Turntable Ring Layout Analysis And Imporvement

Based on the analysis of the carousel production line of turntables in the 6th Factory, Xuzhou Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd., XCMG, some problems have been discovered in it. This thesis will explore an overall improvement in the production line in terms of logistics, information flow and human resources.In this thesis, the concept of'IE approach'is used in a narrow sense, including two approaches, i.e., methods of improvement and work measurement, which is symbolized by several common analytic methods, such as mechanical analysis, movement analysis, transportation and assembly, time analysis and etc. These correlative methods are applied not only separately, but also in a comprehensive manner according to the actual conditions.According to statistics for each workstation, it is apparent that work time for each is uneven and a lot of time is wasted in moving among stations. It reflects some serious problems in the material management, allowing the managers for possibly great improvement. Considering all above, optimization and readjustment is necessary for the overall layout and design of the production line, utilizing all related knowledge and information to readjust the material placement, working process and order and so on. The aim is to eliminate the disorder, unorganized, inconsistent condition, and to achieve a more advanced and more efficient corporate standards of production line. Logistic management is the key factor for an effective production line. A thorough analysis has been done on the production process, via column graphs, procedure charts and movement diagrams. As result, the excessive time on movement among workstations is found to be a major factor for the poor effectiveness. Therefore, all-round reform has been undertaken in the whole logistic system in the production line. In order to shorten the time of transportation, we replaced the former fixed storage desk with a roller conveyor belt. By utilizing the mobile cart in the logistic center, we eliminated the old model, that is, the assemblers had to go to the storage place to get components by themselves .This new model has elevated the effective working time of front station, station one and station two from the former 65.16%, 75.97%, 61.17% to 94.92%, 95.08%, 97.28%.The reformation of logistics is accompanied with the new progress of information flows. Due to the change of logistic model from push-driven to pull-driven, the old pattern of information flow couldn't meet current demands. Therefore, it is vital to introduce a new concept of information board to implement the improvement of the entire line of information flow. Information board helps the information transmission and logistic flow in one operation or among different operations, which is also known as JIT. JIT is a management approach of pull production to pass messages from the end operations to beginning operations. The information board takes a role as the carrier. Once the plan is made, each production unit would receive instructions from general planner and also send instructions to the units before it. After this, it would send final instructions to storage department and purchasing department. All these instructions are done by information board. In result of effective information flow and communication, the information board has to be specific, consistent, practical, standardized, easy to maintain, dynamic for management, clear and definite. Usually, it includes 5'W'2'H', that is, where, what, why, who, when, how and how much. Besides, many additional boards are established for supporting workers, such as the lay-out board outside the factory for delivery staff, temporary board for temporary use, and supporting board at component places.As for personnel aspect, we took one assembling site as a pilot project, where we designed a specialized worktable. The worktable is designed considering the following aspects. 1) It should correct the working position to reduce static fatigue in favor of workers'health and work efficiency. 2) Body pressure distribution. 3) Force analysis of femur. 4) Height of sight. For the benefits of workers'back and arm, some material boxes are placed on the worktable, and some carts are put on both sides of the worktable. This also greatly reduced the time spent between workers and components. This idea will also be adaptable for other circumstances after making some changes in detail and applying to other assembling sites.The overall reformation has brought about an enormous increase of effective working time in proportion and a dramatic decline of excessive moves in the production line. Accordingly, the efficiency and productivity gets greatly improved.