COMPANY PROFILE:
Basin Precision Machining is an innovative, production-oriented machine shop with more than 40 years of manufacturing experience. Basin provides consistent high-quality parts to the Oil and Gas, Defense, Motorcycle, and Heavy Equipment industries. Its state-of-the-art facility in Jefferson, Wisconsin, has more than 100 employees dedicated to continuous improvement and maintaining ISO 9001 quality standards.
SITUATION:
Basin was experiencing rapid growth with orders forecasted to increase by 60% in one of its core markets. Limited labor availability within the Jefferson area pushed Basin to evaluate productivity increases to support the growth. WMEP Manufacturing Solution’s automation consultants met with Basin Precision Machining’s leadership team to review the company’s continuous improvement efforts to date and understand goals for equipment investment. The teams mutually agreed that automating repetitive processes and redeploying machine operators to higher value-added processes would support the targeted growth levels.
SOLUTIONS:
WMEP Manufacturing Solutions automation consultants worked with Basin Precision Machining’s leaders on an Automation Assessment. This facility-wide evaluation of Basin’s processes evaluated all internal manufacturing operations for a possible automation fit. The Automation Assessment ranked the manufacturing processes in more than a dozen categories to assess: process risk for automation; automation return on investment; production processes that Basin employees found onerous. Basin staff collaborated with WMEP to provide the background information required to complete the assessment. Internally, the Leadership Team established an open dialogue with Basin employees to convey the strategy of growth through equipment investment. Once the projects were ranked, WMEP and Basin mutually targeted a strategy to support investment in automation technology around which the Basin culture could grow.
RESULTS:
- Implement a Machine tending automation project
- Redeployed two full-time employees to other processes
- Established a three-year automation investment strategy
- Launched robotic tending projects and employee training to support them
- Created a bonus pool for all employees to participate in the benefits of increased production
If you’re wondering where to start with automation in your factory, the WMEP Automation Assessments are a great place to start. When you complete the process with WMEP you understand what’s possible to automate, what projects would have a good return on investment including a prioritized list of projects that you can start going after.It’s cost effective and helps remove a layer of risk associated with getting started with automation.
David Verhoff, President – Basin Precision Machining