Case Study - Direct Edge Manufacturing
The project
- Increase material yield and utilisation of sheet metal offcuts from CNC laser cutter utilising software to manage offcut inventory.
- Seek efficiencies in the laser cutting process and reduce rework originating from programming.
Download the Case Study - Direct Edge Manufacturing (PDF 2.1 MB).
Background
- The materials used in production (mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium) are highly recyclable and there are established systems in place for collection and recycling.
- The company maintains a large inventory of offcuts to optimise value inherent in the material and reduce embedded energy in each product lifecycle.
Objective
- Maximise the profitable yield of materials.
Targets
- Reduce scrapped metal by 50%
- Reduce off-cut inventory by 50%
Outcomes
What was implemented?
- Google Sheets introduced for real-time collaborative management of inventory by production and programming teams.
- Peer review of nesting drawings within programming team to promote improvement.
- Greater forward visibility for weekly scheduling to optimise nesting of parts on each sheet.
- Regular combined team meetings to improve communication.
Key issues
- A big software solution was too expensive to implement; we needed a simple alternative.
- In small business, production equipment takes priority over other upgrades as this is where the most value is added.
- Getting information from suppliers and internal stakeholders took a lot longer than expected.
- We had to get both teams working together to support the improvements.
Performance against targets
- 50% less rework in programming overall.
- 50% reduction in offcut inventory.
Lessons learnt
- A few small changes can make a big difference.
- Businesses everywhere have waste management issues but some of these could be solved through greater collaboration.
- Tasmania doesn’t have a very large recycling/waste industry compared with other regions.
- Metal products are relatively easy to recycle, compared to composite materials like fibreglass!