Design for Manufacturing
Make it Simple,
the simpler the better
Enrique Mora

One of the big changes in the automobile industry in the last few decades has been the simplification in manufacturing. From tens of thousands of parts to about 30% of that today. My 1950 DeSoto used 24 or more bolts (and lose nuts) to attach each of the bumpers and the auxiliary parts. Today the bumper is just plugged in with a 20 seconds operation.

An old friend of mine once challenged me to simplify a product he had already simplified. It was a very simple illuminated sign. The volume was important, so I got the inside frame supplier to spot weld the parts of the frame for free instead of using 12 rivets to do it. The bolts to attach the ballast were also used to attach the hanging chains. Instead of electric tape we used collapsible PVC spaghetti. Then, to form the aluminum frame, we created a simple template equipped with stops and 2 fast clamps.  Finally, we got the acrylic supplier to bring the covers at exact size, so 2 to 4 unnecessary cuts were saved. Whole assembly cycle was brought from over 47 minutes to just 3 minutes 48 seconds. The cost of all the improvements and tools was paid off in the first week after  total implementation. The contract of 2,300 signs was finished 6 weeks in advance of schedule.

As in many of the products manufactured still today, simplification is about to eliminate all the operations that do not add any value to the product. It is amazing how a trained set of eyes can start seeing simplification opportunities where they have been overlooked for years. We have the method to bring a team of your workforce to that level of analysis and cooperation. They will start finding the opportunities and motivation to improve the processes over and over again. 

We will be glad to see your operation and share the opportunities we will see for improvement of your process and profits.