MTM Standards in Highly Variable Assembly Production

[RussOSU]

I currently am working for a company which produce a lot of custom vehicles for our customers. We have a very solid and very established labor standards system. In the past there have been attempts to use MTM standards to create our standards however these end up being very inaccurate due to the high variability between our products.

The problem I am having is that due to a lot of continuous improvements taking place through out our plant our very small IE department is unable to keep up with the changes to the labor. What I am looking for is a way that we can not only keep up with the value added improvements to a process (something similar to MTM for product changes however more adaptible to variability) yet we can also use to justify continuous improvements to work areas for non-value added task such as walking to a rack to refill bins (using AutoCAD layouts) to determine if the new layout will effect the labor and how much without going down with a stop watch. I realize all this can be done using EASE and AutoCAD and Excel however the time it will take to get EASE or something like this, which is more for automated stations or small workstation, to be accurate will take monthes, and with our current staffing (which won't be changing anytime soon) we need something that will be able to be effective almost immediately.

If anyone has any ideas I am all ears

Russell Jennings

-Russ

 

[macvicar]

Have you looked at M.O.S.T. ? It's based on MTM but much quicker to apply. I think the software from Maynard may include canned data files that may give you a headstart on developing your standards. I've used this system for years and whether I was using software or a simple excel worksheet, I found it quite easy to determine impacts to labour based on content changes.

 

[griffengm]

Ross,
May I suggest that you sit down and make a list of the kinds of changes occurring? You will likely see a pattern which will then give you a direction. Some may be readily assessed with MTM while others may be better addressed using a modeling technique. Distances moved might be the first while the impact of consolidated parts might be the second.
You may already have much of the data you need depending how elementally it was gathered. You just need to use it differently.
Personally, I like modeling. It lets me weigh a number of variables and identify those items which most strongly impact the process. I do not need to identify every move for every step in every part. It is consistent and lends itself to improvement as your data base grows.

Griffy

 

[ietech]

MTM is very effective for highly repetitive and short cycle tasks. You will find that using the old fashioned stop watch and many observations of each element of a task --- using different operators/workers will give you more accurate data to determine your standards. If you do your homework you will find many different methods of accomplishing your goals.

I'm sorry I can't give you an easy answer but even with the current technologies you still have to do the drudging task of compiling the information to enter into the various programs. The only thing these programs do for you is the math and that's really the easy part.

Oh --- by the way don't forget to include your PF&D factor --- usually overlooked these days and will really give you a bad standard. After all nobody really work 8 hours per day i.e. restroom, watercooler b.s. with the guy at the next machine or work station. --- (it really does happen and will cut into the work day production and skew your standards if not accounted for).