by admin | May 13, 2020
A third-party supplier manufactures plastic automotive interior components for various automotive customers. The facility where this project was conducted comprises injection molding components, painting components and assembling part and sub-assemblies.
The objective of this study was to calculate operator efficiency and to categorize operator utilization as under-utilized, efficiently utilized or over-utilized/worked.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
This facility operates three processes – plastics injection molding, painting of molded parts and assembly comprising of several parts and/or assemblies. The processes are split into various work stations.
Molding contains fifty-six different presses with tooling molds numbering three hundred and fifteen. Personnel allocation is one operator per press; in cases of slower production rates, a single operator manages two presses. A press operator’s responsibilities include packaging newly molded plastics into appropriate containers, processing those containers with the corresponding inventory labeling and readying containers of molded parts for placement in inventory by the logistics operators.
There are two separate lines for painting, considered as Paint Line 1 and Paint Line 2. Paint Line 1 is the larger of the two lines, in terms of the number of operators involved at the line. The painting line consists of six distinct processes or stages: loading of unpainted parts onto appropriate racks, wiping of loaded parts, unloading of painted parts, inspection of unloaded parts and packing of inspected parts; labeling of filled containers is a separate process that is independent from the paint lines (each paint line is independent from each other).
Assembly comprises over a hundred stations, each responsible for the assembling of a specific component or a sub-assembly. Each station has a personnel allocation of a single operator. A “spider” operator handles the labeling and container processes for several stations.
OPPORTUNITY
Since the focus was on operator efficiency, MODAPTS (Modular Arrangement of Predetermined Time Standards) was considered the most feasible approach. By assigning predetermined time standards to each of the captured operator’s motions for each station, a concrete cycle time without any non-value added activities can be determined.
APPROACH
The first phase consisted of videotaping each operator as they conducted their work, with emphasis on their motions. The second phase was to translate the captured motions into MODS or predetermined time standards – a total time to complete a set of motions without the presence of any non-value added activities. The third and final phase was to input the produced results into a proprietary process book.
SOLUTION
After translating the captured motions into MODs, operational cycle time was determined by inputting the MODs into a proprietary Microsoft Excel process book. This process book takes the MOD values and translates them into a calculated time based upon predetermined standards. Then, based on the operational cycle time, along with a variable production cycle rate, daily production volume and production length (i.e. number of shifts per day or number of days per week, etc.), an operator’s efficiency was derived for a particular station. The calculated efficiency was then categorized into three distinct categories – the operator of a particular station was determined to be either under-utilized, optimally utilized or over-utilized.
BENEFIT
Having determined an operator’s potential efficiency for any particular [assembly, painting operation, press and tooling] station based on an ideal cycle time and other dependent variables, personnel allocation can be forecasted more precisely. An operator with low utilization at a particular station could be otherwise used as an additional resource for another low utilization station. Likewise, a station that produces a utilization that is determined to be high [over-utilized] can be alleviated by adding an additional operator, thus distributing the high utilization of a single operator into two [or more] operators.
by admin | Mar 18, 2020
PMC’s customer needed to capture a fine level of detail in order to document existing historical elements. The scan data was used to record the features of a historic structure prior to its renovation. If at any time in the future there is an interest in returning the structure to its “original” state, the customer has documented the original features’ exact details and dimensions.
Organizations that are charged with preserving national monuments or historical buildings may commission “current state” scans to document conditions, then follow up with periodic scans, typically at 5-year intervals. Comparisons of successive scans often reveal indications of condition changes before damage becomes outwardly apparent. Also, when a structure’s site is prone to natural disasters (flood, earthquake, tornado), recorded scans can provide vital documentation for restoration efforts.
PMC delivers models with the level of detail that your organization requires.
Laser scanning captures all features and conditions in order to ensure an accurate 3D model.
Realistic 3D models are based upon the very precise point cloud data that PMC captures.
PMC field teams are able to add realistic textures and lighting to a render.
Click on this model to rotate, zoom and explore!
by admin | Mar 18, 2020
Many design engineers of custom manufacturing and processing equipment are faced with a unique challenge. Prior to drafting a proposal, they perform a walkthrough of the client’s facilities for evaluation of optimal solutions. After successfully winning the project, the engineers will refer to the existing conditions that they recorded during their walkthrough as they design and fabricate the new equipment.
Design and fabrication can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. During that time frame, the facility often changes in ways that aren’t communicated to the design engineers. For instance, elements such as cable trays and control boxes are frequently moved, requiring modifications to the new equipment in order to accommodate them. These issues are often overlooked until the new equipment’s installation date, which results in field change orders.
By using laser scanning during the initial walkthrough, design engineers can document all conditions in the facility. This key procedure can help resolve questions that may subsequently arise concerning the responsibility for any field change orders and their costs.
PMC’s reality capture team documents existing conditions as point cloud data.
Point cloud data are important for producing accurate 2D CAD drawings of as-built facilities.
The laser scanning process captures facility layout information for accurate data .
PMC field teams can scan black and white to color of your facility.
by admin | Mar 18, 2020
The Model T Building is a former Ford Motor Company factory located in Highland Park, MI. From 1910 to 1927, the Highland Park Ford plant was the site where the iconic Model T automobile was manufactured, and it served as the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company. It was at this plant that the first moving assembly line was introduced, as well as the 5-dollar work day.
PMC’s scanning experts documented physical historical evidence of existing conditions in this long-abandoned building. Our safety-trained staff carefully scanned the challenging structure, then made a 3D model in Revit. By leveraging captured data to provide online virtual walkthroughs to our client, we were able to minimize the number of their people who needed to access the site; and by utilizing Scan-to-BIM, we provided our client with an as-built model for planning restoration.
Scan data allows for a virtual walkthrough of an unsafe building, thereby minimizing the risks associated with real-life visits.
Virtual walkthrough of scan data for safe viewing of historic buildings.
Point cloud data modeled into a 3D realistic render.
Laser scanning documented all conditions in order to ensure an accurate 3D model.
PMC field teams were able to safely scan the complex structure and to create an as-is model in Revit.
by admin | Feb 27, 2020
Mega projects that exceed 1,000,000 sq. ft. or 100,000 sq. meters are a PMC specialty. Our teams have some of the most experience in the industry in the execution of mega-scale scanning and modeling projects. Having completed multiple projects that approach 10,000 scans, few others can provide proof that your next mega project can be completed without any issue.
There are numerous challenges when performing work at a large scale. Everything from data management to schedule can make these jobs a challenge. Most mega projects also present challenges in accessing of facilities, whether that’s a running assembly line or a hospital that is seeing patients, PMC has the experience to work under all circumstances.
PMC’s Laser Scanning capabilities can range from small projects to million-square-feet factories. Scanning and 3D modeling provide companies with construction validation built-to-model, route verification of MEP’s, virtual design and construction, information for equipment relocation, identification of CAD errors and challenges with factory obstacles like overhead conveyors for off-site fabrication.
PMC delivers models with the level of detail that your organization requires such as MEP and HVAC.
Laser scanning captures all features and conditions in order to ensure an accurate 2D/3D model.
Our scan team captures all aspects large or small.
PMC field teams can model large scanned data.
