Spiralling demand of consumer durables in last few years has intensified the competition in India. To compete successfully, most players have introduced multiple models; but large product variety has led to increased complexity of operations. A leading manufacturer in North India chose to address these complexities by adding more assembly lines and having process oriented work stations for common operations. As a result, in 2009, the company had four underutilised assembly lines and a hybrid between Product & Process layout of facilities. The production shop became highly congested, leaving hardly any space for storing work-in-process. Restricted and criss-cross movement of materials and men lowered labour productivity & caused delays in delivery. To address the operational problems, the company sought help from Actuate Business Consulting.

Consultants analysed criticality & commonality of operations and manufacturing processes. Design of components was reviewed & altered to reduce multiplicity. With primary focus on decongesting the production shop, while meeting projected production requirements of various models, the consultants worked out a solution that brought a paradigm shift in manufacturing.