PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT OF

GEAR HOUSING BY REDUCTION OF

LEAD TIME
Goutham R
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

ABSTRACT: output by effectively utilizing the available

resources and company’s owner want to same.
Machining industry is playing a crucial role in
Biggest problem which are associated such as
current manufacturing scenario. G-plast pvt ltd
ineffective layout, back flow of material,
is a company which manufactures various
mechanical components by using casting ergonomics, etc. so applying knowledge of
process. Its service also includes machining of engineering and trying to solve the problem as far
the cast components produced by the casting in as possible and improving productivity.
there. At present the situation the company
produces various components one among which LITERATURE REVIEW :
is gear housing PQ25, which doesn’t meet the
According to Prof. DR S.M. sane, promod p.
customer demand due to high lead time and in-
shewale, Manmath S. shete,[1] they are working on
process inventory is maintained at a high level.
The main objective of the project is to improve “Improvement in plant layout using systematic
the productivity of the component by reducing layout planning for increased productivity”.
the lead time. According to them the research is to study about
plant layout of compressor manufacturing based
INTRODUCTION : company on the systematic layout planning pattern
Casting is one of the best methods for production theory (SLP) for increased productivity. The basic
of mechanical components due to it provides good industrial layout planning is applied to systematic
strength and reliability of components. There are layout planning (SLP) method in which showed
various casting processes by which the production step-by-step of plant design from input data and
of metallic components is done. The various activities to evaluation of plant layout. This method
processes are such as Induction casting, Die provides the new plant layout that improves the
casting, Investment die casting (wax pattern), process flow through the plant, and help to increase
centrifugal casting, permanent mould casting, sand space in industries, and effective utilization of
casting, etc. Out of them investment die casting is resources for improving productivity.
the best method for produces components. There
are different casting industries which produces According to Mayank[2] et al (2013), they were
metallic components by casting processes. There working on overall productivity improvement in
are generally two casting processes existing in casting and fastening industry. The purpose of this
casting companies. There are die casting & research is to improve productivity of small and
induction casting. Die casting is specially use for medium scale casting industries which produce
aluminium parts and induction casting is use for all various mechanical components by casting
types of metallic components. The company is processes. They make changes in plant layout, flow
basically a casting industry where production of of material movement for better utilization of plant
mechanical components by casting process as well area to improve the productivity and identify
as balancing of rotating parts and machining work problems in the casting and fastening process and
is also done. The company always want to improve improved it in terms of reduction in production
their productivity continually by solving the highly time, number of manual process and back flow of
occurred problem which directly affect to the materials by proposing an efficient plant layout and
productivity. So company want to produce more design of components used for loading of material
used in fastening process. They conclude that by a part of the UMS Group. Well known for its
using semi-automatic moulding machine, time achievements in Electronics, Precision Machine
reduces to 5-6 minutes per mould and marking & Tools and Transport. G Plast (P) Ltd comprises of
adjustment of the cope & drag part can avoid. By five functional departments: Design Center,
changing plant layout storage problem, material Tooling, Moulding, Die Casting and Precision
handling problem, space for investment casting and Machining. Complex Die Cast Components for
engineering applications are mass-produced and
material movement can be reduce.
supplied in Ready-to-assemble condition. Equipped
with 9 Machines ranging from 60T to 350T for
McIntosh, Culley, Gest, Mileham, Owen(1995)
Aluminium (Including Frech 350T),supported with
illustrated about importance of activity
categorisation before implementing the SMED. VIBRO finish and Shot Blasting Machines.
This process provides information’s about product, Precision Machine Shop takes over the secondary
machine, tools, fixtures, fasteners, housekeeping machining to finish the parts.
and etc to prioritise activities and take up
VISION:
implementation in a rigorous fashion, with full
commitment at all levels without any hurdles [3]. To aim at achieving highest competancy in
manufacturing to meet global customer
Patel, Shaw, Dale(2001) illustrated that how
expectation.
smaller organisations are approaching the set-up
time reduction and mistake proofing. The paper 1. Problem Identification :
mainly talks about the barriers of implementing
these techniques such as lack of financial support, The project is carried out in G-plast Pvt Ltd,Unit -
resistance to change, lack of strategic planning and 2, Coimbatore. The component selected for
lack of knowledge and training. In smaller productivity improvement is Gear Housing PQ 25.
company always management hesitates to There are 3 divisions in the industry, they are
change[4] .
 DCD – Die Casting Division
METHODOLOGY:  PMD – Precision Machining division
 LOGISTICS
Study the Industry
The problems identified in this product are,

Literature Review  Improper production planning

 High setup time
 Unnecessary inspection of components
Problem Identification
 High in-process inventory

Data Collection 1.1 OBJECTIVES

 To increase the productivity of the

Reduction of Setup Time component
 To reduce the machining time & setup
Process Capability Improvement time for gear housing.
 To reduce the inventory.

Calculation of EOQ

Results & Implementation

Recommendations

Fig 1. Methodology

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY :

The company based in India with more than three

decades of experience and expertise in Tool and
Die Making, Injection Molding and Die Casting. Its
 2.3 LEAD TIME DATA :

From Casting to machining – 2 Days

From Machining to packing – 2 days
Demand Data – 1250/day
Safety stock – 4000 pieces

The setup time data of gear housing PQ25 is being

tabulated below which gives a clear map of the
process used in machining process. Machining
process used in the component are turning &
boring. A 2 spindle CNC machine is used to
machine the cast components.
Fig 2. GEAR HOUSING PQ 25

1.2 Die casting process : Activity Time Taken

• Machines – 180T,200T,250T. (Secs)

• Gear housing PQ 265 – Cavity 1,2,3,4. Picking the Casting From the bin 5
• Demand /Day - 1250(approx.)
Cleaning the fixture in first spindle 5
• Production Output/Day – 600/Machine with air
2.DATA COLLECTION
Clamping the casting in the fixture 12

2.1 Cycle Time : Cleaning the job removed from the first 5
spindle
S.no Setup Machining Production
Time Time output Unclamping the job from second 12
1 58 1.39 172 spindle
2 61 1.42 175
Cleaning the the fixture in the second 4
3 59 1.44 163 spindle with air
4 55 1.50 181
Clamping the job from the first spindle 12
5 60 1.51 177 in the second spindle

Cleaning the finished job with air 5

Table 1. Cycle Time Data

2.2 Time Allocated for Machining:

Table 2. Setup Time
 Machining time – 1.5 mins
 Handling time – 0.5 mins.
 Shift /day – 3
 No.of. Working days – 6
 Shift time – 8 hrs
 Break time – 40 mins
 Demand / operator – 225/Shift@100%
Efficiency.
 Chart Title
3. PROCESS CAPABILITY:
16
14
12 A process is a unique combination of tools,
Time (Secs)

10 materials, methods, and people engaged in

8 producing a measurable output; for example a
6 manufacturing line for machine parts. All processes
4 have inherent statistical variability which can be
2
0 evaluated by statistical methods.

The process capability is a measurable property of

a process to the specification, expressed as a
process capability index (e.g., Cpk or Cpm) or as a
process performance index (e.g., P pk or Ppm). The
output of this measurement is usually illustrated by
a histogram and calculations that predict how many
Axis Title parts will be produced out of specification.

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Table 3. REJECTION DATA

S.No Causes of rejection Quantity

Fig 3. Setup time vs time
1 NOGO 672
2 Poor finish 85
3 cracks 20
4 Inaccuracies in 50
Machining

 The main causes for rejection is

dimensional variation which occurs in
the job due to uneven clamping of the
work in the fixture.
 Even a skilled labour cannot
consistently do the clamping for the
correct position. It varies from
operator to operator.

Pareto Chart of C1
Fig 4. Cause & Effect Diagram 900
100
800
Reasons for Low Productivity:
700
80
• Time taken for air gauge & height gauge 600
Percent

inspection is approximately around 4.3 500 60

C2

mins. 400
40
300
• Handling time for machining is around 55-
200
60 secs. 20
100
• The supply of castings is not standardized. 0 0
C1 NOGO Poor finish Inaccuracies in Machining Other
C2 672 85 50 20
• The main cause for high handling time is Percent 81.3 10.3 6.0 2.4
Cum % 81.3 91.5 97.6 100.0
clamping & Unclamping the job from the
chuck.

• It also causes dimensional variation in the

component. Fig 4. Pareto Chart
 D = Demand of customer / day

Process Capability of C1  Shift /day – 3

LSL USL
 Shift time – 8 hrs

Process Data Within
LSL 30.87 Overall Break time – 80 mins
Target *
USL
Sample Mean 31.024
31.13 Potential (Within) C apability
Cp 0.54  Demand / operator – 225/Shift@100%
C PL 0.63
Sample N 5
StDev (Within) 0.0808803
C PU 0.44
C pk 0.44
Efficiency.
StDev (O v erall) 0.0760263
O v erall C apability
Pp
PPL
0.57
0.68 Net available time/day(Tₐ) = total time/shift –
PPU 0.46
Ppk
C pm
0.46
*
break time

Tₐ = 480 – 50
30.88 30.96 31.04 31.12 31.20
O bserv ed Performance
PPM < LSL 0.00
Exp.
PPM
Within Performance
< LSL 28451.93
Exp. O v erall Performance
PPM < LSL 21402.15
Tₐ = 400 mins.
PPM > USL 0.00 PPM > USL 95000.05 PPM > USL 81620.44
PPM Total 0.00 PPM Total 123451.98 PPM Total 103022.59
D = 225 pieces

T = 400/675
Fig 5. Process capability
T = 0.59 mins
Improvements:
Actual Cycle time – 2.34 mins
• Setup time can be reduced by reducing the
time taken for clamping & unclamping of SWIP = Cycle time / takt time
the casting from the work fixture.
SWIP = 2.34/0.59
• A new hydraulic clamping device is
SWIP = 4
attached to the work fixture which is
operated by a button. 3.2 SAFETY STOCK CALCULATION:
• Reducing in-process inspection from 5 Month Demand
pieces to 10 pieces. June ‘14 23476
July’14 25433
August ‘14 25650
September ‘14 25864
October ’14 26247
November ‘14 21435
December ‘14 25512
January ‘15 22539

x n

Fig 6. work holding fixture The average of consumption per month = x n 1

3.1 TAKT TIME CALCULATION: N=8

Takt time is defined as the average unit production The average consumption /month = 23270
time required to meet the customer demand of a
product.
 x 
N

T = Tₐ/D n x
Standard deviation =  dm  n 1

Where, N
T = Takt time

Tₐ = Net available time/day

Standard Deviation = 2860

Chart Title
The desired service level is kept as 85%
6
The lead time factor with normal distribution 5
according service level is – 1.04 4
3
Safety Stock = SS  z * dm 2
1
0

SS = 1854

CURRENT SETUP TIME DATA:

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

Activity Time Fig 7. Reduced Set up time after implementation

Taken
(Secs)

Picking the Casting From the bin 4

Cleaning the fixture in first 5

spindle with air
Process Capability of C1

Clamping the casting in the 4 LSL USL

Process Data Within
fixture LSL 30.87 Overall
Target *
USL 31.13 Potential (Within) C apability
Sample Mean 31.006 C p 1.78
C PL 1.86
Cleaning the job removed from 4 Sample N 5
StDev (Within) 0.0243794
C PU 1.70
C pk 1.70
the first spindle StDev (O v erall) 0.0230217
O v erall C apability
Pp 1.88
PPL 1.97
PPU 1.80
Unclamping the job from second 4 Ppk 1.80
C pm *
spindle

30.88 30.92 30.96 31.00 31.04 31.08 31.12

Cleaning the the fixture in the 4
O bserv ed Performance Exp. Within Performance Exp. O v erall Performance
second spindle with air PPM < LSL 0.00 PPM < LSL 0.01 PPM < LSL 0.00
PPM > USL 0.00 PPM > USL 0.18 PPM > USL 0.04
PPM Total 0.00 PPM Total 0.19 PPM Total 0.04

Clamping the job from the first 4 Fig 8. Process capability after implementation
spindle in the second spindle

Cleaning the finished job with air 5

 increased productivity”, International Journal of
Advanced Engineering Research and Studies,
Eissn2249- 8974, IJAERS/VOL.I/Issue III/April-
June,2012 /259-261

2) http://www.stevepavlina.com/2007/05/33-rules-
to-boostyour-productivity, (Access on; 14/07/2012)
RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS:
3)http://www.ecoefficiency.com.au/portals/56/facts
The gear housing PQ25 component used in hets/foundry/ecofndry_process.pdf (over view of
production line of the company now has increased casting processes)(Access on; 29/07/2012)
its production. The productivity of the component 4)Vivekanand S. Gogi, Rohith D., Shashi Kiran K.,
by reducing the lead time and the safety stock is Suhail M. Shaikh, 2014, “Efficiency improvement
reduced from the current scenario. of a plant layout”, International Journal of
Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and
Technology (IJAERS), Vol. 3(4), pp. 11203-11209.
 A new hydraulic clamping fixture is 5) Pramod P. Shewale, Manmath S. Shete, Prof.
introduced into the CNC machine which DR. S. M. Sane, 2012, “Improvement in plant
automatically holds the work piece. layout using systematic layout planning (SLP) for
 The set up time taken for machining increased productivity”, International Journal of
operation is reduced from 60 secs to 33 Advanced Engineering Research and Studies
secs (IJAERS), Vol. 1(3), pp. 259-261.
 The process capability of the process is
increased to 1.78. 6). Mayank Dev Singh, Raval Apurv J, Patel
 The standard work in process inventory is Dhaval G, Parth Varmora J, 2013, “Overall
productivity improvement in casting and fastening
reduced to 4 from 25.
industry”, International Journal of Mechanical and
 The safety stock to be maintained in the Production Engineering (IJMPE), Vol. 1(1), pp. 43-
process is reduced to 1854.
7). Arash Ghodrati, Norzima Zulkifli, 2013, “The
REFERENCES :
impact of 5s implementation on industrial
1)Prof. DR S.M. sane, promod p. shewale, organizations performance”, International Journal
of Business and Management Invention, Vol. 2(3),
Manmath S. shete, “Improvement in plant layout
pp. 43-49.
using systematic layoutplanning (SLP) for