4.1.2 Value stream mapping analysis and suggestions
Figure 5 shows the VSM diagram for the model CODX-18013-00. VSM analysis reveals that the percentage value addition (%VA) is 4.95 %. It is observed that the high setup time of expander is making expansion operation a bottleneck and causing a high WIP inventory and preventing one piece flow across the shop floor. This high setup time causes the material to be pushed by each workstation to sequential workstation, which is not ideal in terms of lean manufacturing. The high WIP level causes material handling problem, coil damage, and other quality problems. To reduce the WIP level between fin press and expander, it is imperative to reduce the setup time of expander, so that instead of pushing the batch material to the expander, it will allow the expander to pull the material from the fin press. Also to reduce the WIP between the expander and the auto-brazing, the production rate of the auto-brazing machine should be reduced. Necessary adjustment should be made in speed and number of operators to attain a balance between output of two expanders and output of auto-brazing machine. Furthermore, once the setup