Manpower Optimization and Process Efficiency Improvement at a Textile Manufacturing Company

Manufacturing needs to constantly nurture a system that optimizes the coordination of input, process and output. The ability to fully utilize the resources especially the labor and equipment in the assembly line has always been an important factor to achieve high productivity. A textile company packaging area is a highly manual operation and the management is facing a problem finding the effective way to utilize the operators and improve the processes. Thus, productivity analysis needs to be done at this area to determine the standard time and the types of wastes occurring at this area for the purpose of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the packaging operations. In addition, the purpose of this project is to provide the company management with recommendations on improved manpower planning and methods to perform the work by the operators. Specifically, the research has applied the Work Study method especially Process Mapping, time study with stop watch and MOST Predetermined Time Standards (PTS). Results include the operator standard time and the current utilization of the packaging operator. Based on the results, recommendations such as reducing the number of operators to improve labor utilization, sequencing of jobs and changing the methods to perform the pin packaging through scoop and sticker dispensing design were made to the management. Consequently, the outcomes of this project are advantageous for the company to improve the packing area’s productivity and for the company to be cost efficient in meeting the ever demanding customer expectation while still paying attention to the employee’s well being

Simulation Modeling for Balancing and Optimizing a Digital Measuring Device (DMD) Production Line

In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, companies are constantly looking for ways to improve. Because of this, many companies are striving to reduce waste by implementing lean manufacturing, which is a difficult process. Line balancing is part of the lean manufacturing. To aid in the implementation, simulation can be used to reduce the trial-and-error process in balancing and optimizing the production line. Towards achieving a lean assembly line, the optimum amount of resources in terms of the workstations and labor will need to be determined. In addition, the identification of the bottleneck area is critical before opportunities for balancing the production line can be determined. Using Witness simulation modeling, these objectives were able to be achieved and the details of the results will be presented in this paper. Through this study, the SME participating in this study was able to confidently manage their equipment capacity more efficiently and attain a highly productive workforce

Design and Development of Material Requirement Planning (MRP)Tool for an Electronic Product Manufacturer

Material Requirement Planning (MRP) has been widely used in the manufacturing industries as a tool to determine the purchase of the correct components in order to meet the delivery date of the customer demand. The current method to plan material purchases has caused the company various material discrepancies and human errors are unavoidable. Therefore, the aim of this project is to design and develop a MRP system to improve the efficiency of the material planning and ordering process. Databases were developed using extensive data on Bill of Material (BOM), inventory, lot sizes and customer demand and were integrated to produce a report on planned order release for the purchasing department to execute. In addition, the MRP system is also able to provide information regarding the capability of the production line to complete the customer demand on time

Improving Electronic Document Control Approval Process Through E-Certification

This paper analysed factors that influenced the document rejection rate in a semiconductor manufacturing facility. One of the factors that affected document rejection rate was a wrongly written process parameter which caused failure in data extraction. This resulted in many processes on the manufacturing floor to be placed on hold, hence, delaying product delivery to customers. Through current approval workflow, specification writers are required to be trained and certified prior to submitting any revised or new documents for approval. It is important to have the revised specifications approved on first time submission to ensure prompt document update. Hence, the main idea of this work was to improve the approval workflow through reducing number of documents rejection rate during the approval process. This approval workflow was conducted through electronic certification using an electronic document management system (e-DMS). A 3-level electronic certification process for specification writers was introduced to ensure that only certified writers could revise or edit any specifications. The new certification process was successfully implemented and the data were closely monitored for the period of 6 months. The outcome showed 4% improvement on document rejection rate during the approval process. The number of documents submitted for approval within the same period was also increased by 28%

Prediction of dry ice mass for firefighting robot actuation

The limitation in the performance of electric actuated firefighting robots in high- temperature fire environment has led to research on the alternative propulsion system for the mobility of firefighting robots in such environment. Capitalizing on the limitations of these electric actuators we suggested a gas-actua ted propulsion system in our earlier study. The propulsion system is made up of a pneumatic motor as the actuator (for the robot) and carbon dioxide gas (self-generated from dry ice) as the power source. To satisfy the consumption requirement (9cfm) of the motor for efficient actuation of the robot in the fire environment, the volume of carbon dioxide gas, as well as the corresponding mass of the dry ice that will produce the required volume for powering and actuation of the robot, must be determined . This article, therefore, presents the computation al analysis to predict the volumetric requirement and the dry ice mass sufficient to power a carbon dioxide gas propelled autonomous firefighting robot in a high-temperature environment. The governing equation of the sublimation of dry ice to carbon dioxide is established. An operating time of 2105.53 s and operating pressure rang es from 137.9kPa to 482.65kPa were achieved following the consumption rate of the motor. Thus, 8.85m 3 is computed as the volume requirement of the CAFFR while the corresponding dry ice mass for the CAFFR actuation ranges from 21.67kg to 75.83 kg depending on the operating pressure

Integrated self-report and observational risk assessment for work-related musculoskeletal disorder in small and medium enterprises

Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) is a very common grievance of employees working with SMEs and large industries. The objective of this research is to examine the risk of MSD for operators in the manufacturing segment of SMEs by deploying two ergonomic approaches: self-report (SR) and observation method (OM). The project has been executed in the manufacturing SMEs in Indonesia. The SR methodology utilizes the Nordic Body Map (NBM) for assessing the comfort and grievances of the operator. Besides, the OM methodology deploys the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) as an appraisal of the worker’s work stance. A Self Report evaluation based on NBM triggered the obtained concerns in the upper body that occur on the back, neck, hips, and buttocks. OM based on RULA assessment observed that the position of the worker has a value score of 6, which requires further analysis and changes at the earliest. Based on the RULA assessment, this paper recommended the involvement of ergonomics at the place of work to decrease the MSD issues encountered by the operator and make the places of work relaxing. According to the results, the new workplace displays a value score of 3 based on RULA assessment and the final tally was noted to be a satisfactory posture. Thus, the SR method is beneficial for preliminary screening before deploying further assessment of the OM methodology. It is vital for follow-up assessment in order to offer suggestions on the basis of ergonomic risk evaluation

Productivity Analysis Towards Lean Manufacturing at a Textile Manufacturing Company

Changes continually occuring in the industry and business environment must be considered both economically and practically.Manufacturing is inherently a complex task and stems from various aspects to create productive manufacturing environment.This research is an attempt to analyze the productivity of a packing production line. The approach taken was first to focus on performing work study on the main processes activity and classifying them into value added and non value added activities. The information gathered was then used to evaluate opportunities for improvement to be suggested to the management.Among the improvement identified were the shaking machine efficiency, method to weigh the pins and material preparation operator. Study was also done to evaluate opportunity to send material for packing to the external vendor which can result in tremendous savings for the company. The findings from this study were shared with the company’s management to assist their effort in improving the productivity to remain competitive and achieving lean manufacturing in the currently challenging global market

Optimizing Assembly Line Production through Line Balancing: A Case Study

In Line Balancing principles, the total workload in the assembly process is divided as evenly as possible among the workstations, without violating the sequences and relations in the assembly operations. Line balancing is important in an assembly system as it balances the line and increases the efficiency, as well as the productivity of a system. A case study was conducted in the assembly line of an electrical accessories manufacturer in Malaysia. The cycle time for each station was recorded, and the standard cycle time was estimated. The productivity, as well as the efficiency of the current assembly line, were studied. In terms of the productivity, the performance of the current systems was 500 units/worker/day, while the expected productivity was 600 units/worker/day. An assembly line setting was proposed based on the Line Balancing Method; the productivity for the proposed line increased to 671 units/worker/day, or in rough additional increase around 34%

Productivity Analysis at a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)Focusing on Work Study, Line Balance and Ergonomics

World-class manufacturing is the term applied to manufactures who can succeed against world-class competition in a global market. In order to remain the market place, there is no room for complacency for any company. The ability to optimize the resources especially the manning and the machines in the assembly line has always been an important competitive factor. The purpose of this project is to analyze the existing productivity and provide the SME management with a tool to assist the decision making on the capacity and manpower planning while at the same time meets the ergonomics standards to ensure employees health and safety. This paper will discuss on the work study method employed to set the standard time, development of the simulation model and the ergonomics assessment on the indoor air quality, noise level, thermal comfort and illumination condition. From the work study, the operator standard time and utilization was able to be determined. In addition, the simulation model provided the opportunity to balance the production line while the ergonomics assessments enabled the employees to work in a safe and healthy working condition. The result of this project will be advantageous for the company to be cost efficient in meeting the ever increasing customer demand while still achieving high productivity