Productivity Improvement in the Auto Parts Industry : A Case Study Welding Process of the Impact Bar Using Mechanical Arms

Abstract

This research is conducted to study the production of auto parts: impact bar, the part of the car of an auto parts

company. There are three components of the impact bar which each component is connected together. The current production capacity of the company supports demand of only 300 pieces per day. but customers demand has increased to  580 units per day. As a result, the company increases the auto parts production from one shift per day to two shifts per day which results in higher production costs of the company. For this reason, researchers have studied the process of the impact bar to improve production process which can produce up to higher customer demand by using the same capacity. The analysis of the process of the impact bar shows an unbalanced between the people working and the machinery working which results in the high cycle time. Therefore, the researchers employ a Fish Bone Diagrams technique to determine the cause of the bottleneck, an ECRS technique to improve performance and a Jig Fixture technique to design tools in

assisting in the work. The improvement of the production process effects to a decrease in cycle time from 76.68 seconds per piece to 42.13 seconds per piece. or a 45 .05 percent decrease which results in the increased yield to customer requirements by using the same capacity.