performance management has enabled significant improvement in operational performance in 6 months: OTD rised from 58% to 82% and the depth of delay (quantity x days of delay) has been reduced by 50%.
Preparation of the Transfer Readiness Review to validate the transfer strategy and launch the project.
BACKGROUND
The company has decided to review its industrial layout in France and wants to transfer production between two plants. We need to decide on the transfer strategy and the safeguards to be implemented to protect deliveries to the customer.
APPROACH
With the project team, scoping of the project: BOM, drawings, tooling, manufacturing layouts. Work Package maturity assessed through Last Article Inspection.
Load/capacity analysis performed to confirm machine investment requirements at the receiving site.
Study of two options: with or without duplication of tooling. Planning, costs and risks associated with each.
Summary presentation and arbitration by the steering committee.
RESULTS
The costs associated with duplicate tooling are offset by a shorter project duration, the avoidance of overproduction costs and the storage of a substantial buffer to protect the customer. And in addtion there is opportunity on recurring costs of production thanks to some tooling improvements that decrease the manufacturing time. Analysis and costing of the two options enabled us to make the most appropriate choice.
Definition of the strategy and action plan to launch an internal dual source (Make) in a foreign subsidiary
BACKGROUND
In the wake of the COVID crisis, and in view of the increase in production rates, the plant in charge of a mechanical structural part is no longer able to meet demand. The company wants to assess the feasibility, risks and strategy of launching a second manufacturing source in a foreign subsidiary to protect deliveries to the customer.
APPROACH
With Manufacturing Engineering, preliminary product risk analysis and identification of capacity bottleneck. To simplify industrialisation (lead time, NRC budget) while meeting the set objective, the decision was made to launch the second source only on a semi-finished product (stage model). Definition of the stage model with Methods, definition of the ramp-up/ramp-down profile and buffers, ERP parameterization to enter new production plans and have an integrated view of the target situation.
Monitoring of critical material supplies and arbitration for sharing between sites according to the agreed production plan, management of the first industrialization milestones.
RESULTS
The Program was able to commit to a controlled ramp-up schedule with the customer, while limiting the costs incurred.
Diagnosis and root causes analysis of issues at a supplier and work on delivery commitments.
BACKGROUND
The hydraulic equipment supplier is experiencing a deterioration in its OTD (On-Time Delivery) due to :
Stronger-than-expected recovery in production volumes (sales 25% ahead of budget).
Capacity constraints in some workshops while staff are recruited and trained, and capacity constraints at some suppliers (prevents to use off-loading solution).
APPROACH
Visits to supplier site, interviews with management and operators.
Use of a maturity assessment matrix based on the MRPII standard to identify the various causes of non-adherence to delivery forecasts, even though these are regularly communicated. Synthesis of identified points for improvement and co-construction of an action plan.
Identification of the complete industrial layout and cycles based on the product BOM (macro VSM), review of projected and actual loads/capacities to identify bottlenecks. Review of MRO forecast management (in conflict with OE requirements) and MPS level planning.
Inventory of quality problems encountered in manufacturing and assembly over the last 6 months to identify priority actions and quick-wins
RESULTS
The proposed action plan enabled us to justify shifts to 3×8 on certain workstations, a reworking of machining programs to save cycle times, and the recruitment of a multi-skilled assembly operator. Combined with work on forecasts, the planning method and correction of recurring quality points, this mission enabled us to raise the rate of adherence to the production plan from 60% to 92%. The customer received real delivery commitments and a reliable estimated date for the return to on-time delivery in relation to its order book.
