(LAI International Inc.: Scottsdale, Arizona) -- A lean manufacturing initiative conducted by LAI International Inc., a supplier of precision components and subassemblies for original equipment manufacturers, has reduced the cycle time on a critical aerospace product by 25 percent, according to program leaders.

“This is one of the most successful lean programs that we’ve recently completed, achieving cycle-time reductions of 25 percent and producing projected savings of more than $196,000 annually,” says Frank Bailey, plant manager of LAI International’s manufacturing facility in Minneapolis. “Another project is in progress to reduce nonconformity occurrences on a turbine component with targeted savings of more than $200,000 a year.”

The LAI facility has trained 57 percent of its employees in Six Sigma practices, including technicians, engineers, and quality managers certified as Six Sigma Black Belts.

LAI also created seven project teams as a result of lean production initiatives, which focus on eliminating waste from processes. A recently-completed lean project reduced data-entry steps and set-up times for a production subassembly, producing projected savings of more than $100,000.

 …