Photo By Keith Hayes | Angelina Rivera, branch head, Production Analysis Branch, explains CPI at a Light...... read more read more
Continuous Process Improvement is a program to improve the safety and efficiency of the artisans working on production as well as improve the quality of the finished product at Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command, aboard the Yermo Annex of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
Angelina Rivera, branch head, Production Analysis Branch, PPB, said the CPI program has been in use for years and is very effective.
“We look at ways to make any type of process, whether it’s a paper transaction or the way we produce a vehicle, faster, better, below costs and with no quality defects,” Rivera said. “We try to eliminate bad quality and do things as safely as possible.”
Rivera said one of the biggest benefits of the CPI program is to reduce injuries at the plant.
“We had an injury on the way torsion bars were being transported for the AAVs (Amphibious Assault Vehicle). Originally they were putting them on pallets which involved a lot of bending and lifting. This way could lead to potential injuries and could cause damage to the torsion bars,” she explained. “The CPI team working with the artisans led to the development of a special stand to move the torsion bars from one location to another ergonomically, safely, and eliminate risk of the torsion bars being damaged.”
“The customers for the CPI office are the artisans on the floor and the supervisors,” Rivera continued. “My team consistently engages with production and work on ways to make things easier, more efficient and above all safer. We have a bi-weekly meeting with the plant manager and several of the managers just on process improvement projects and projects we want to complete in the future.”
Improving efficiency means laying out the area where the job is being performed in a logical way.
“We try and reduce movement for the employee so that the artisans have everything, all of the tools they need to the do their job more efficiently. All of that walking and looking for tools and materials means it takes longer to do the actual job,” Rivera said.
“We try and work with the artisans to streamline the process, so everything is within reach,” she said. “We have done ‘point of use tooling,’ meaning that every tool the mechanic needs is right there and they can just pick it up and use it rather than searching around the shop for the right tool. All tools to perform their duties are now clearly laid out for them, and wasted time looking for tools has been minimized.”
The CPI has proven its effectiveness time and time again, Rivera said.
“Most recently we’ve been doing a lot of floor layouts to increase workload capacity,” she said. “When we have an increase in workload for a product line they need a bigger footprint to do the job without impacting the Repair Cycle Time (RCT).
“For the Marine Corps HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) project we’re working on, for example, we reutilized additional workspace and gained 7,700 square feet. This allowed six more assembly stations and two disassembly stations,” Rivera said.
Although Rivera and her team spend a lot of time on the plant floor looking for ways to improve things through participation in ISO audits, hazard recognition walks, and 6S audits, they do spend time behind their computers analyzing data.
“People don’t realize that we do a lot of data analysis of figures to determine patterns and to determine where our weaknesses are and where we can improve,” she said. “We prepare the reports for the twice-weekly Production Meetings, review Cost Performance Index (CPI), and Repair Cycle Times for the production lines as well as quality defects.
One of the tools the Production Analysis Branch members use is the 6-S program - sort, straighten, shine, standardize, sustain, and safety.
“The 6-S program is a way we score ourselves monthly in order to maintain an organized, clean, safe, and high-performance workplace,” Rivera said. “Sorting through items, straightening out items and the way everything is laid out, shine is keeping it up and maintaining cleanliness, standardize is how you systematically do the sorting, straightening, and shining, then you have sustaining it where you’re constantly looking at the process and making sure everything is up to date, and that last ‘S’ is safety – ensuring you have a safe work environment.”
“Every Cost Work Center under the plant manager has a 6-S scoring they have to maintain. We do periodic audit checks to ensure they are maintaining their communication boards and are keeping their work areas straight and orderly,” she said.
Another project the CPI team recently did is instituting Production Line Status Boards for the main craneway. Rivera said the status boards are a way to create a visual work environment so that all artisans understand their place in the overall production of the vehicle.
“We do ISO 9001 audits (International Organization for Standardization), which is important because it says we’re producing a quality product for our customers, and Continuous Process Improvement is part of the ISO standards,” Rivera said.
The ultimate customer, the one that will be using what PPB produces, is always on Rivera’s mind.
“I come from a family with a strong military tradition. So being able to provide back to the warfighter for what they’ve done for us is just amazing. We give them the best possible vehicles we can as quickly and efficiently as we can is our goal. That’s important to me and everyone who works here,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.09.2017 12:03 |
| Story ID: | 226303 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, PPB continually improving, by Keith Hayes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT