Client: Tier 1 Powertrain Supplier (270 employees)
Problem / Situation
- New product launch
- 12 PRRs (quality rejects) over six months
- 278 ppm over 6 months after launch
- Their efforts to improve outbound quality weren’t effective fast enough and their OEM customer placed them on new business hold
Approach
We used a multi-dimensional Luminous project team (quality engineering, lean manufacturing, and organizational development) to tackle surface and systemic problems. Our key actions included:
– With the client work team and line walks, we quickly found and fixed causes of current problems
– Coaching supervisors and managers, improved communication methods within the organization
– Changed the mindset from assuming things would work to questioning what could go wrong
– Identified and enhanced error-proofing aids to focus on cause prevention
– Explained General Motor’s quality practices and tools, and why there were important
Results
The results of this engagement were immediate and long-lasting. The supplier achieved the following:
– Off “new business hold” status with no repeat and no new PRRs
– Twelve-month ppm reduced from 278 to 16 and significantly reduced scrap and rework
– First-time-quality increased from 92% to 97%
– Moved organization from assuming things would work to questioning what could go wrong
Estimated Investment and Savings
– Investment of $120,000
– Estimated payback of $ 1,500,000 annually.
