Page 9 - WING May-Jun 2016
P. 9
tracking method, improve delivery and manpower cost by reducing “Our team had been through a lot over the past two years, and
the input and training time and were even able to improve environ- knowing that the project is finally complete, I miss getting together
mental impact by eliminating thousands of paper copies of the safety with the group.”
data sheets. The estimated total cost avoidance for the project is
more than $45,000 a year. With all of the improvement and hard While the official project has come to a close, in the spirit of the true
work, it was no surprise that the team placed second at the com- global mother plant, the ELP team is doing its best to share the train-
pany wide involvement celebration in May. ing process that they were able to perfect with other departments
and other Honda plants.
“When I heard our name called it was awesome,” said Breznenik. “We
knew there were a lot of great contenders, so it was a great honor.” “I’m so proud of the team, they just didn’t stop until the project was
finished,” said Engineering Coordinator, Tony Grandison. “The com-
Now the team will head to Indiana to represent Honda of America mitment they showed the company while working on this project for
Mfg. at the NHC Americas Bloc this October. years is truly overwhelming and should be commended.” W
“The second place finish at the involvement celebration was very Stories by Matt McCrery
special but also bittersweet,” said Paint associate, Dan Kendall. matt_mccrery@ham.honda.com
The Stamp of APPROVAL
T
he East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) continues to transform
with new innovation and associate led monozukuri
activity. In Stamping, a combination of upgraded auto-
mation and associate initiative is making for a more consistent
and brighter work environment.
During last December’s shutdown, two brand new Side Panel Outer
Hanging Robots (SPO) were replaced. Their predecessors had a long
productive tenure, but became too outdated to keep up with ELP’s
flexible production. When the Acura RDX began production at ELP,
the SPO robots had to be retrofitted with vision systems for the
model. It was a temporary fix that eventually broke down, and associ -
ates were experiencing slowed communication times with the robots. Monozukuri team, from left: Terry Jameson, John Logan, Roscoe Burden, Nathan
Richmond, Marvin Simmons. Not Pictured: Beth Robison, Carol May, Russell
“With these new SPO robots we have seen improved cycle time Cummins, Dave Downing, Mark McDuffie and Terry Brown.
well above our target,” said Stamping Unit Manager and Innovation
Leader, Tony Walker. “Since the vision system was already integrated
on the new units, we haven’t had any issues with communication.”
cracks and twists,” said Walker. “It’s an already difficult task as you
Not only has 2,000 minutes of downtime been eliminated with the might expect, even with trained, experienced associates, but dim
addition of the new robots, but safety has improved greatly. lighting makes it even more difficult.”
“Before, if we went down, associates would have to hang the side The first phase of the project was to replace all of the florescent
panels by hand, which was very difficult,” said Walker. “We have lights with LED lighting, which so far has shown a drastic improve-
now eliminated the need for associates to hang panels, bringing up ment, and drawn high praise from associates. Phase two, which is
the ergo rating from red to green.” scheduled for completion this fall, is to install green backlighting to
the quality check table. Studies show that green lighting is easiest
Upgrading the automation is key for production, but the skill of the for the eye to adjust to, and with a five second window, associates
human eye is needed to check every piece of the vehicle that comes will be able to quickly look for any illumination on unusual areas
out of the Stamping department. To do that, you need the proper when performing the quality check.
lighting. A team of associates from different shifts came together
to work on a monozurkuri project to improve the lighting in the It’s amazing how small improvements can raise efficiency by so
Stamping area for these quality checks. much, but thanks to innovation and associate teamwork these minor
advancements can been seen all over the plant, improving quality
“Every five seconds our associates check a new panel for defects, safety and delivery on every model produced. W
May/June 2016 WING 9
the input and training time and were even able to improve environ- knowing that the project is finally complete, I miss getting together
mental impact by eliminating thousands of paper copies of the safety with the group.”
data sheets. The estimated total cost avoidance for the project is
more than $45,000 a year. With all of the improvement and hard While the official project has come to a close, in the spirit of the true
work, it was no surprise that the team placed second at the com- global mother plant, the ELP team is doing its best to share the train-
pany wide involvement celebration in May. ing process that they were able to perfect with other departments
and other Honda plants.
“When I heard our name called it was awesome,” said Breznenik. “We
knew there were a lot of great contenders, so it was a great honor.” “I’m so proud of the team, they just didn’t stop until the project was
finished,” said Engineering Coordinator, Tony Grandison. “The com-
Now the team will head to Indiana to represent Honda of America mitment they showed the company while working on this project for
Mfg. at the NHC Americas Bloc this October. years is truly overwhelming and should be commended.” W
“The second place finish at the involvement celebration was very Stories by Matt McCrery
special but also bittersweet,” said Paint associate, Dan Kendall. matt_mccrery@ham.honda.com
The Stamp of APPROVAL
T
he East Liberty Auto Plant (ELP) continues to transform
with new innovation and associate led monozukuri
activity. In Stamping, a combination of upgraded auto-
mation and associate initiative is making for a more consistent
and brighter work environment.
During last December’s shutdown, two brand new Side Panel Outer
Hanging Robots (SPO) were replaced. Their predecessors had a long
productive tenure, but became too outdated to keep up with ELP’s
flexible production. When the Acura RDX began production at ELP,
the SPO robots had to be retrofitted with vision systems for the
model. It was a temporary fix that eventually broke down, and associ -
ates were experiencing slowed communication times with the robots. Monozukuri team, from left: Terry Jameson, John Logan, Roscoe Burden, Nathan
Richmond, Marvin Simmons. Not Pictured: Beth Robison, Carol May, Russell
“With these new SPO robots we have seen improved cycle time Cummins, Dave Downing, Mark McDuffie and Terry Brown.
well above our target,” said Stamping Unit Manager and Innovation
Leader, Tony Walker. “Since the vision system was already integrated
on the new units, we haven’t had any issues with communication.”
cracks and twists,” said Walker. “It’s an already difficult task as you
Not only has 2,000 minutes of downtime been eliminated with the might expect, even with trained, experienced associates, but dim
addition of the new robots, but safety has improved greatly. lighting makes it even more difficult.”
“Before, if we went down, associates would have to hang the side The first phase of the project was to replace all of the florescent
panels by hand, which was very difficult,” said Walker. “We have lights with LED lighting, which so far has shown a drastic improve-
now eliminated the need for associates to hang panels, bringing up ment, and drawn high praise from associates. Phase two, which is
the ergo rating from red to green.” scheduled for completion this fall, is to install green backlighting to
the quality check table. Studies show that green lighting is easiest
Upgrading the automation is key for production, but the skill of the for the eye to adjust to, and with a five second window, associates
human eye is needed to check every piece of the vehicle that comes will be able to quickly look for any illumination on unusual areas
out of the Stamping department. To do that, you need the proper when performing the quality check.
lighting. A team of associates from different shifts came together
to work on a monozurkuri project to improve the lighting in the It’s amazing how small improvements can raise efficiency by so
Stamping area for these quality checks. much, but thanks to innovation and associate teamwork these minor
advancements can been seen all over the plant, improving quality
“Every five seconds our associates check a new panel for defects, safety and delivery on every model produced. W
May/June 2016 WING 9
