Transport Vessel Manufacturer
Issue:
Cost and weight needed to be removed from the tank trailers the company manufactures in order to remain competitive.
Scope:
Remove 20% of the cost and 300 lbs. of weight from each trailer produced.
Approach:
A cross functional team was assembled and DFMA (Design for Manufacture) approach was conducted. Every part of every assembly was reviewed for elimination, improvement and cost reduction. All assemblies were given a score based on three criteria – Customer Need – Assembly Complexity – Cost – the assemblies with the highest scores were reviewed first. Different major assemblies were reviewed every month with the entire trailer being reviewed over a period of four (4) months. Improvements from previous meetings were being put into place as other meetings were being conducted.
Results:
The team was able to remove 17% of the cost from each trailer and over 400 lbs. of the weight. Additional savings are forth coming after extensive testing is completed. These savings will bring the total savings to approximately 22% per trailer.