Date of Award

12-1-1999

Document Type

Independent Study

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to perform a detailed analysis of the production process flow at TMI Systems Design Corporation that will help improve the overall efficiency of the manufacturing process. The study was sectioned into three phases. Phase one of this study was to collect data on the manufacturing process. Phase two of this study was to incorporate the manufacturing process data into flow process charts and flow diagrams. Phase three of this study was to create an operations process flow chart for the model W2052 wall cabinet.

Phase one was accomplished by collecting data while observing the components of cabinets as they progressed through the various tasks needed to complete a finished cabinet. Data collection for the production process began once the components for the cabinets were cut on the saw and sorted into separate stacks according to individual parts.

Phase two was accomplished by incorporating the manufacturing process data into flow process charts and flow diagrams. The flow process charts gave a graphical representation of the sequence of all operations, transportation, inspections, delays, and storage activities that occurred to the components as they progressed through the production process. The flow diagrams showed the layout of the plant and where the activities in the production process occurred.

Phase three was accomplished by using data from the flow process charts to create an operations process flow chart. The chart assisted in visualizing the operations for each component and the times in which each operation was completed.

Analyzing the data collected from the process flow charts showed that a large percentage of the time that the components were in the plant, they were waiting for an operation to be performed on them. Over 97% of the time that the components are in the plant, they were sitting on the production line having no work performed on them. Taking into consideration material handling and delay time, this percentage increased to 98%. Each of these activities are non-value adding functions and therefore can be considered waste. Only 2% of the entire production time can be considered value adding.

Recommendations for further study are: 1) additional research on TMI’s current material handling practices, 2) reduce the amount of time that it takes a job to travel through the factory, 3) automate the entire production process, 4) a detailed analysis of each operation.

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