Consulting Projects, continued
phone: 312.493.0839
fax: 504.285.0687
"5S" Manufacturing
Does neatness really count on the shop floor? A small manufacturer of fractional horsepower motors was suffering from quality and delivery problems. An initial visit showed that the shop floor was a mess! Tools and scrap material lying around everywhere, paperwork scattered, garbage strewn about, etc. The recommendation was to implement the Japanese technique known as "5S Manufacturing." This enhances shop floor procedures through seiri, seiton, seiketsu, seiso, and shitsuke, the Japanese words for organization, orderliness, cleanliness, standardization, and discipline. A two-day seminar was developed and delivered to shop floor personnel, who are now in the process of implemented the concepts on their own.
Experimental Planning
Can you afford to test all the variables that affect your processes? A manufacturing research laboratory was working on optimizing various gear manufacturing operations, but the variables in their experiments were getting out of hand. Too many variables, each with too many possible values, can lead to years worth of experiments! Working with the project managers for each of the experiments, classical Design of Experiment methods, as well as modern Taguchi methods, were applied to the experimental designs, resulting in low cost, high efficiency experimental plans that examined all relevant control factors and noise factors, and provided simple statistical outputs showing the mathematical significance of each factor.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Sure your idea will make money, but can you prove it? A government project manager was trying to sell a new project up the chain of command, but needed a persuasive argument to show that it would pay back the money invested in it. A cost benefit analysis had already been developed, but was based on static, unsupportable assumptions. To enhance its persuasive powers, it was augmented with a sensitivity analysis, investigating various "what if" scenarios of a range of potential costs, benefits, and timelines. The result was an analysis that showed profitability for a wider range of contingencies, which indicated a stronger probability of project success. (Note: if this topic interests you, might enjoy our article "Sell Your Project!" on our publications page.)
Design Of Experiments Training
Do your engineers really know how to apply it? Many clients are interested in Design of Experiments, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Taguchi methods for optimizing their processes, but few have the necessary training. To address this need, several versions of a training course were developed, ranging from a half-day seminar to a four-day, two credit hour college course. These teach the basics of experimental layout, identification of control factors and noise factors, and statistical analysis of results. (Note: The four day short course will be taught periodically at the Illinois Institute of Technology; give me a call or email if you are interested in attending or having a special session at your site.)
