Lean in Action: Case Study
Written by Duff McCutcheon March 08, 2007
Cleared for takeoff!
Lean strategy helps aerospace manufacturer Messier-Dowty land customers
Messier-Dowty, a global aerospace company, headquartered in France, which specializes in the design, testing and manufacture of landing gear systems for some of the biggest names in commercial, business and military aircraft. When Messier-Dowty went lean a few years ago, it quickly found that landing gears don't lend themselves to one piece flow – some operations are 36 hours long while others take three hours.
The company had to find a way to work around these issues, while adopting elements of lean manufacturing. While the company hasn't been able to adopt all the trappings of lean manufacturing at its Ajax, ON facility, it took a look around, found a family of products with less variation and established a lean cell – a starting point to build upon for the company's lean journey. It's a good example of lean at a high mix / low volume operation.
To read the full story, please click on the link below.
http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com/May04/coverstory.htm
To read the full story, please click on the link below.
http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com/May04/coverstory.htm
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