Demolition Kit Operation Takes 20 Percent Manufacturing Cost-Reduction Challenge

Challenge

Reduce manufacturing costs for U.S. Army Special Operations Forces Demolition Kit (SOFDK) by 20 percent

Solution

Apply Raytheon Six Sigma™ principles to:

• Reduce wait time in the manufacturing process
  
  
• Create a “visual” factory where work instructions are captured in easily understood graphic form
  
  
• Involve workers in developing viable solutions
  
  
• Improve special packaging processes to remove waste

Results

• Overall projected savings of at least $3.4 million
  
  
• Award of a follow-on five-year contract because cost savings allowed customer to buy more product
  
  
• Fifty-one percent reduction in manufacturing process steps
  
  
• Seventy-three percent reduction in process wait points
  
  
• Forty-five percent reduction in process decision points
  
  
• The solutions the Raytheon team engaged in fueled performance improvements while also providing learning opportunities to employees on problem solving.

Background

In late-2002, Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC’s Engineering and Production Support (EPS) organization was awarded a contract to provide the Special Operations Forces Demolition Kit (SOFDK) to the U.S. Army. The SOFDK is a family of demolition items and state-of-the-art attachment devices that provides special-purpose, remotely-detonated explosive charges. The kits allow users to quickly assemble and attach a demolition charge that is tailored to any of a wide variety of targets, such as armored construction, masonry and reinforced concrete.

Upon receipt of the award, the EPS general manager challenged the project manager to reduce production costs by 20 percent. With the resources of over 300 Six Sigma Specialists and 15 full-time Six Sigma Experts at hand, the project manager recognized that Raytheon Six Sigma™ was the best method to accomplish the cost-reduction goal.

Analyzing the Data

The first step in the cost-reduction process was analysis. Data from past builds of the SOFDK were collected and examined: physical process map, logical process map, hours used in previous builds, current work instructions, current routings, past quality data, worker interviews. Analysis of the data showed that numerous cumbersome processes had evolved over time and were slowing production. Further examination determined that two major root causes – wait time and special packaging instructions – were contributing the most to the cost-added activities on the project.

Making Change

Process mapping showed that with the previous batch-and-queue method of production, there were 15 wait points along the production path; 95 percent of the cycle time was “wait time” – as batches of material waited for the next production step. The new process uses a single-piece flow model. As a result, wait time has been reduced by over 95 percent.

The team identified methods of improving special packaging processes and removed waste. EPS worked closely with the customer to improve the special packaging instructions for the SOFDK project. Visual instructions, metric boards and process cues were implemented on the production line.

Results

The 20-percent cost-reduction goal has been achieved, and the new production team consistently exceeded its goals and were challenged by their new learning opportunities. The original routing process once allowed 17 minutes per item; this process now takes just two minutes per item, a reduction of 88 percent. Outside of achieving its stated goal, the other intangible benefit is the enhanced relationship with the customer.