 The
Company
Richmond Corrugated Box was founded in 1971 catering to the short-run,
fast-turnaround niche in Richmond, Virginia. Today the company operates
with approximately 50 employees and its goal is simply to provide
customers with quality products and service in a professional and
timely fashion. Wilmington Box Company, located in Burgaw, North Carolina
is also part of Richmond Corrugated Box.
The Situation
Richmond Corrugated recognized the need to improve several aspects
of its business in order to better compete in the marketplace. The
company began budgeting for a 40% sales increase over the coming
year. Management recognized they would improve productivity by reducing
set-up time on key pieces of equipment and that reducing such non-value
added time would increase the time available to run customer orders.
Improved work procedures with accompanying documentation would also
benefit production operations and create better training aids for
new employees.
The Response
Richmond Corrugated selected the Titan-Rotary Die Cutter as the
subject machine for this project. GENEDGE ALLIANCE Project Managers
videotaped a representative set-up of the die cutter that would
supplement GENEDGE’s teaching materials and provide a baseline
for the improvement process. GENEDGE Project Managers analyzed the
tape to identify improvement opportunities. GENEDGE then provided
a one-day class to orient personnel in the theory and practical
application of set-up reduction techniques. At the conclusion of
the training, the videotaped set-up of the Titan-Rotary Die Cutter
was shared with the employees and analyzed versus the set-up reduction
techniques that were covered in class. Additional opportunities
for time savings were identified at that time by the employees.
The group compiled improvement ideas based on the analysis of the
videotape and developed a new set-up reduction methodology for the
machine. The new methodology was documented by GENEDGE Project Managers
and shared with the team for editing and approval in order to produce
an improved process that could be embraced by the employees. GENEDGE
also reviewed existing documentation and procedures for the normal
operation of the Titan-Rotary Die Cutter. After the review, GENEDGE
Project Managers worked with employees to develop improved documentation
that would supplement new operator training and allow for greater
cross training within the organization.
The Results
A cost savings of $6,600.00 was estimated. Qualitative results were
evident in improvements in employee morale, improved quality, and
a more organized and safer work area.
Management’s Comments
"Our crews take a lot of pride in what they do. They understand
that our business is very competitive and to be successful they
need to consistently produce top quality products as fast as possible.
GENEDGE put procedures into place that help our operators reach
their goals." – Mark Williams, President
View their site! http://www.richbox.com/
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