| Client
Profile:
Wellstone Apparel
Wellstone Apparel is a garment manufacturer with traditional cut and sew processes. The primary customer is the US government. Wellstone manufactures uniforms for the military and government agencies such as the US Postal Service. Wellstone Apparel is located in Columbia, MS and has a workforce of 210 employees.
Situation:
Wellstone has a core group of experienced people that knows the product, the process and the market. Wellstone’s leaders also understand the competitive nature of the market. They have a vision for the future that includes a continuous improvement methodology and to address the inconsistent work flow and improve teamwork and quality.
Wellstone’s objective was to develop a strong and consistent program of “Continuous Improvement” activities at the plant that was indicated by their corporate management who supports Lean as a system to support this goal. The goal was to organize the plant floor to eliminate unwanted items, improve safety, improve flow through departments, to better organize re-works going back to and returning from the production floor and to identify all needed items and designate a place for them that is visible. The Finish & Boxing area was congested, with safety issues, too many processes, inconsistent flow, too much work in process and did not fully utilize personnel.
Unfortunately Wellstone was also faced with a reduction in customer orders for one of their primary product lines, Army Combat Uniforms. Monthly orders were reduced from 7000 per month to 3000 per month. Production systems needed to be restructured to the smaller customer order quantities, without a loss of productivity or profitability.
Solution:
MEP.ms Center at Mississippi State University’s Industrial Outreach Service trained Wellstone employees to conduct a Kaizen event using a comprehensive set of lean tools and strategies to implement improvements on the plant floor. Employees were involved in the effort and trained in 5S philosophies and practices.
Results:
After conducting this Kaizen event and adhering to the lean principles taught in the training, the Army Combat Uniform line was restructured from a capacity of 7,000 units per week, to 3,000 units per week.
Wellstone identified the necessary machines and began positioning the equipment starting with the last operation. With pull systems theory in mind, they arranged the equipment from the end back to the beginning of the process.
Wellstone decided to combine any jobs they thought could be combined. Wellstone was able to combine 31 jobs within the Army Combat Uniform Coat line into 13 jobs, running at a level of 600 units per day. In the restructuring process, employees eliminated the waste of 300 bundle handling events per day, thus enhancing flow and reducing the need for storage capacity in the line. The end result was a significant reduction of wasted time and effort. Productivity was increased by 3% and profitability was improved by over $21,000.
Testimonial:
“Wellstone Apparel would benefit from the services provided by MEP.ms Center at Mississippi State University’s Industrial Outreach Service with reduced waste and improved material flow in the facility. Jerry Hoff feels with these improvements, Wellstone Apparel would improve the outlook for the plant with increased productivity within the facility.”
Jerry Hoff, Chief Engineer
|
|