First in secondary glazing
Based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Selectaglaze is a market leader in the manufacture and installation of secondary aluminium glazing systems which provide improved noise and thermal insulation, and extra security against physical or terrorist attack. Faced with increasing orders and the need for more space, MAS-East were invited to advise on improving the processes and material flow through the fabrication area.
“ Working on the project has injected a level of
enthusiasm into the production team and given them a real sense of purpose”
“ By applying lean principles we have reduced our work in progress and found space in our production area we didn’t know we had. As a result we have been able to avoid leasing additional space next door”
Keith Mercer,
Operations Director
Due to increasing customer orders, Selectaglaze were rapidly running out of space. Premises next door became available, providing a great opportunity to expand the production facility.
Before taking on additional premises, the MAS-East team were invited to review processes to see if more space could be made available at the existing site. This project began with training a team in the
principles of lean and mapping the flow of typical products.
One identified issue was the batch scheduling process. The production schedule was issued weekly which resulted in high levels of work in progress and unfinished jobs, reducing flow and taking up space.
The planning system was improved, changing to twice daily plans where work was pulled through using a two trolley kanban system. In addition, some activities were relocated to improve flow and reduce transportation waste.
The improvements made have reduced work in progress, liberating floor space and eliminating the need to take on additional expensive space.
The changes made to the scheduling system led to improved lead times, becoming more consistent and reducing from 3-7 days to 1.5 days on average. This has also increased confidence in meeting customer demand by becoming more flexible to reacting to client requirements.
