Hansen Technologies: MVP Kaizen Event

Author

Kyle KrausFollow
Ethan Mahon, Kennesaw State University
Erick Hohler
Alexander Knowles

Date of Submission

Spring 4-23-2023

Project Type

Senior Design

Major

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Abstract

Hansen Technologies, based in Commerce GA, is a global leader in the production of industrial refrigeration. One of their most profitable product assembly cells, the Multivalve Platform cell, is not currently producing enough to meet increasing demand. The MVP team focused on analyzing and designing a system using Kaizen to improve the throughput of the MVP cell. After conducting a root cause analysis through Gemba and video analysis, key areas were noted for improvement. Small inconsistencies, such as losing grip on the heavy MVP and searching for materials can take a lot of time away from achieving higher throughput levels. By using different concepts such as operator balance charts, time studies, process flow maps, and decision matrices, the MVP team came up with four main solutions to increase the throughput of the cell. A prebuild table would take away the danger and time wasted building on an unstable cart. Adding a simple vise fixture to this table gives the builder a steady option for pre-building MVPs. A new universal fixture was designed to hold each MVP, with different features to aid the builder to improve cycle time. Finally, a full-cell layout redesign was used to improve the flow of material through the entire cell. After implementing these solutions through simulation, the throughput of the cell was expected to increase by at least 10-12 MVPs per day on average, equating to roughly a 30% increase in production.