A business unit of a global electronics manufacturer was working at the limits of what its production technology could handle, while demand kept rising. At the peak, 60% of output was lost to quality problems. Within six months, quality losses had been cut to 0.5%, and equipment availability rose from 70% to 85%.
Duration: 23 weeks
“This project delivered the breakthrough we badly needed; it restored the confidence of our customers and of our board in us.” – Business unit manager
The situation
Developing new products and introducing the industrial production processes they need is complex, especially when you are working at the limits of production technology. Rising market demand adds to the pressure: every product that comes off the line can be sold.
The business unit was struggling to scale up production and deliver to its customers with complete reliability. The situation became so acute that the unit’s senior management asked Axisto to help raise quality and output.
What was really wrong
Together with the client’s people, we held performance up against the demands of the market and their own ambitions. Two main problems emerged. Quality problems were having a major impact on production: 60% of output was being lost. And the transition from development to production had happened so fast, driven by extreme demand, that there had been no time to set up professional production management.
The people were well trained in problem-solving methods such as Six Sigma and Shainin. But under intense pressure, corners were cut: the methods were no longer applied as intended, and collaboration between the disciplines had all but broken down. Because the staff had been wrestling with these problems for so long, a quick breakthrough had now become crucial.
What we did together
Set targets and pace together. Together we set targets: more output through lower quality losses (from 60% to 0.2%), higher equipment availability (to over 80%) and reliable delivery. That came with an ambitious 23-week timeline. Teams of employees from various disciplines, including development, production and logistics, and from different levels of the company, drove the changes.
Tackled knowledge, structure and behaviour at the same time.The production machines were in effect still development machines with a large number of variables. Together with the developers, we determined which variables production would be controlled by. The other “knobs” were no longer to be touched. This was translated into Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the production staff were trained. A production management system was also introduced that helped improve shift-to-shift consistency and operational discipline. Variation in production fell quickly and a sense of control emerged.
Put the methods back to proper use.The problem-solving methods were applied as intended again. The root causes of the quality problems were identified and solutions implemented, with the result that the quality problems now fell rapidly too.
Raised equipment availability. By getting the parameter settings in order, and ensuring a clear handover of information at shift changes.
Clarified roles and responsibilities. From the start, roles and responsibilities were defined at every level and brought to life in day-to-day practice through on-the-job coaching. Employees came to see the value of their own contribution, and understood how their performance affects that of others, within and beyond their own discipline. The result was a culture of accountability and collaboration.
What it delivered
- Quality losses, as a share of output: 60% → 0.5%, the target was: 0.2%
- Equipment availability: 70% (start) → 85% (end of project, target was: over 80%) → 91% two months later
- Root causes of the quality problems found and removed
- A culture of accountability and collaboration
What happened afterwards
Availability of the production equipment went on to reach 91%. The insights gained from using the current production machines (in effect still development machines) were used to develop fully fledged production machines.
