Phoenix Industries | Huntsville, Alabama
Company Information:
Phoenix Industries is the self-supporting business arm of the Huntsville Rehabilitation Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization founded in 1969 to assist persons with vocational disabilities in going to work. Phoenix provides work opportunities for their 120 employees through contracts with commercial firms and government agencies. One such contract is for the manufacture of U.S. flags for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This large operation occupies 10,000 of the company’s 28,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
Situation:
Phoenix Industries was experiencing problems on the flag manufacturing line, including a decrease in productivity, an increase in work-in-process and excessive waste. The company was looking for ways to improve their processes and reduce or eliminate these problems.
Center Assistance:
The project was assigned to two senior-level industrial engineering students at UAH as a design project. The scope of the project included observation and analysis of the current processes, brainstorming areas for improvement, selection of high-impact improvements, development of solutions, suggestions for implementation and follow-up evaluation. After an initial finding of 26 opportunities for improvement, the students prioritized the list and focused on five key areas: layout of the manufacturing line, ergonomic issues, non-productive time reduction, tracking of waste and excessive materials on the floor.
Results:
Phoenix Industries implemented suggestions from the students in each key area. The company experienced a $0.30 per unit cost savings through direct labor and indirect costs. The risk of carpal tunnel syndrome in workers was greatly reduced by ergonomic improvements. And the waste tracking system uncovered a $100,000 error in the inventory procedures, as well as allowing Phoenix to negotiate a better arrangement with their suppliers regarding defects.