Creating a 95% Scrap Rate Reduction

Case Studies

Creating a 95% Scrap Rate Reduction

Manufacturing Engineering

Problem Statment

A manufacturer partnered with 91�Թ� Engineering to reduce the scrap rate of an assembly from 7.7% to under 2% in six months.

Test and Measure

91�Թ� Engineering met with the customer’s team at their facility to observe the failure modes and define the problem.

Four possible contributors for the high scrap rate were identified. 91�Թ� applied a Design of Experiment (DoE) to assess the relevance of each of the four factors in question. The current state was tested and measured.

Analyze and Recommend

91�Թ� Engineering and the customer analyzed the results from the plant trials and concluded that the screw type was the root cause. It was the most significant factor in causing the defects to occur. Backed by data, the team confirmed a recommendation to implement a design change which replaced the current screws with dog-point screws. The change was approved and implemented by the customer. The team verified the improvement through measurement.

Results

Eighteen months later, the scrap rate went down from 7.7% to .35% on a production rate of 35,000 units a week. 91�Թ� Engineering helped the customer achieve a 95% scrap rate reduction and increased throughput capacity.