Achieving integration between Suppliers and Assembly Lines

Source: Alenia Aeronautica

Integration between Suppliers and Assembly Lines and definition of a Standard Work and other lean initiatives that give a reduction of operating flows.

Part suppliers, and the way they presented themselves to operators, play a key role in assembly activities. In fact, according to the definition of Standard Work, the starting point for Lean Manufacturing activities, part position must be identified with respect to work positions, and the minimum inventory levels required for ininterrupted output flow and the Takt-Time and sequence required to satisfy the customer's needs must also be determined.

The results of the 2008 Workshop have shown that inventory levels and the position of part transportation dollies used to change often and did not consent a proper Standard Work definition. In the subassemblies area and in the final line of the ATR programme at Pomigliano d’Arco this was accentuated by the growing output rates (some 31,000 kit were assembled in 2008). With the introduction of a Kanban system, the standardisation of infeed and outfeed areas near the utilisation points and with an appropriate sizing of the conveyance system we could minimise interventions on assembly lines by introducing “Just in Time” feed.

So far, the initiatives have affected only the Pomigliano Operations Unit and, with the help of Supply Chain colleagues and of the corporate departments involved, a re-design project is under way that will allow us to apply these principles also outside Pomigliano, involving in the first place the manufacturers of the ATR Section 11 cockpit equipment. In fact, the Kanban system will introduce a direct Pull-type connection between vendor deliveries and line requirements.

From an operational viewpoint, the project has a considerable impact, because the kits will be delivered in special containers and after the initial test, and will be conveyed near the stations by means of dedicated racks, so as to skip storage time and allow for a proper identification of Standard Work. As a whole, this new way to conceive supplies is aimed at reducing inventories at stations and in warehouses, and therefore to reduce the amount of property in circulation. Its introduction will achieve a greater integration between suppliers and assembly lines, with on-line involvement in the solution of contingent problems, such as supply continuity according to Takt-Time and immediate replacement of a damaged item, and logistic output flows will be streamlined by restricting the number of vendors and delegating to them certain activities that used to be carried out by us.

Mario De Maio

Pomigliano Plant

ATR/ C-130J Continuous Improvement