Sunwind A.

B-Case Study By Donal Holland & Eoin Kearney Cover letter Dear Olav Larsson
This report aims to increase the current capacity at Sve so that it can continue to supply
Volvo with floor-lids. It will also look at implementing a JIT delivery system to Volvo and
within the Sve plant it's self so that it can reduce its inventory levels and hence increase
profitability. If the system is successful Sunwind will be Volvo's first Swedish JIT supplier and
it would also guarantee jobs at Sve. Yours Sincerely Manufacturing Manager Executive
summary This report investigated Sve's capability to supply Volvo with floor-lids in a JIT
manner. The report revealed that Save was under capacitated in relation to Volvo's needs.
However listed below are adjustments made to the Sve's manufacturing process.
Implementing these changes will put the Sve Plant not only in a situation to meet Volvo
requirements but also to increase profitability. Implementation steps involve: * Hiring new
employees * Increasing shifts on certain operations * New factory floor layout which will
enable smooth transition of kanbans from work station to work station. * Reducing the batch
sizes we deliver to Volvo and eliminating batches between operations 1 to 7 at Sve. With
these changes in place we are confident we can deliver to Volvo's standards and
requirements thus jobs can be guaranteed and profitability increased. Current Capacity at
Save Process 1: The plywood pieces are shaped on a CNC milling machine. ...read more.

Middle
By doing this the company would increase flexibility in products such as colour material,
would be able to meet smaller orders quicker, better lead-time leading to less idle operators
or gaps between operation starts, also avoiding accumulation of work in progress and
finished goods, which in turn would avoid possible damage to goods while being left around
which could contribute to return of goods A key area affecting a reduction in batch size is the
setup times while a reduction in all setup times might not be practical. Safety stock policy
Though the company should aim not to have any buffer stock a small amount would be
advisable to help alleviate pressure on unexpected large orders, machine breakdowns or
absent staff. It might also be advisable to purchase a new gluing as there are reports of the
machine breaking down. Possible changes to Operations Increase Operators Increase shifts
Reduce set-up times Get rid of batches and use kanbans as direct link for operations with a
minimum amount being transferred at one time. This will reduce any waiting time for the
later operations and making J.I.T possible. Keep the operation times in a close range so
waiting time between operations is kept to a miniscule level and a fluid system is achieved.
Produce just one floor lid, Change to even smaller batch sizes if required in other to deliver
on time More machines Implement JIT Get rid of pallet storage system One delivery a day of
280 floor-lids Specific recommended changes Operation 1 is running above required capacity
as it is on a three shift basis. ...read more.

Conclusion

The floor-lids are picked from a buffer stock located on racks beside the assembly line. This
stock is enough to last Volvo's production requirements for three hours. Following this they
then replenished this buffer stock from a large central stock within plant. It is our goal to
eliminate this large central stock and deliver straight to the buffer within Volvo. This will
greatly reduce holding cost for Volvo. Given that Volvo operate on a single shift bases (8hrs)
and assuming that floor-lids are fitted by works for eight hours daily, in theory the buffer will
need to be replenished 2.6 times, so effectively we are looking at 3 deliveries a day. This
would therefore mean that we would have to deliver in sizes of approximately 93 floor-lids
per kanban. With regard to the number of kanbans in circulation we decided that four would
be sufficient. This would mean there would always be two kanbans at each plant which
would allow for empty kanbans(which contain the floor-lid specifications e.g. carpet type,
colour etc) to be sent back without a pause in Volvo's production and vice-versa, full
kanbans to be sent to Volvo without a pause in the production at Sve. 2. Within the Sve
factory The new factory layout allows kanbans to be manoeuvred between operations 1-7
with ease. There are a total of six kanban systems in operation on the factory floor, one
between every two operations. These kanbans will hold no more than two sub assembled
floor-lids. This will eliminate large quantities of material building up at each work station and
hence allow each operation to continually work to full capacity. ...read more.