MWUG – September 2013
TS Tech Global Locations
Company Background
Name: TS TECH CO.,LTD.
Founded: December 5, 1960
Headquarters: Saitama, Japan
President: Michio Inoue
Employees: approx. 15,000
Main Business: automotive seating, interior trim
TS Tech Group Companies Using QAD
Company
Loc.
Launch Date
TS Tech (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Thailand, Saraburi
May-2003
TS Tech Americas, Inc.
U.S., Ohio
Mar-2004
TS Tech Alabama, LLC
U.S., Alabama
Mar-2004
TS Tech Canada Inc.
Canada, Ontario
May-2004
TS Tech USA Corporation
U.S., Ohio
Aug-2004
Guangzhou TS Automotive Interior Systems Co., Ltd.
China, Guangzhou
Feb-2005
Guangzhou Tech Interior Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
China, Guangzhou
Jul-2006
Trimont Mfg. Inc.
Canada, Ontario
Apr-2007
TS Tech UK Ltd.
UK, Swindon
Sep-2007
Wuhan TS-GSK Auto Parts Co., Ltd.
China, Wuhan
Oct-2007
TS Tech Indiana, LLC*
U.S., Indiana
Apr-2008
Ningbo EPZ TS Trimont Automotive Interior Inc.
China, Ningbo
Jul-2008
Ningbo FTZ TS Trimont Automotive Interior Inc.
China, Ningbo
Jul-2008
TS Tech Trim Philippines, Inc.
Philippines, Biran Laguna
Dec-2009
Industrias Tricon de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.*
Mexico, Tamaulipas
May-2012
TST NA Trim LLC*
U.S., Texas
Feb-2013
TS Trim Industries
U.S., Ohio
Feb-2014 (plan)
*Sites using
Freedom
ErrorProof
QAD Footprint at TS Tech in North America
Newmarket, ON
New Castle, IN*
Reynoldsburg, OH (2)
Athens, OH
Boaz, AL
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico*
Hidalgo, TX*
Irapuato, Mexico
TST NA Trim Company Profile
Nuevo Laredo Plant
•
•
•
•
Established: March, 1986
Plant Manager: Francisco Lopez
Plant Size: 17,915m2
Products: Seat covers for Honda and Acura
Hidalgo Plant
•
•
•
•
Established: April, 2012
President: Hiroshi Kitamura
Plant Size: 12,449m2
Products: Laminated fabric and UL for Honda, Acura, and
Mazda
Business Case for QAD at Hidalgo
• Simple process
–
–
–
–
–
3 components per BOM (vs. 10-20+)
1 step process (vs. 3 steps)
Straight line (no WIP)
No system interface (e.g. production monitoring)
No KD lot numbers
Need to
implement
quickly -- less
than 6-month
window
• Young operation
– Low transaction volume
– Small number of associates
– Bad habits not established
• Small scale
– 11 suppliers
– 62 RM parts
– 126 FG parts
Item
Nuevo Laredo
Hidalgo
No. Suppliers
58
11
No. RM Parts
1,095
62
No. FG Parts
624
126
Background of Lamination Production
Differing Lengths…
Foam
• What is flame lamination?
– Three-layers (face, foam,
backing)
– Semi-continuous process
• High product quality
expectations
– Incoming quality inspection
• Measure net roll length
• Check for spots or runs
– Outgoing quality inspection
• Measure final length of
material
• Re-check for spots, runs,
de-lamination
Face
Backing
Not to scale
Hidalgo Plant Layout
Trailer Yard
Shipping &
Receiving
Office
Shipping Area
FG Inventory
Racks
2nd Foam
Staging Area
Receiving Inspection
Raw Material Racks
N
Offices
Production Area
Main
Entrance
Shop Floor Operations
Production Process
Raw Material Racks
Foam Roll Storage
Finished Goods Racks
Problem Statement
• No perpetual inventory
• All record-keeping performed in MS Excel
– Not scalable
– Lack of data entry validation
– Data integrity concerns
• Time-consuming financial closing process due to manual
record-keeping
• Time-consuming physical inventory process
• Difficult to consolidate financials at corporate level
A Powerful Tool…
Excavator
Shovel
(damaged fiber-optic conduit)
Special Considerations
• RM serialized by vendor
– Not license plate; no guarantee of
uniqueness
• FG labels generated by internal QA
inspection system (SQL database)
• FG quantity varies based on inspection
result
– Deductions for quality defects
• For shipping, actual length of rolls
does not necessarily match the order
quantity
– Order quantity must be met, but slight
overshipment allowed (max. one roll per
item)
• 24-hour aging period after inspection
Why Freedom?
•
•
•
•
•
Ensure accurate inventory control through real-time scanning
Efficient scanning by label serial
Faster tag inventory
Serialized traceability of material
Ensure accuracy of business processes
– Receiving: validation against ASN
– Shipping: picklist control; backflush validation
• Integration into final quality inspection system
• Potential for future introduction of full traceability system
• History of successful inventory control at Nuevo Laredo plant
Implementation Timeline
2012
Task Area
Aug
Sep
Oct
2013
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Project initiation
Business process design
EP Development
Semi-static data loading
User training
First Physical
Statement of work creation
CRP and testing
Go-Live support*
*Freedom on-site for 2 weeks, then remote support
Project completed on-schedule and within budget
Go-Live!!!
Design of Processes
• Step 1: Document current process
state
• Step 2: Identify risks and controls
• Step 3: Apply best practices to
future process (re-engineering)
• Step 4: Review and obtain buy-in
QAD Environment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
QAD Version: 2011 SE, Automotive Bundle
Progress Version: 10.2B
OS: Linux Red Hat ver. 5.8
Freedom Version: 7.70
Server (QAD): VM Ware (remote, in Reynoldsburg)
Server (Freedom): VM Ware (remote, in Reynoldsburg)
Other QAD Partners at Location:
– Report Writing: Cyberquery ver. 3.50
– Uploading of PO Shippers, Customer Schedules: SIG Connect ver. 4.1A
– EDI: Gentran 4.0.02
• Repetitive scheduling (not discrete work orders)
Processes Using ErrorProof
•ASN receipts
•Transfer by label serial
(license plate or reprint)
•Tag inventory
•100% scanning
Receiving
•Count by label
serial
Cycle
Count
Location
Transfer
•Transfer by serial
•WIP transfer
•Relabeling
Physical
Inventory
•Picklist print
•FIFO lookup
Backflush
Shipping
Scrap
•Unplanned issue
•Interface w/QA
inspection system
Freedom Application Details
• ErrorProof Small Site License
(max. 10 users)
• Installed on virtual server, hosted at Ohio
data center
• Labels print to wired and wireless printers
• Telnet sessions on handheld scanners
(7 scanners)
• Desktop application for generating picklist
• Administrator application on Windows
– Daily reports (even Production Manager)
– Inventory tag printing
Challenges and Lessons Learned
• Modifications needed to in-house developed final inspection database
– Duplicated serial numbers, no indexes in tables
• Supply base not 100% controlled by company
– Difficult to convert suppliers to required label format (license plate)
– Over 50% of suppliers not EDI-capable (or willing)
• Only 1 in 4 customers using ERP/EDI
– Customer requirements must be hand-keyed
• Success factors:
–
–
–
–
Thorough review of current and future processes
Daily wrap-up meetings
Production management heavily involved and using reporting tools
Accumulated experience of implementing Freedom and QAD at other trim
facility
Inventory Variances After Launch
99.8%
accuracy!!!
Nuevo Laredo
Hidalgo
25
$
1
,
0
0
0
s
20
20
15
15
9
10
4
5
-5
2
-4
-10
Month 1
Net Variance
-8
Month 2
Month 3
-7
Month 4
Absolute Variance
Thank you for your attention!