retrieval and optimization , while the tailor stacks and labels the cut lumber for assembly . Mr . Alvarez explained that his major concern was the amount of setup time required by the cutting teams . He said that up to 45 % of production time was spent adjusting the saws for each job , a very typical problem in batch production . This is where Wiley ’ s problem and our challenge began .
Process Improvement
After our initial plant tour , where we noted the large amount of workin-process inventory waiting in carts between the saws and the assembly stations , we spent a day interviewing workers on the assembly teams . It was brought to our attention that at certain points during the day the backup of WIP carts was in fact problematic , from the standpoint of worker safety and from the ability to locate the required cart quickly and easily . There are approximately 80 to 90 carts in use at any given time , which are loaded with raw materials on a per-job basis and are tagged with a work order . After the carts are loaded and tagged , they are placed in front of the assembly workstations . Copies of the work orders are taken to the plant control office . The plant supervisor then assigns the jobs to assembly stations by placing the work order copy in assigned bins located on the plant control office wall . The assembly employees will go to their assigned bin , pick their next job ticket , and then locate the corresponding cart for that job . Mr . Alvarez mentioned that locating the cart required for the next job could take anywhere from one to ten minutes depending on the assembly backup ( number of full carts used that day ) and the location of the cart within the facility . The manufacturing employees are tracked on a 100th-of-the-hour time basis for work , which means that there should , in theory , be very little unproductive time during the day , with the exception of break periods . This also reduces socialization of employees .
We decided to narrow our analysis to the immediate problem of locating the correct cart . After brainstorming possible solutions , we have concluded that Wiley should use an electronic paging system