Value Engineering Yields Results
03/3/2008
Broxton Industries had been manufacturing a complex chassis assembly for some time, which required some difficult processing and many operations. As a result there was a significant yield problem within the manufacturing process. In addition there were various design factors adding to the cost of the part.
Broxton could see that by resolving some of the design issues and providing an acceptable alternative in respect of the finish of the part, we would be able to offer the customer a significant cost reduction. It would also enable us to significantly reduce the lead time to the customer, hence reducing WIP in the supply chain, and minimising the customer’s risk of product obsolescence.
Broxton took the initiative and undertook to completely redesign and sample the product for customer approval, with the consent of the customer.
The new design, whilst being functionally the same, reconstructed the chassis from a very complex single part assembly, to a much simpler three part assembly. This dramatically improved the handling of the parts through manufacture, eliminating process yield and reducing process times.
The net results were an impressive cost saving of 15% and improved supply with shorter lead time and much improved availability.
