Improving Changeover
Ever-Roll Specialties Co.
Company Profile:
Ever-Roll Specialties Co., a privately held, employee owned company in Springfield, Ohio, is a well-respected, fabricator and full-service manufacturer of tube, rod, and wire parts made out of steel, stainless steel, aluminum tubing, wire, and rods.
“The benefits of this FastLane event extend well beyond dollars and cents. Matthew gave my team a voice and platform for change they did not realize they had. We will absolutely see cost savings from the nearly 300% decrease in setup times as well as a sharp decline in scrap. The cultural benefits extend well beyond this work cell. My team has taken the base knowledge acquired in 5S and Lean manufacturing to other areas in the shop. I highly recommend FastLane to any company that wants to see real, tangible benefits."
Eric S. - Manufacturing Manager
"Matt and FastLane were a pleasure to work with. Matt came in with a listening ear to all the things we had to say. Whether it was going to take an hour or a day we were going to get
all obstacles out on the table. There are many variables involved in the OMAS process and he did really well understanding the process. Matt gave us an awesome platform to incorporate new ideas and directed them to the proper channels. I very much look forward to working with Matt and FastLane again and appreciate the changes you have allowed us to implement.”
Justin A. - Operator
Situation:
Ever-Roll asked FastLane to help reduce changeover times from part to part. Each employee had their own way of doing things. They did not have a standard way to gather the tools and tooling for each part or a way to make the necessary machine adjustments required to perform the setup for each job. When changing shifts, the employees stepping in to take over a machine, would not understand where the person before them was in the process.
Solution:
FastLane helped the Ever-Roll team slow things down so that the employees could stop, map out and evaluate their changeover process using lean tools. The project helped to standardize the way they are doing things on both shifts by developing a detailed setup plan to define the optimal location, placement of all the items required to perform setups, reduce changeover time and define parameters for new work instructions. As a result, the Ever-Roll team created a repeatable process that is fast and efficient. Major setup time dropped from 4 hours to 1 1/3 hours, a 300% time savings. This project has led to improved communication between employees, increased quality and reduced scrap.
