Company Profile: Astrocom Electronics, Inc., located in Colliersville, N.Y., is a privately-owned corporation that designs and manufactures voice communications products for both the global defense and commercial markets. They have recently expanded product offerings to include microphones & earphones.

Situation: Astrocom’s primary challenge was to become more effective and efficient in producing products. They were not yet fully exploiting many of the more modern manufacturing methods being used by many world-class companies. They recognized that successful employment of these tools would require a substantial cultural and skills change among the production workforce and some management.

Project: In order to keep ahead of competition the management team knew they must become more efficient and effective in their overall activities, but especially in production operations. Although they had made incremental improvements through time, they tended to still operate with the traditional assembly manufacturing methods characterized by large WIP, uneven workflow and lengthy cycle-times. This is the area where the most opportunities for improvement exist. They were also aware that improvements in this area would require the wholehearted commitment of their workforce.

After meeting several times with the AM&T team, it was jointly decided that the best approach to this long-term improvement activity would be to apply for a grant under the New York State Industrial Effectiveness Program, administered by Empire State Development, which fosters a total approach to organizational improvement, and offsets a portion of the costs.

The first step required in the process was to conduct an enterprise review or assessment. The assessment recommendation highlighted several key areas needing improvement. To achieve the next level of performance and beyond, Astrocom needed to:

• Apply new Lean Manufacturing concepts to improve production operations

• Become more proactive in marketing & sales

• Set strategy and directions based on structured analysis

• Examine possible new products and services to enhance growth potential

• Enhance scheduling to improve On-Time Delivery performance

The Astrocom team and the AM&T staff reviewed the recommendations and jointly agreed that the focus for the next phase would be Strategic Focus & Planning and Lean Mentoring and Implementation. By engaging in the Strategic Planning process, the issues of sales and marketing, strategic direction and new products and services would be addressed, in addition to a Balanced Scorecard of objectives and specific goals to drive and manage the business. The Lean strategy would be to:

• Develop a Lean Manufacturing mindset by mentoring all manufacturing employees, management and support people, in Basic Lean Concepts (Lean 101)

• Work with executive management to establish a Lean strategy, identify a Lean Team and mentor them in team tools and effectiveness

• Identify potential changes/improvements and develop implementation plans with team. Provide mentoring during implementation as required, e.g. Cellular Manufacturing, 5S, Total Productive Maintenance, Value Stream Mapping, etc.

• Monitor improvement initiatives and work with executive management to anchor changes into company culture

To accomplish this, a strategic planning team was formed consisting of managers and non-managers who met once a week for four hours with the AM&T staff to complete the strategic plan and the Lean initiative. AM&T started by mentoring all Astrocom employees in the basic concepts of Lean over a two month period.

Impacts: At the conclusion of the mentoring sessions, Astrocom established a Lean Implementation Team consisting of 9 employees, headed by the Operations Manager. The Team set every Wednesday afternoon from 1-5 as their meeting and work time. AM&T lead the sessions and assisted in work projects as required. AM&T mentored the team in 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Set-Up Reduction/Quick Changeover, Cells/Flow Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance, Lean Office and Team-Building & Leadership.

The team, with AM&T’s coaching, used their new knowledge and skills to: implement Lean concepts throughout the plant; conduct a 5S analysis and implement concepts in all areas of the plant, including “indirect” areas; complete Value Stream Mapping for key products, and make improvements in layouts and flow; implement cell concepts in several areas; perform set-up analysis for key equipment and make improvements; develop a plant-wide TPM plan and conduct a Lean Office project in the Contract Review area, which improved the lead time and quality of the process. The results of implementing lean concepts throughout the operation were impressive. Overall, costs were reduced 15-20% and lead times reduced 50-70%. Set-up times were reduced as much as 60%. This translates to a much more competitive position in the marketplace, provides increases in capacity with very little capital investment and allows quick-response actions to better serve customers.

Monthly meetings continue to be held as the lean team implements improvements throughout the facility.

Testimonial: “We have been involved with AM&T since 1995 and they never cease to amaze us with their level of knowledge and the resources they bring to the table. In our most recent endeavor they aided us with strategic planning and lean manufacturing. Both of these initiatives were long over due in our 44 year old manufacturing business. The strategic planning has allowed us to map a plan for the future instead of operating day by day. We have involved all levels of employees on the strategic team and they are taking an active role in shaping the future of our organization. As for the lean manufacturing, we have switched over to the cell manufacturing concepts from the traditional production line. We have seen a dramatic decrease in our thru-put time with as much as a 45-day reduction from time of order until the product is shipped. We are expecting a minimum of 10% reduction in the cost of our products across the board after completion of the retraining process. All in all our relationship with AM&T has been one that we are excited to share with others.”, stated Doug Lifgren / Operations Manager, Astrocom Electronics.

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