Our colleagues at Mott continue to embrace Lean Manufacturing principles, with a recent project transforming the efficiency of a critical cell so the team could quickly meet a tenfold increase in demand with speed and quality.
On the cusp of winning a new project, the team knew they had to ramp up iso-tube production. Fast!
Led by IDEX VP of Business Operations & Integration Mike, the Mott team carried out a series of improvement activities, including two value stream mapping sessions, three standard work events, and two 3P (Production, Preparation, and Process) workshops.
Mott’s iso-cell had struggled to hit daily output. With projected order targets, they had lots of work to do.
Through discipline, collaboration, and focus, this cell is now able to produce a 10x increase! And, they now hit at a 21% increase! The team also reduced the number of actual walking steps from 19,548 steps per shift to 8,344 steps per shift, simplifying work and eliminating unnecessary motion.
Customers use Mott’s specialized iso-pressed porous metal tubes – typically stainless steel and other high-performance alloys – in filtration, flow control, gas diffusion, and fluid management. They are used in demanding applications where precise, uniform pore sizes are needed under demanding conditions, such as high heat and corrosive fluids.
Congratulations to the team. By minimizing the amount of waste and variation in producing goods for customers, Mott is now poised to deliver on this significant demand increase and satisfy an important customer.