Sector: Automotive
Major European Automotive Manufacturer

Scope:
A luxury automotive facility benchmarked for the Harbour report recognised that levels of manufacturing efficiency needed to be improved in order to compete with their global competitors.

Due to successful track record completing an accelerated Lean turnaround for a UK based automotive manufacturer LMR were the preferred Lean consultants.

Application:
The OEM identified a future vehicle programme and targeted that as its ‘Lean launch’. The vehicle was 3 years away from production and was to be re-designed and manufactured using LMR’s lean expertise.

During Phase One LMR stripped prototype vehicles and reorganised the work sequence and build according to Lean principles including process confirmation, family grouping and work smoothing. The processes were documented using full Standardised Work. In Phase Two all processes were finalised across departments and Standardised Work completed. The layout and design of the assembly shop was modified to support the Lean principles and workstations.1/50 scale layouts of each workstation were created to capture further waste improvements and support engineering changes. New logistic routes were then designed to cope with more frequent deliveries and line of sight management.

Results:

* Productivity improvement of 90%.
* Assembly shop footprint reduced by 400%.
* 1.000 components modified by Design to increase workability and reduce process waste.
* Adoption & implementation of small bin delivery routes.
* Standardised Work & Yamazumi line balance board adopted across the company.

ROI on LMR resource: 220:1.