From baseline to tracked result

1. 01

   Baseline

   Video from the floor, joined to existing plant data such as MES and ERP records, is converted into measures for each station: the share of the shift spent on value-added work (the work that changes the part), how long a unit takes and how much that varies, units finished per day against plan, and time spent on rework. In manual welding, arc time typically runs 15 to 30 percent of the shift.

   Time use by station

   Share of shift, ten shifts pooled

   Cams 1 to 4 · 4 stations

   Fit-up Station A0% value-added

   39%

   29%

   13%

   13%

   Weld Booth 30% value-added

   18%

   38%

   17%

   11%

   16%

   Weld Booth 50% value-added

   26%

   37%

   14%

   9%

   14%

   SAW long seam0% value-added

   31%

   36%

   12%

   15%

   • Value-added work
   • Support work
   • Waiting
   • Walking
   • Breaks and idle
2. 02

   Root cause

   Lost time is broken down by cause: waiting for parts, for the crane, for an inspector, or walking to the tool crib. The system identifies the bottleneck, the one station that limits the output of the whole line.

   Idle by cause

   Fit-up Station A, minutes per shift

   Fit-up Station A · Cam 1

   Waiting for the crane

   0

   Walking to the tool crib

   0

   Waiting for an inspector or a drawing answer

   0

   Waiting for consumables

   0

   Load by station, scheduled hours as a share of available

   62% Cut and form

   58% Roll

   105% Fit-up

   81% Weld

   94% NDE

   66% Finish
3. 03

   Propose changes

   The plant receives a ranked list of specific changes. Each item links to the video behind it, by camera and time, so supervisors can check it.

   Ranked changes

   Estimated value in canisters per week

   Cams 1 to 4 · 10 shifts

   1. 1

      Stage kits and consumables with one material handler

      Fit-up, weld boothsCam 1 · 07:12Cam 3 · 09:41
      +0.4 / week
   2. 2

      Book the hold-point inspector when fit-up starts, not when welding ends

      Fit-upCam 1 · 10:26
      +0.3 / week
   3. 3

      Check the fit-up gap before the assembly leaves the station

      Fit-upCam 1 · 13:05Cam 4 · 13:48
      +0.2 / week
   4. 4

      Adopt the best-observed circ seam sequence at all four booths

      Weld boothsCam 3 · 08:15Cam 4 · 08:22
      +0.2 / week

   Each item links to the video behind it, by camera and time.

4. 04

   Quantify

   A working model of the floor estimates what each change is worth in units per day and cost per unit. The same model is used to test larger decisions, such as a second shift or a welding robot, against the measured baseline.

   Throughput model

   With changes 1 to 5, against the baseline

   canisters per week

   3.3 → 3.3

   Constraint

   Fit-up → NDE

   Cost per unit

   $21,400 → $21,400

   Cut and form

   78%

   Roll

   73%

   Fit-up

   92%

   Weld

   96%

   NDE

   100%

   Finish

   83%

   Load: scheduled hours as a share of available hours. Relieving fit-up moves the constraint to NDE.

5. 05

   Track

   Measurement continues after a change is made. The core measures update continually, so the plant can see whether the change was adopted and whether the number moved.

   Week-over-week time study

   Fit-up Station A, share of shift by week

   Fit-up Station A · Cam 1 · 8 weeks

   1

   2

   3

   4

   5

   6

   7

   8

   Change made after week 4

   Material handler starts staging kits

   Value-added work

   39% → 0%