How a struggling manufacturing company decreased their work order (WO) time-lag with Anexas.

(For the whole method and solution, read the full article)?

Introduction:? The company struggled with more than 30 minutes on average to complete a single WO, which had an impact on the organization's budget and resource utilization, service level agreement, and customer satisfaction.

Anexas, with an eagle eye, found the exact execution setup to leverage the process.

The work order response time was reduced by applying the Lean Six Sigma methodology and the DMAIC methodology.

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Define Phase: The 30-minute consumption evidently was draining out the business, while the real-time needed to begin the activity is usually more than half an hour.

We devised a target time of less than 5 minutes.

There will be more equipment use, more productivity, and on-time service delivery if properly catered to the goal of work order time decreasing.

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Measure Phase: The maintenance team cooperated in collaborative efforts to gather the data, recognizing its significance in reducing work order action times and recognizing the present baseline performance of the process. A total of 30 samples were collected, and the process variation can be seen in the accompanying image.

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The key results of this histogram are displayed as follows:

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Average response time is 48 minutes.

Standard deviation is 6.7 minutes.

Data is normal.

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Analyze Phase: In order to identify the potential underlying factors, an investigation was conducted, whereby various tools and techniques such as fishbone diagrams and Pareto charts were utilized to uncover the critical causes.

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In order to establish a deeper understanding of the relationship between the factors x and y, we have gathered the necessary input data. We have formulated potential justifications for the delay in the response time of work orders. Various statistical approaches, including box plots and scatter plots, were employed to verify the underlying factors.

With the use of the Pareto chart and the 80/20 rule, we were able to narrow down the number of causes and find out the main causes that are stated below.

1) Tool kits carry time.

2) Not adhering to SOP

3) Lack of responsibility by FS.

4) Lack of location familiarity.

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Improve Phase:?

The team embarked on the "improve" phase, and brainstorming sessions were held to identify the potential solutions.

We identified the below-mentioned solutions.

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To achieve the project objectives, an implementation plan was prepared. A 5W2H planning tool was utilized to track the implementation plan, and a RACI chart was also created to maintain effective team communication.

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Control Phase: The primary goal of the "control" phase is to ensure the sustained effectiveness and durability of the achieved results over a longer duration of time.

An effective monitoring process has been developed to maintain the solutions. We devised a personalized audit check sheet, a responsibility matrix, and a training plan.

Results and Benefits: The client was able to reduce the work order response time to less than 5 minutes thereby enhancing productivity and customer satisfaction and meeting the service level agreement.

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Work order response time for Anexas' clients has significantly decreased after we have implemented this DMAIC methodology. By approaching issues methodically and making decisions based on data, contingent search can increase customer experience and boost customer satisfaction.

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The author's bio

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Amitabh Saxena is a Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, and a certified PMP and CPHQ professional. With 30+ years of experience, he specializes in process improvement, quality management, and conducting training in these methodologies. As a passionate Data Scientist, he is constantly exploring data-driven approaches and AI to enhance decision-making. On the creative side, he is an author and poet, and his book "The Anexas Story" shares the incredible journey of building his own training and consulting organization. Connect with him to embark on a transformative journey of problem-solving!

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