John Crane Ltd
INTRODUCTION
Crane Packing Company, a manufacturer of mechanical seals, is debating on whether to allow the floor operators to write CAM part-programs on the floor of the shop while the machines need to be used. This dilemma is relevant because, although the work would, in theory, be more efficient if there was standardized programming for the machines, the lack of differentiation could cause a few problems. However, this problem is predominantly caused from personal pride of employees. In order to continue to grow and dominate the market, we must stop allowing programming to be made, in most cases, on the floor and have a more standardized version that is developed beforehand to use. This would save money and increase productivity.
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM
Allowing the shop floor operators to program on the floor causes serious time delays. On average it takes approximately 30 minutes for the first phase of programming and 15 minutes for the second phase. This setup time takes place for every specific part. When added together, this is a massive amount of time that the machines are not being used, thus not making Crane Packing Company money. On average it costs about $100 per hour per machine when our operators program on site. Over the course of a quarter, and especially a year, that $100 per hour adds up and costs Crane Packing Company considerable capital. Not only is the loss of capital a major factor but the lack of standardization causes parts not to fit or simply wastes time by reprogramming for the same part repeatedly.
ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS The simplest and best solution to fix this problem is to make it a standard practice to perform all programming offline. This basically means that all the programming will be done on another “offline” computer, and when that part is needed, the program will simply be uploaded to the machine that is manufacturing the part. This will eliminate the wasted time for programming and
Crane Packing Company, a manufacturer of mechanical seals, is debating on whether to allow the floor operators to write CAM part-programs on the floor of the shop while the machines need to be used. This dilemma is relevant because, although the work would, in theory, be more efficient if there was standardized programming for the machines, the lack of differentiation could cause a few problems. However, this problem is predominantly caused from personal pride of employees. In order to continue to grow and dominate the market, we must stop allowing programming to be made, in most cases, on the floor and have a more standardized version that is developed beforehand to use. This would save money and increase productivity.
OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM
Allowing the shop floor operators to program on the floor causes serious time delays. On average it takes approximately 30 minutes for the first phase of programming and 15 minutes for the second phase. This setup time takes place for every specific part. When added together, this is a massive amount of time that the machines are not being used, thus not making Crane Packing Company money. On average it costs about $100 per hour per machine when our operators program on site. Over the course of a quarter, and especially a year, that $100 per hour adds up and costs Crane Packing Company considerable capital. Not only is the loss of capital a major factor but the lack of standardization causes parts not to fit or simply wastes time by reprogramming for the same part repeatedly.
ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS The simplest and best solution to fix this problem is to make it a standard practice to perform all programming offline. This basically means that all the programming will be done on another “offline” computer, and when that part is needed, the program will simply be uploaded to the machine that is manufacturing the part. This will eliminate the wasted time for programming and