In changing and competitive times, you may well have to go back to basics and look at investing for growth. But there’s no need to take a gamble
Key benefits
Initial application enabled proof and optimisation of production change programme to generate 33% improvement at a fraction of the cost of proposed investment
Visual accuracy and animation aids visualisation and getting commitment
Brought new understanding of existing process and operations – and thus waste elimination
Now used for modelling all change programmes: latest helped management make a good, well-informed decision for capex in excess of £350 000.
£12m Burbidge, which manufactures kitchen unit doors and fixtures at two sites in Coventry, has been successfully using simulation tools from Production Modelling to improve its business and its manufacturing. Most recently, it’s been doing that itself, without a big IT team and without specialist skills, having bought the software. Burbidge’s finance director Graham Heaven says software, consultancy and hand-holding cost no more than £20,000 – a figure the firm has saved time and again by getting serious investment decisions right first time.
In the mid ‘90s, Burbidge used simulation consultancy services to solve manufacturing problems, but 18 months ago, when it came to new challenges around product variety, the firm turned to Production Modelling and bought its ProModel analysis tool. Says Heaven: “Although we have only limited in-house IT, we felt that with the reduced cost of the hardware needed, and the user friendly nature of modern systems, this would be feasible.”
Burbidge’s problem was the classic of batch sizes and cycle frequency, and there were choices to be made around investing and changing the factories to meet changing demands. Some operations required large batch sizes for efficiency: smaller batches were leaving the paint shop in particular largely empty, the net effect being expensive downtime.
Running actual production data on ProModel, Burbidge found that by splitting the line – the minimal investment option – output would rise by 17%; while by buying a new lacquering pen, output could be increased by 33%. “The simulation provided exactly what we needed – clear and detailed answers,” says Heaven. He points out that with proposed process improvements costing upwards of £500,000, getting good intelligence “at a cost that’s a small fraction of our proposed investment” was essential.
He also says that the visual accuracy and animation of the model helps when it comes to explaining proposed changes and getting commitment. Equally, there’s value in the data gathering exercise in terms of bringing real understanding of existing process and operations. “It’s amazing what you find, what really happens with the processes, what’s actually being done by operators. We’ve eliminated several unnecessary and wasteful activities.”
Since that application, the system has been in use with other projects. For example, Burbidge has used it to establish the best way forward for replacing its ageing door-edge profiling machine, again a requirement resulting from smaller batches and more variety. By modelling two alternatives – single or twin cutter machines – the company found that a twin cutter machine is more efficient for existing production demand, but smaller batches will favour a single cutter machine.
In this case, Burbidge decided to buy two machines, one of each type, while consolidating other activities. Again modelling helped management make a good, well-informed decision for capex in excess of £350 000.
|