Capstone Course 2009

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy (Instructor), Debjit Roy, Ben Quirt (Project Advisors)

Reducing Manufacturing Lead Times for Bulk Handling Equipment at Schenck AccuRate

Schenck AccuRate (Whitewater, Wis.)

Yuan Lu, Dan Cirillo, Sriram Krishnamurthy, Maanas Busi, Arjun Mishra, Saurabh Ambulkar

Schenck AccuRate, is a manufacturer of custom-designed metering and discharging systems for bulk solids, like grain feeders and mining material. Customers increasingly expect to get the customized products on a very short notice. To meet this customer demand for faster delivery, Schenck AccuRate needs to coordinate the procurement activities of specialized components with in-house manufacturing and assembly operations. The student team analyzed their operations using Quick Response Manufacturing principles and developed recommendations to reduce the manufacturing lead times for these products, helping Schenck to meet customer expectations and becoming more competitive in the marketplace.

Increasing Capacity and Reducing Lead Times for Light Commercial Cell Products

RenewAire (Madison, Wis.)

Saurabh Ghanekar, Divya Seethapathy, Mike Imhof, Arun Ahlawat (from left)

RenewAire LLC is a producer of highly efficient residential and commercial energy-recovery ventilation units. With energy efficiency becoming increasingly important, the company has been facing a steady growth in demand for one of their flagship products produced in the so-called "Light Commercial Cell" and would like to meet the customer expectations of fast delivery. In a four month period, the student team investigated the production and assembly operations of products in the light commercial cell using QRM principles and came up with specific recommendations for increasing capacity and reducing lead times.

Reducing Inventory for Dimmer Modules at Electronic Theatre Controls

Electronic Theatre Controls (Madison, Wis.)

Sorapoom Vongvadhanaroj, Kate Servais, Chinmay Puranik, Bashar Alyousef (From left)

Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) is an international manufacturer of a large variety of entertainment and architectural lighting systems. Seasonal demands and customer expectations of short delivery lead times, have forced ETC to stock significant inventory of finished products and raw materials, limiting the companies working capital. The student team took on the task to investigate the stocking policies for finished goods and raw materials for dimming systems using QRM principles, and developed recommendations to optimize production, inventory, and sourcing decisions.

Designing Cells for High-Precision Products at Pointe Precision Inc.

Pointe Precision Inc. (Plover, Wis.)

Navdeep Dahiya, Anirudh Vijaykumar, Kshitij Prakash, Jeff Ehman, Arohi Karmarkar (From Left)

Pointe Precision Inc., based in Plover Wis., provides precision machining solutions for its customers in aerospace and medical industries. The company is facing increasing customer expectations of reduced lead times for its custom manufactured products. However, the complex manufacturing processes poses unique challenges in meeting these expectations. An analysis of their manufacturing operations guided by QRM principles led the student team to provide recommendations for restructuring Pointe Precision's production operations to increase production capacity and reduce lead times. The potential outcome: faster delivery, satisfied customers and increased capacity to fulfill more orders.

Reducing Delivery Lead Times for Aftermarket Parts at P&H Mining Equipment Inc.

P&H Mining Equipment Inc. (Milwaukee, Wis.)

Majid Aksari, Zariat Rahman, Kemal Farrokhnia, Andy Roenning, Vishal Labade, Advait Raje (from left)

P&H Mining is a leader in manufacturing and service of large excavating and drilling machines for mining operations. Unexpected failures of machine parts during mining operations result in requests for delivering aftermarket parts that need to be satisfied quickly, as  downtimes at mines can cost around $20,000 an hour. However, the diverse nature of products offered by P&H and the unpredictability of failures pose unique challenges. Based on a thorough analysis of the delivery process for aftermarket parts using QRM principles, the student team developed recommendations to reorganize warehouse operations and get the required parts to the site faster and more efficiently.