2. The coil output per shift (of 8 h, 450 min work time, 30 min personal time) improved from 121 to 214 coils or productivity improvement of 76 %.
3. LMS tools such as SMED and Kaizen (continuous improvement) were employed to reduce setup time of the expander machine from 60 to 20 min, an improvement of 67 %.
4. VSM, an LMS tool, revealed that the value addition percentage (%VA) of the coil shop was around 5 %. VSM (future state) projected the value addition percentage to be around 12 % after the implementation of all the improvement projects, the increment of 140 % from the current level, which resulted from the setup time reduction of expander machine.
5. Several innovative Kaizens (continuous improvement) design change or improvements were proposed to reduce the setup time of the expander. The Kaizen design included rack (gear) and pinion (gear) mechanism for row change, using rectangular spacer and scale on both sides of the machine for the easy alignment of back plates, fixing the location of the door plate in door frame to eliminate the possibility of variation and need for readjustment, designing receiver plate with spring, and cam and lever mechanism of locking system for easy insertion of receivers in plate and one touch locking and converting continuous groove in door plates to fixed holes for accurate mounting of side stopper.
6. Additional benefits were accrued through a reduction of WIP inventory and floor space utilization resulting in improved plant layout. This in turn would reduce congestion and coil damage and enhance safety at the workplace.
7. Several Kaizen target changes in work methods were proposed that included providing scale at both sides of expander, keeping expander accessories on a movable