What follows are projects that Nelson Engineering, Inc. has implemented in an effort to become a more productive company thru the elimination of waste. As you will see they are not just "quick fixes" but rather mold the company at its core. We hope these projects can be informative and urge you to also think outside the box. If you would like to discuss any of these projects in more detail feel free to contact Adam Nelson, General Manager at ANelson@nel-eng.com

Paperless System
Status: Fully Implemented
Problem: Employees from top to bottom spent much of their time tracking down job folders and other documents. The cost was of this wasted time was $35,000 a year.
Solution: Place all paper documentation from vendors, customers and in-house into the computer via scanning and access these files instantly from a reliable database.
Results: Any document of any type can now be accessed instantly. Looking for job folders and related documentation is now a thing of the past. Scanning in the files is easy and data entry takes little time since we have all relevant fields linked to our ERP system. So a user only has to type in, say, the job number and all related information is auto filled into the database for archiving. These files can be annotated, faxed or e-mailed from any computer at any time. An added benefit is that electronic documents such as e-mail and word files can also be archived into the system for everyone to view. The savings of this project go beyond the $35,000 saved per year. This technology has allowed the company to be much more productive while running at a very smooth pace.

Restructuring of management for better accountability
Status: Fully Implemented
Problem: Management structure did not make accountability or information flow very easy. Each manager reported to another who reported to another and so on. On paper the company hierarchy looked more like a ladder than a pyramid.
Solution: We moved management around until we had a head of Finance, Sales, Quality, Production and Engineering. Each manager or groups of managers are directly responsible for particular performance measures. For example Engineering is now in charge of releasing route sheets in a timely and accurate manner. Quality is now solely responsible for the quality of product shipped to our customers and production is responsible for the quality of parts given to inspection from the shop floor and vendors.
Results: Everybody in the company knows what they are responsible for. It allows managers to focus on improving the performance of their department and related duties. It is also easier to view the overall performance of the company. Every week department heads gather to discuss any issues and propose topics for discussion. It is here that many of the ideas for improvements are born.

In Process Inspections
Completion: February 13th, 2004
Status: Beginning of Implementation Phase
History: Nelson Engineering, Inc. currently inspects parts rigorously during the machining process, after which the quality department re-checks the parts and gives the final buyoff for parts to move onto the next operation.
Problem: The current situation is not in the spirit of catching mistakes at the source of the problem. Secondly quality can become a bottleneck since all parts pass thru quality on multiple occasions. Interim inspections account for 60% of all inspections performed by the quality department.
Solution: Have the quality department inspect parts during the manufacturing process. Parts will still be checked by the machine operators but roaming inspectors from the quality department will be doing the interim inspections while the parts are in the process of being made. This is being accomplished by adding a new inspector and utilizing the quick inspection capabilities of our PMM. Inspectors now roam the shop floor looking for defective parts. When a defect is noticed the cause is noted and added to our statistical database and the problem is corrected on the spot. When the required numbers of parts, along with the last part, are inspected the inspector buys off the operation and the job heads to the next operation without any delay.
Results: Higher quality, less scrap and a faster throughput are anticipated. We expect a better understanding of the root cause of many internal quality issues. In this way we can focus our training and resources into systematically eliminating each type of error.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis on the actual results of this program

Reduction of Setup Times Thru Tool Pre-Setting and Tool Management
Completion: March 2004
Status: Ordering of Equipment Complete, Tool Room Being Prepared
Problem: Most of the time required to setup a job is spent building and finding the appropriate tooling and then inputting the tool diameters and length into the CNC programs. Also perishable tooling is not tracked within the company. Many tools go unused due to the lack of tool management. Currently this makes perishable tooling expenses quite significant.
Solution: Implement a modern tool crib with tool presetting and tool inventory capabilities. In this way jobs can be kitted complete before a job is due to go on a machine. With the Zoller tool pre-setter tool geometry can be measured off-line and downloaded into the CNC program. More importantly with the Zoller tool management software all tools, tool kits and hard tooling can be tracked and monitored. Lastly tooling inventory needed for a job can be allocated and shortages found prior to manufacturing.
Results: Current setup times range from two to three hours per operation and we fully expect these to be reduced to around 30 minutes with the implementation of kitting and tool pre-setting. An average of one day will be saved per job.

Currently we are in the process of taking a complete inventory of all tooling and inputting this data into the tool management software. The tool room has been totally refurbished and significant progress is being made each week in achieving our completion date of March of 2004. The phases of this project are as follows:

Phase 1) Evaluation of all solutions-Completed
Phase 2) Develop a complete plan for implementation of modern tool crib-Completed
Phase 3) Hire a full time knowledgeable tool room attendant-Complete
Phase 4) Organize current tool room-Complete
Phase 5) Take order of tool management software and train.-by 1-30-04
Phase 6) Count, label and barcode all perishable, soft and hard tooling-by 2-29-04
Phase 7) Install Zoller Saturn I tool presetting machine and train-by 3-5-04
Phase 8) Begin 100% kitting for all jobs at Nelson Engineering, Inc., Inc.-by 3-29-04
Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis on the actual results of this program

Reduction of Job Planning Thru Concurrent Engineering
Status: Fully Implemented
Problem: In the past jobs at Nelson Engineering, Inc. could be equated to a relay race. Orders would follow a sequential path (see below) before being released to the shop floor. This was because each job was stored in a unique folder. You can think of this folder like a baton in a relay race. It typically took two to three weeks before a job was finally released to the shop floor for programming to begin and finally production to start.
Solution: Concurrently perform many of the pre-production tasks as possible to cut down the amount of time a job spends in pre-production.
Results: With the implementation of the paperless system jobs could now be simultaneously routed to quality, programming and purchasing after the route sheet had been created. The concurrent pre-production sequence reduced the amount of time a job spends in pre-production to around 4-5 days. Typically the raw materials are now the pacing item. An added benefit is that planning, programming, purchasing and engineering typically have the same jobs on their plate at the same time. This creates a more team centric pre-production process which results in better plans.
The idea of simultaneously performing tasks has proved to be so beneficial that we are now constantly looking at where else this idea can be applied. You can currently see this concept at work in our roaming inspection and setup reduction projects.