Research plan

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Dec 11, 2015 - This research plan consists of six chapters that in combination with each other ... After explaining what means are being used the goal can be read in chapter four. ... appendix 4 to visualize the road to the research goal.
Research plan H&P MOULDING, EMMEN, THE NETHERLANDS

YiMing, Song STENDEN UNIVERSITY | MAJOR SCIC

Title page Authors Yiming Song

Date

12-11-15

Place

Stenden University Emmen

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Contents 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................3

2

Subject of the research ...........................................................................................................................4

3

4

2.1

Backgrounds ...................................................................................................................................4

2.2

Assignment H&P Moulding ............................................................................................................4

2.3

Definition of terms used ................................................................................................................5

2.3

Scope ..............................................................................................................................................6

Theoretical framework ...........................................................................................................................7 3.1

Description of theory and models..................................................................................................7

3.2

Literature........................................................................................................................................7

Objective and problem statement ..........................................................................................................8 4.1

Goal and reason .............................................................................................................................8

4.2

Problem statement and focal question..........................................................................................8

4.2.1

Problem statement ....................................................................................................................8

4.2.2

Focal question ............................................................................................................................9

4.3

Conceptual Model ..........................................................................................................................9

4.4

Sub questions and research questions.........................................................................................10

5

Methods ................................................................................................................................................12

6

Planning ................................................................................................................................................13

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................14 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................................15

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1

Introduction

This research plan consists of six chapters that in combination with each other explain the content of the expected research, conducted by group E for H&P Moulding, during the major SCIC. The build-up of this plan has been based on the graduation proposal assessment form that was made available on the graduation phase blackboard page of the Stenden University (2015). After this introduction the plan starts by explaining the subject of the research. This chapter contains general information about the company, a description of the terms used in this research plan and an explanation of the scope of the project. Chapter three covers the theoretical framework of the research. A description and to be used literature are the content. After explaining what means are being used the goal can be read in chapter four. The occurring questions that need an answer to get to this goal and the reason behind the management dilemma are covered. With the goal clearly stated this chapter continues with the focal question and a conceptual model of the project. After this the sub and research questions that need to be answered in order to answer the focal question and explain the conceptual model are listed. In chapter five the methods that need to be used for conducting the research are set apart. How the group expects to come to her answers on previously stated questions is the main focus. You can read the expected planning for the project in the final chapter. A Gantt chart has been added as appendix 4 to visualize the road to the research goal. A chapter of costs is not provided because this is not within the scope of the project. The alternatives provided will be based on a ‘money is no problem’ and a optimization of the current production site scenario. The project itself does not involve costs in terms of money, the only cost involved is time.

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2

Subject of the research

This chapter contains general information about the company, a description of the terms used in this research plan and an explanation of the scope of the project.

2.1

Backgrounds

H&P Moulding was founded in 1996 and is situated in Emmen, in the northern part of the Netherlands. Since 2013 the company owner is Mr. Bart Labrie. His business, which the consultancy group will focus on, is the production of injection moulded plastic parts. The company has eleven full time employees, which are working in several departments such as production, warehousing, sales and administration. Mr. Labrie is the CEO of H&P Moulding and is responsible for the operational part of the company. The first image in appendix 1 shows an organogram of the company. The mission of the company is to be an innovative, sustainable, fast, high-tech manufacturing solutions partner that will exceed the expectations of the customers of H&P Moulding. Through solid relationships, H&P Moulding will utilize, proven business practices that will assist their customers to be the best value provider in their respective marketplace. (H&P Moulding, 2015)

2.2

Assignment H&P Moulding

Assignment for students Supply Chain Innovation & Change at H&P Moulding Emmen BV 1. H&P Moulding has two production areas: the cleanroom and the normal production area. Dependent on the customer requirements (or the availability of the right equipment) products are produced in either location. The machines have been positioned over the years in the production areas and it is questionable whether the current layout of machinery in relation to products and product flow, production efficiency, material flow and operator management is still the optimum. Due to the extension of the services provided by H&P Moulding, additional assembly and packaging steps are being added to the production. H&P Moulding expects to further enhance its capacity in the (near) future and this will need to be included in the study as well.

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2. The assignment should point out whether the current factory and production layouts still suffice or whether optimisations can and should be made and on which grounds these should be made.

2.3

Definition of terms used

Key Performance Indicator (Reh, 2005) Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are quantifiable measurements that reflect the success factors of an organization. In this matter the KPI’s will reflect on the performance of the alternatives. Solution Selection Matrix (George, Rowlands, Price & Maxey, 2004, p. 258) A Solution Selection Matrix (SSM) is a tool that is often used to compare multiple alternatives to each other. It is used to document the solution selection process and criteria, and makes sure the selected solution has the greatest overlap with the goal. PQRST (Shahin, 2011) PQRST is an abbreviation for product, quantity, route, support and time. PQRST is used as a data collection method in Systematic Layout Planning. Systematic Layout Planning (Shahin, 2011) Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) is a procedural method to create a layout for a production area. It is easily useable due its straightforward built up (see appendix 2) Optimal1 Business Dictionary defines optimal as: “Being the best or of the greatest value, sometimes under certain parameters or restrictions.” This can be interpreted as having the best match possible between the production layout and the requirements designed by H&P Moulding. External setup times (Dave & Sohani, 2012) The term external also suggests the existence of internal setup times, and this is true. Both can be found in the Single Minute Exchange of Dies2. The external setup time is the total sum of time of all the activities required to change the setup of the machine, that can be done when the machine is still operating.

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http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/optimal.html#ixzz3rGm6BQTA Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) is one of the many lean production methods for reducing waste in a manufacturing process. It has the goal to be ready to change to the next product, and change the machines accordingly in less than 10 minutes. 2

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2.3

Scope

To keep a good overview of the project, there has to be a clear demarcation of the project. All activities during the project will be directly linked to the internal affairs related to production and warehousing. Competitors and sub-contractors will be out of the scope. The blue dots in image 1 indicate the scope of the project. This will be the production hall, warehouse raw materials and

warehouse finished products. Information from these three departments is required in order to create two good alternatives for the current layout based on the PQRST key and the SSM. People involved in this project are Mr. Labrie and most of the managers (quality, production, office and sales), employees related to production and warehousing; the operators, the head operator and warehouse/expedition employees. Technical and ICT related activities will be out of the scope as well.

Figure 1 Map H&P Moulding

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3

Theoretical framework

3.1

Description of theory and models

In order to fulfil the goal of the project in an effective and efficient manner, the leading method used within this project are the SSM3, which assists the project group to compare the alternatives solutions, in combination with PQRST key4 which refers to Product, Quantity, Routing, Supporting and Time as the key performance indicators of the SSM. The sample SSM will be shown in appendix 3.

3.2

Literature

The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Tool book is used as the main literature source to conduct various analysis for the project. To conduct a thorough research ‘Doing Research’ by Nel Verhoeven will be used.

3 4

(M.L. George, 2004) (Shahin, 2011)

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4

Objective and problem statement

In this chapter the goal, the focal question and the problem statement will be described. The problem statement is formulated with the 6W formula (Verhoeven, 2011). This formula is used to get a thorough description of the somewhat vague initial description received from H&P Moulding. Furthermore this chapter contains a conceptual model and the research questions.

4.1

Goal and reason

The goal of this research will be to provide Mr. Labrie with a SSM that consists of a description of the current production layout compared to two alternative layouts. The KPI’s will be based on a PQRST analysis that will describe how the current layout performs and how performance changes when the layout would be different. With such a matrix Mr. Labrie is able to decide which layout will be the best outcome for his company. The end product will be presented in January 2016.

4.2

Problem statement and focal question

After describing the problem statement, the focal question can be formulated.

4.2.1 Problem statement What is the problem? The problem can be summarized as uncertainty, due to the insufficient mapping of information. In other words, the management is not sure if the current layout of the production area is still optimal. Who owns the problem? The problem is owned by H&P Moulding’s CEO Bart Labrie and his employees, like the head of production. When did it become a problem? The product portfolio of H&P Moulding has changed over the recent years. The layout has not been reviewed and adapted to the change of the product portfolio. There are a couple of signs that the current layout is not optimal. For example the long walking distances, the most often machines are not nearby the warehouse, etc. Why is it a problem? The inefficiency within the production layout could cause extension of lead time and extra costs. Moreover, there is an increasing demand on shorter production runs and low level of full utilization of machines.

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Where does the problem occur? The problem is based in the production area and in the warehouse where the finished goods, raw materials and other stock is being kept. What is the cause of the problem? The problem is caused by the change of product portfolio in recent years such as medical products.

4.2.2 Focal question How does the current production layout perform compared to two possible alternatives, shown in a SSM?

4.3

Conceptual Model

Figure 2 shows the conceptual model of the project. First, the current layout will be analysed with the PQRST-key. Secondly, alternative 1 and 2 will be made and the three layouts will be compared. The results based on the criteria shown in the model will be displayed in the SSM.

Figure 2 Conceptual Model

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4.4

Sub questions and research questions

What are the characteristics of the current layout according to PQRST? Product o

Which activities are needed to setup the machinery for a new product?

o

What is the utilization rate of the machines in the production area?

o

How many machines are used frequently in a daily basis?

o

How many machines are not frequently used?

o

How does the current flow of materials look like?

o

What are the critical paths in the current flow of material?

o

Are the machines (inter)dependent on each other?

o

What are the most important precautionary measures and regulations regarding the

Quantity

Routing

production floor? o

Where is the raw material stored?

o

Where are the raw materials and supporting goods needed most often (where are they adding value)?

o

What are the costs that are being made during the processes that do not add value?

o

What is the space required for each department that is in our scope?

o

Where are the supporting goods located?

o

What are the supporting goods used?

o

Which activities will need to use the supporting goods?

o

How much time has been spent in setup time (external and internal activities),

Supporting

Time

movement and storage?

Which alternative layouts can be applied and what are the characteristics of each?

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o

What are the most important technical developments in the branch of moulding plastics?

o

Which alternative layouts are the most suitable for H&P Moulding?

o

Same characteristics as used to evaluate the current layout (questions asked above)?

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5

Methods

With the purpose of developing the alternative layout designs, Muther’s systematic layout planning5 is applied as the infrastructure of the analysis. To start with the SLP, the PQRST analysis is used as the main tool. Therefore, the research questions are grouped in terms of product, quantity, routing, supporting and time in order to have a clear insight into the flow of materials and relationships between the activities. Once this insight is gained, the relationship diagram can be drawn to demonstrate the connections between the departments. Furthermore, the space requirements of each department that are within the scope will be assessed. With the relationship diagram, space requirements and the space available the space relationship diagram can be drawn. Moreover, the constraints and limitations have to be taken into consideration in order to develop the alternative layouts align with space relationship diagram. However, there extend of the constraints and limitations are low according to Mr. Labrie’s statement. The steps of the PQRST analysis will be visualized under appendix 2.

In order to create a SSM6, the following points have to be taken into consideration: o

Management commitment – Is the management supporting the idea?

o

Strategic and organizational factors – Is the idea suitable for the company´s future strategy?

o

Operating and Management system - The solution should complement with our decision making, accounting, communication and reward system.

o

Consistency – Is the alternative layout meeting the project goal?

o

Selection of criteria – Which criteria are important for the company´s goals.

o

Score – Enter the score for each criteria.

o

Weight – The weight in the solution selection matrix is entered by Mr. Labrie

Once the alternative layout has been developed, the SSM will be used to compare the current layout with the alterative layout. The result will present the most suitable solution accordingly.

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(Taho Yang, 2000) (M.L. George, 2004)

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6

Planning

In order to ensure the project is running smoothly, two methods are used to monitor the group process. First of all, the Group Gantt chart is used to observe the main process and milestones of the project. Second, the Group Logbook is used to record detailed activities which carried out by each of members, therefore, the group would be able to track back and review the past activities. The Group Gantt chart is shown under the Appendix 4.

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Bibliography H&P Moulding. (2015, november). Vision and mission. Retrieved from www.hpmoulding.com: http://www.hpmoulding.com/en/vision-mission M.L. George, D. R. (2004). The Lean six sigma pocket toolbook. U.S.A: Mcgraw-Hill Education Ltd. Reh, F. (2005). Key Perfomance Indicators. Retrieved from www.owfc.com: http://www.owfc.com.au/_edit/rto/Key_performance_indicators.pdf Shahin, A. (2011). Facility Layout Simulation and Optimization. Modern Applied Science, 100. Taho Yang, C.‐T. S.‐R. (2000). "Systematic layout planning: a study on semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities". International Journal of Operations & Production Management,, pp.1359 - 1371. Verhoeven, N. (2011). Wat is onderzoek? Den Haag: Boom Lemma uitgevers. Y. Dave, N. S. (2012). Single Minute Exchange of Dies: Literature Review. Retrieved from http://thinkinglean.com/img/files/PAPER_3.pdf

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Appendix 1. Organogram H&P Moulding

2. Systematic Layout Planning

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3. Draft Solution Selection Matrix KPI’S

LEVEL OF INVESTMENT

QUANTITY

ROUTING

SUPPORTING

TIME

TOTAL SCORE

RANK

LAYOUT CURRENT LAYOUT

ALTERNATIVE 1

ALTERNATIVE 2

PERCEIVED WEIGHT

The blank square above the blue line will be filled up with numbers with the range of 1 to 3. As shown, three layouts will be assessed in terms of productivity, quantity, routing, supporting, time and level of investment. Then, the perceived weight within the range of 1-10 will be given by the assessor in order to find out the ideal solution accordingly. Finally, the total score will be added to conduct the final rank of the different solutions. Ranking above the Blue Line

Weight

Ranking

Low

1

Medium

2

High

3

Perceived Weight Ranking

Importance

Ranking

None

1

Very Minor

2

Minor

3

Very low

4

Low

5

Moderate

6

High

7

Very High

8

Extremely High

9

Must Have

10

16

4. Gantt Chart

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