April 1997, Volume 14, No. 4
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April 1997, Volume 14, No. 4
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Geared Systems Inc. (Park City, Utah), a manufacturer of power transmission systems and actuation systems for the aerospace industry, is applying advanced manufacturing technology to improve its business by implementing integrated information systems. To combat severe competitive pressures and shrinking market demand in its market sector, Geared Systems has developed a reengineering strategy to:
All four objectives rely on the implementation of information systems. An Industrial Modernization Incentive Program (IMIP) sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was initiated to design the necessary shop floor information system.
The company's goal is to have an integrated system from the point of a customer order through the final delivery of the parts, including integration with MRP and business systems, explained Chris Anderson, Geared Systems' senior systems analyst. He cited communication links as the key to achieving their goals. Some departments still rely heavily on paper, but that is changing. Between design engineering and manufacturing, the blueprint is the mode of communication. "The volume of information passed between design, manufacturing engineering and the factory floor is high but heavily paper," Anderson said.
Geared Systems chose Intercim Corp. (Burnsville, Minn.; http://www.intercim.com), a factory floor integrator, to work as a partner in this ongoing effort. As Geared Systems begins the next phase, using Intercim's FACTORYnet as its manufacturing execution system, FACTORYnet will be fully linked with all functions from planning, design and manufacturing engineering to the factory floor.
Geared Systems is employing a phased approach from both the systems and human resource perspectives. "Our personnel are fairly computer literate and ready to have more control handed over," Anderson said. "The system is intuitive enough that with just a little training, operators pick it up quickly." The payoff was just as quick. The factory floor system frees up valuable time for the operators. With the previous system (which was VAX-generated punched paper tapes), operators with the help of manufacturing engineers spent up to an hour getting a new punched tape into a machine. That same activity now takes only minutes.
Reduced cycle time was one of two primary requirements for Geared Systems, and the other was improved accuracy of information available to the work force. "We want our engineers and operators spending their time on productive issues," Anderson said. "The MES system ensures the data we pass between departments is the right information."
By having control over shop floor information, Geared Systems can make critical configuration changes, issue manufacturing holds, change lot size quantities, etc., instantly to avoid costly scrap and rework on parts. These two objectives have provided a snapshot of what Geared Systems can accomplish.
The next major phase of Geared Systems' project will include integrating data collection, a statistical process control system, and the manufacturing resource planning system with FACTORYnet. Geared Systems produces over 200 different parts for its customers, and hardcopy documentation can be as much as one inch of paper for a single job. At any one time, there may be 1,200 open jobs on the floor.
The reliance on paper in this environment is a major constraint,
and integrated information systems can have a large impact in this
area. Even in the early stages, these factory floor systems have
already helped Geared Systems make progress toward such business
objectives as: improved product quality and reduced scrap rates;
reduced inventory levels and product cycle times; enhanced
manufacturing responsiveness; and reduced cost and improved
profit.