“putting the brakes on variety”
Mike Gillett – Managing Director,
Covpress Ltd
Rob Evans – Lead Engineer,
University of Warwick
© 2004 IARC
 Overview of Covpress Ltd
 Overview of PARD Programme
 Complexity and Variety
 Benefits at Covpress
 Q&A
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
2
COVPRESS
Ltd.
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
INTRODUCTION OUTLINE
• History of the company
• Customers
• Equipment and facilities
• Production System
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
COMPANY HISTORY
1890:
1930:
1987:
1991:
1994:
2001:
Coventry Radiator Founded
Canley Site
Coventry Presswork (MBO)
Coventry Presswork (subsidiary of Lebranchu)
Coventry Presswork (subsidiary of Sofedit SA)
Sofedit UK Ltd - (subsidiary of Sofedit SA)
2003:
Covpress Ltd (subsidiary of Sofedit SA)
2004:
Covpress Ltd (Acquired by GIL Investments)
2005:
Covpress Ltd (subsidiary of Covpress Holdings Ltd)
STRENGTH THROUGH
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY AND
AND PEOPLE
PEOPLE
STRENGTH
LOCATION:
Coventry, UK
SITE AREA:
8 acres
33,000 sq m covered
TURNOVER:
1997 £35 million
1998 £42 million
1999 £31million
2000 £31 million
2001 £38 million
2002 £40 million
2003 £37 million
2004 £40 million
2005 £43 million
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
CUSTOMERS
Toyota, General Motors, Peugeot, Rover, Perkins, Rolls-Royce,
IBC, Nissan, Renault, Inalfa, Faurecia, Gestamp, Unipres and
Thyssen Krupp Sofedit.
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
ACCREDITATIONS
QUALITY
ISO/TS 16949:2002
ENVIRONMENT
BS EN ISO 14001
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
Two
Two Purpose
Purpose Built
Built Press
Press shops.
shops.
Encompassing
Encompassing state
state of
of the
the art
art technology
technology
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
•
•
PRESSES
Single & Double Action
Hydraulic & Mechanical
•
Transfer 800 - 1500T
•
Manual Lines 400 -1000T
•
Progression 125 – 630T
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
ASSEMBLY CELLS
•
•
•
Robotic
Manual
Flexible Manpower
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
Full CNC CMM
with surface model capability
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT MIX
Pedal box assemblies
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT MIX
Body in White
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT MIX
TORSION BARS
CROSS CAR BEAMS
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT MIX
Heat Shields
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
PRODUCT MIX
Oil pan assemblies
Perkins
Toyota
Rolls
Royce
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
ID
62
63
64
Nom de la tâche
Delivery
Final Buy off
Checking Fixtures
65
Design
66
Manufacture
67
Buy-off
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
Bought-out Parts
Manufacture Dies
Start
Mon 4/3/00
Nov 15, '9Nov 22, '9Nov 29, '9Dec 6, '99Dec 13, 'Dec 20, '9Dec 27, '9Jan 3, '00Jan 10, '0
Finish
Tue 4/4/00
Fri 4/28/00
Fri 4/28/00
Fri 9/24/99 Tue 12/14/99
Fri 9/24/99 Thu 10/21/99
COVENTRY
Wed
11/17/99 Tue 12/14/99
PRODUCTION
SYSTEM
Fri 10/22/99 Tue 11/16/99
Wed 12/8/99
Fri 12/8/00
Wed 12/8/99
Fri 2/18/00
Parts
Mon 2/21/00 Fri 3/10/00
• Manufacture
VISUAL
MANAGEMENT
CONTROL
Initial Samples
Mon 3/13/00 Thu 5/4/00
• Process
FLEXIBLE
PRODUCTION
BASED ON CUSTOMER CALL
Agreement
Mon 10/16/00 Fri 12/8/00
•Assembly
PULL
SYSTEM OF
STOCK
CONTROL USING KANBANS
Facilities
Fri 7/30/99
Fri 6/23/00
• Specification
CONTINUOUS
and feasability studyFLOW
Fri 7/30/99 PROCESSSING
Wed 9/8/99
of authority
Thu
9/9/99 Tue 9/14/99
• Letter
STANDARDISED
WORK
Order
Wed 10/13/99Wed 10/13/99
Design
Mon 11/29/99
LEADING
INTERNALLYWed
TO9/15/99
IMPROVED
HOUSEKEEPING, PREVENTATIVE
Manufacturing
Tue 11/30/99 Thu 1/6/00
MAINTENANCE, IDENTIFICATION OF TRAINING NEEDS AND INCREASED
Ready for PPP
Fri 1/7/00
Fri 1/7/00
PRODUCTIVITY
- EXTERNALLY
TO
IMPROVED QUALITY AND PRICE
Installation
at
COMAU
+
Try-out
Fri
1/7/00
Mon
3/27/00
REDUCTION
81
Interim Buy-off
Tue 3/28/00
82
Dismantle + Delivery
Mon 4/10/00 Thu 4/27/00
83
Try-out at CPW
Fri 4/28/00 Thu 6/22/00
84
Final Buy-off
Fri 6/23/00
Fri 6/23/00
Sat 10/23/99
Tue 5/2/00
85
Lay-out
Fri 4/7/00
86
Existing cranes are moved
STRENGTH
Sat 10/23/99 Mon 10/25/99
87
Phase1 Screening completed
Sat 10/23/99 Fri 10/29/99
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE


Covpress Ltd.
Burnsall Road,
Canley, Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV5 6RT,
UK.
 02476 691000
 02476 678425 Sales
www.covpress.com
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
HOW TO FIND US
Enter via Fletchworth Gate
Birmingham  13
KM
M42
STRENGTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
Premium Automotive R&D
Programme
Overview
Rob Evans – September 2005
© 2004 IARC
Programme overview
 Collaboration between:

Jaguar Land Rover

Suppliers

Warwick Manufacturing Group

Advantage West Midlands
 Strengthen competitiveness of Premium
Automotive Sector
 Advanced engineering and manufacturing
research projects
© 2004 IARC
 Transfer new technology and skills to supply base
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
22
Deliverables
 Business Assisted
 Jobs Safeguarded
 Learning Opportunities Created Directly
 Accredited Qualifications Obtained
 Increase in Value Added
 R&D investment. (following project completions)
 Intellectual Property
 New Products and/or Processes
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
23
Programme overview
 Four themes:

Craftsmanship

Manufacturing excellence
Craftsmanship

Efficient delivery

Enabling technology
 Twenty projects
Manufacturing
excellence
Efficient
delivery
Enabling technology
 Three priority groups
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
24
Projects
• Craftsmanship
Priority
Priority 11
• E-Business
• Software Integration
• Advanced Body Joining Techniques
• Manufacturing Skills Development
• Zero Prototype, Virtual Test Vehicle
• Management Skills Development
• Simulation of Assembly/Paint/Ergonomics
• Electrical Test for Advanced Architectures
Priority
Priority 33
• Environmental Competence
• Advanced Materials Integration
Priority
Priority 22
• Materials Characterisation and Simulation
• Low Volume, High Flexibility Manufacturing
• Web Based Shop Floor Information
• Knowledge Based Tools for Logistics and
Wireless Tracking
• Safety
• Environmental Condition Recognition
• Intelligent HMI
• Hybrid Vehicle Integration
• Hybrid Vehicle Application
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
25
Simulation Project –
Complexity Work Stream
‘putting the brakes on variety’
© 2004 IARC
Why is complexity an important issue
 Companies pursuing increased sales revenues offer
increasingly higher levels of personal product
differentiation
 But what about the consequence of adding higher levels
of customer choice?

What effect does it have on the organisation?

What does it cost?
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
27
What is complexity?
 Everything is complex to some greater or lesser
degree
Continuous scale from
Simple
to
Complex
 Complexity exists in many different forms
Product – Process – Organisational – Supply Chain
 This project is confined to studying the effects of
Product Complexity on the performance of the
organisation
 Variety is one dimension of product complexity, but not the
only one…
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
28
Complexity – an example
Simple
Complex
Beans on Toast
• Beans - Low fat/
barbecue/Heinz/HP
• Toast - Brown/white bread
-Butter/margarine/plain
• Cheese on top/not
Total variants
Full English Breakfast
4
2
3
2
48
• Bacon - smoked/plain/not
• Sausages – pork/beef/
Lincolnshire/Cumberland/not
• Beans/Tomatoes/both
• Mushrooms /Fried
Potatoes/both/none
• Bread - Brown/white
-Toast/Fried/plain
-Butter/margarine/plain
Total variants
3
5
4
4
10
2400
Variety
Varietyis
isaakey
keydriver
driver of
of complexity
complexity
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
29
Complexity – an example
Simple
Complex
Beans on Toast
• Beans - Low fat/
barbecue/Heinz/HP
• Toast - Brown/white bread
•Butter/margarine/plain
• Cheese on top/not
Total variants
Spaghetti Bolognese
4
2
3
2
48
What skills
do you
require to
make each
dish?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mince – lamb/beef/pork
Tomatoes
Carrots/not
Tomato puree
Onion
Pasta – dried/fresh
Garlic Bread – with
cheese/not
Total variants
3
1
2
1
1
2
2
24
Capability
Capabilityis
isanother
anotherdriver
driver of
ofcomplexity
complexity
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
30
Simple
Easy
Complex
Ordered
Simple
Disorganised
Complex
Chaotic
Low
Capability
High
Complexity
A Combination of Variety and Capability
High
Low
Variety
© 2004 IARC
Adapted from : Frizelle and Puttick
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
31
Managing product complexity
 Product design enhancement
(e.g. DFA/DFM).
 Manufacturing process effectiveness
(e.g. simulation, error proofing).
 Total cost evaluation
(e.g. complexity cost).
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
32
Reducing Product Variety Through
Product Design
 How do we accommodate variety whilst decreasing
part count?

Increase the number of options provided to the customer whilst
using fewer part numbers
 How do we apply the principles of DFMA to
incorporate variety?

Utilising existing tools in a new way
 How do we make a car easier to assemble without just
pushing complexity down the supply chain?

Purchasing bigger more complicated modules may create more
complexity
 What measures drive the correct behaviour?

How can a designer provide an optimum design before major
investment takes place
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
33
Containing Product Variety Through
Manufacturing and Logistics Control
 What are the drivers of complexity in any given situation?

Product Strategy

Manufacturing Strategy
 How do we ensure that a high part count can be
accommodated in a manufacturing system?

Ensuring business becomes increasingly ‘Lean’

Late configuration and complexity zones
 Where is the flexibility of the manufacturing system
insufficient?

Identify facility and system constraints
 How do we prevent the wrong parts being assembled?
© 2004 IARC

Product and process error proofing
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
34
Developing a Cost Model to Support
Decision Making
 Provide automotive suppliers with a model which
assists in complexity related decision making.
 Evaluate complexity costs by:

Providing a systematic process that considers all possible
activities.

Quantifying the total resources (e.g. money, space, time,
and etc.) needed for making improvements.
Total cost = £material+ £logistics+ £tooling+ £inventory+ £design+ …
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
35
Work at Covpress
Pedal Box Manufacture
Brake slave unit
Torsion Bar
Pedal Box
Emphasis of partnership
Quality first
Cost second
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
36
Pedal Box
 1300 per week

Supplied in batches

Not sequenced to car build
 Supplied to 2 factories

UK and France
 12 variants
© 2004 IARC

Sports/Standard

Cable/Electronic Accelerator

2x cable clutch/2x hydraulic clutch/Automatic
 Soon to introduce cruise control!
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
37
Pedal box assembly
 3 single piece flow cells

Pedal Box

Left hand brake slave

Torsion bar and finished assembly
 Error proofing used to assist build process and right first
time philosophy

plc controls of welding equipment
•

Will not allow operation if wrong parts are assembled
Very little cannot be detected by the process
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
38
Impact of complexity reduction
To avoid cost
here
Operational
•Logistics Costs
•Material Cost
•Processing Cost
•Assembly Costs
Analyse
•Stock Holding
Costs
here
•Quality FTT
Product Development
•Development Costs
•Resource allocation
•Prototyping
•Lead time
Selling and Distribution
•Reduced stocks
•Simpler product offering
•Warranty
Set up
•Tooling investment
•Production facilities
To reduce
cost here
0
launch
© 2004 IARC
Resulting in decreased total cost
and enhanced revenues
- increasing profitability
PARD Programme - Simulation Project – Nov 2004 Steering Group
39
Design Aspects – Product Variety Matrix
High offtake parts – apply DFMA

© 2004 IARC
Low offtake assemblies!!!
Made from uncommon parts
‘Reasonable’ offtake assemblies!!!
?
Made from some unique parts

Low offtake assemblies!!!
But made from common parts
Modified from Galsworth/Suzue
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
40
Error proofing by Design
Existing design
Q. How do you guarantee the
spacer is in place if you can’t
see it?
Proposed design
A. Design the assembly so that it
cannot go together without it!
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
41
Where now
 Covpress has little design capability

Make to print business
 Has a very thorough product sign off process
 Accepts the customer’s design
 By early analysis of the design can identify opportunities
for the customer

Skills/knowledge transfer
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
42
Benefits of relationship
 Covpress

Value Added increase

Learning Opportunities

Access to leading edge technologies and knowledge
•
Project spin offs
 Warwick

Access to real life

Try out our research – get some feedback early
© 2004 IARC
Manufacturer Live – September 2005
43
“putting the brakes on variety”
Mike Gillett – Managing Director,
Covpress Ltd
Rob Evans – Lead Engineer,
University of Warwick
© 2004 IARC