Home | Client List | Press Room | Upcoming Events | Contact Us | Site Map
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2008 |
For more information please contact: Muriel Mosher Tel: 207-623-0680 |
|
New Bedford Company Uses Lean Manufacturing Techniques to Improve Manufacturing Operations, Expand Facility NEW BEDFORD, MA - Davico Manufacturing, a family-owned business with 35 employees that produces more than one thousand different models of direct fit catalytic converters as replacements for original dealer parts, continues to grow and improve in a number of different ways. But Ray Surprenant, the owner and president of Davico says his company would not be expanding their facility, increasing sales, and creating more jobs without the help from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP). “We would not be able to handle this type of growth without the MassMEP Lean trainings of eliminating waste and streamlining our processes,” said Surprenant. “I first learned about MassMEP while attending one of their public Lean events about five years ago. It struck a nerve with me; I realized Lean tools could really help us achieve the growth and success we had been striving for.” With the assistance of the MassMEP, Davico was able to apply for a Department of Employment Training (DET) and Workforce Training Fund (WTF) grant, which they were able to use to train employees in Lean manufacturing techniques and to improve the overall operations of the company. Employees learned techniques such as TimeWise® LE102 Basic Lean Principles for Job Shops; Value Stream Mapping, where flow of materials are analyzed and mapped out; Kaizen events, or quick improvements to procedures that result in large gains in efficiency; and the 5S method for organizing a workplace. “Learning about all the different ways we waste was really eye opening,” Surprenant added. “Now we are constantly working on ways to improve what we do. When people enter our facility, they notice it is clean, free of clutter, and well organized. Everything has its place. Our employees also now see what processes really add value. Our work environment is now safer than ever as well.” “Not only does Lean help on the production side of things, but also in the office with order processing methods to get orders to the shop floor more efficiently,” said Rick Bowie, MassMEP project manager. “Leaning out their procedures has helped keep Davico cost competitive with much larger operations across the country.” After having their employees trained on different aspects of Lean, the next step was to move the ever-expanding Davico to a larger facility. “At first, we considered relocating to another town or state, but we recognized the value of being able to stay in New Bedford and keep our well-trained workforce. And it paid off. In 2005, our company was honored with the Governor’s Award for bringing new economic investment and jobs to New Bedford,” said Surprenant. “Before Davico moved into a new building, Glenn Gertridge of MassMEP worked with a group of Davico shop floor managers to determine where everything would be located. During this time, we realized we would need to change the manufacturing strategy and split the factory into three different cells: one for high-volume orders, one for medium-volume orders, and one for one-off projects when a client requests just one of something,” said Bowie. “When it was time to move, the group used the layout they had developed, so the move went very quickly.” In the new, 30,000 square foot facility, product travels through the space in one orderly direction. The flow of the higher volume products has improved so much so, that they are able to get them to market faster than their competition. Order entry time has decreased 80 percent by changing the process and introducing kanbans, or signals, on the floor to trigger work orders on stock items, rather than generating them through the office. Davico has also been able to increase the fill rate on their most popular ‘A’ part numbers to 95 percent by simply looking at the inventory targets and manufacturing to those targets. “Bringing in Rick and Glenn from MassMEP helped give a voice to Lean. They were certainly instrumental in helping us get the employees on board,” added Surprenant. “Due to our Lean work, we are building more efficiently in our high volume part numbers with higher inventory turns. As a company, we are getting more business and retaining and creating jobs, thanks to the work of MassMEP. In fact, we plan to call on them again to do another round of Lean and introduce these valuable concepts to our new employees.” |
|