Early this month, LAI International reported that the company was able to cut its cycle time on a critical aerospace product by 25%.
Last week, Market Watch carried a story that LAI’s Six Sigma Team was able to cut production time for a critical structural aerospace component by 20%.
A team of LAI employees in engineering, quality control and production formed a team to complete a comprehensive Six Sigma study that includes intensive workflow assessment, process analysis, value streaming and control planning of a manufacturing process for a precision-manufactured structural panel for a jet fighter.
“We also took every step off of our flowchart and measured the time to do each and every step of the process,” John Rogers, vice president of operations, said. “The team examined key process input variables and studied methods to do each step more efficiently.” An evaluation seven months after the Six Sigma project was completed revealed savings of $196,000 in the program, related to a reduction in cycle times, more efficient inspections and an overall reduction in production time by 20 percent.
