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Success Stories
Globe Composite Solutions, Ltd. ("GCS") designs and produces specialized components using cost-effective, high-performance composite materials. One of the strengths of the company has been the ability and flexibility in meeting the stringent delivery requirements of its customers. The company has a broad base of "blue-chip" customers targeting five key business segments: military, medical, oil field equipment, material handling/RFID and marine products. With its primary operations located outside of Boston, GCS has been able to develop a broad set of compounds and processes to yield remarkable first-in-industry applications as evidenced by long-term contracts to provide an all-composite sorter system to replace existing metallic sorters within the US Postal Service distribution system.
GCS developed a versatile tilt-tray sortation system that is the first to be made completely from Brandonite™ high-performance composite materials. All major components (carriage, tipper-arm and track) are made with synthetic materials that are lightweight, requires significantly less maintenance and are easy to install. The end result is a cost-effective non-metallic delivery system that is lightweight, modular, durable and quiet. After four years of testing by the US Postal Service, the USPS adopted the Enduro-STS™ to replace its aging metallic-based sorter systems throughout the entire bulk mail center distribution network.
The current manufacturing process is extremely labor-intensive and results in assembly bottlenecks due to the short lead-time usually associated with the USPS. It is absolutely critical that each Enduro-STS™ order is delivered by the agreed-upon date due to extremely narrow demolition and a re-installation timeframes. It is absolutely critical that there is minimal downtime when replacing the metal sorter systems at the USPS. The assembly process only allowed for the production of approximately 50 carriages per day using four FTEs. Additionally, the Whitman assembly plant was configured in a fashion that prevented additional expansion capacity.
GCS was faced with the issue of acquiring more space, hiring additional staff and carrying extra inventory to accommodate the USPS orders for the Enduro-STS™ product line, which were expensive, time-consuming activities and placed an unnecessary cash constraint on the company.
GCS engaged the MassMEP Innovation Program to conduct an enterprise-wide assessment of their business. This process benchmarked the company’s business practices, production processes and technology core competencies. The deliverables were a technology roadmap and professional workforce development plan for the organization.
One area identified during the assessment was an immediate need for GCS to develop an organizational culture that focused on employing LEAN processes throughout the plant, particularly in the USPS and military product lines. After the assessment, GCS received an Innovation Program award that provided funding for LEAN manufacturing training, value stream mapping and consultation with industry experts in the design, engineering and development of automated production process equipment. The MassMEP Innovation Program provided awards from a High Skills Workforce Development grant from the US Department of Labor in partnership with the Worcester Regional Employment Board.
As a result, in the fourth quarter of 2005, GCS embarked upon training the entire workforce on general LEAN principles with a two-day interactive training session. After the Lean 102 and Team Problem Solving training sessions were completed, the USPS carriage assembly work cell was selected as the first "deep dive" area. An intense review of the work flow, facility layout, inventory control processes, equipment utilization and production scheduling tasks was conducted. As a result of the collaboration between GCS and MassMEP, over a two-month period the team analyzed the USPS product line focusing on the 46 carriage assembly steps and the "non-value added" work.
The implementation of LEAN trainings such as: value stream mapping, 5-S and cell design conducted by the MassMEP at the GCS Whitman facility resulted in the following highlights; reduction of travel distance for carriage assembly and personnel by >98%, reduction in carriage assembly area by >95%, reduction in the space occupied by the entire USPS product line by > 85%. The work cells for carriage assembly contain shadow boards with dedicated tools, POUS for the components, and standardized / visual work instructions. The implementation of "quality at the source" has increased first pass yield to >99%.
As a result, GCS has been able to meet demanding production schedules set by the USPS as productivity was increased >60% using the same staffing. Since January 2006, GCS has produced over 7,000 carriages, 16,000 feet of track and 8,000 feet of composite chain.
In addition to the financial savings and increased efficiency, the successes achieved by this team have served as a visible and positive platform from which other teams at GCS have been inspired to start to implement LEAN principles and 5-S in their respective work areas. The GCS marine and military product lines are currently slated to start their lean journey with the MassMEP during Q4 2006.
Globe Composite Solutions was established in January 2002 and employs approximately 70 FTEs. The company serves a strong and reputable customer base due to its unique capabilities in formulating and manufacturing non-metallic composites. These companies include: General Dynamics Electric Boat, Naval Underwater Warfare Center (NUWC), Sandia National Laboratories, Intuitive Surgical, Hologic, US Navy, Northrop Grumman Newport News, General Electric Healthcare, Bowe-Bell + Howell, Siemens, UPS and the US Postal Service (USPS).
The MassMEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the US Department of Commerce. The national MEP system is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2,000 manufacturing and business "coaches" whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information, please visit www.massmep.org, or phone 1-800-MEP-4MFG.