Kolbenschmidt Pistons

Following the economic downturn between 2015 and 2017 and the resulting overcapacity in the Brazilian market, especially in the passenger car segment (gasoline), Kolbenschimidt Pistons lived in a challenging business environment in Brazil. Price pressure and delivery times, the large number of niche products and the impact of smaller orders on productivity were among the main concerns of the Brazilian subsidiary.

The Brazilian plant was highly complex and focused on market segments with distinct product characteristics. This means that the machining area is equipped with several production cells, which vary greatly in age and level of automation. Changeovers were very time-consuming, and production planning avoided them by scheduling longer production cycles than required by the current orders. The Demand Response strategy was based on the inventory planning process, which was kept at a high level based on optimizing operational performance.

Silo thinking was one of the major obstacles faced by the management team, which was monitoring a large number of operational indicators. The various initiatives being implemented simultaneously were perceived as a problem, as tracking and measuring the impact of actions was less than desired. The ability to manage change was also an issue at the time, perceived by managers as inadequate due to the scarcity of resources and the different profiles required.

DIAGNOSIS, PLANNING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS

To achieve the expected results in the three areas – commercial, operations and management – the Lean Transformation journey was divided into three stages, covering the unit’s three main product families: Cilmop (smaller pistons), Diesel and Gasoline.

The first step was to map the processes for each product family, from casting and machining to assembly and shipping. This allowed waste to be identified and corrective actions to be proposed.

ALL THE MAPPINGS FOLLOWED THE SAME MODEL:

• Current situation
• Analysis of takt-time ratio and workload per workstation
• Future state with planned improvements
• Kaizen Implementation Plan

IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS

To achieve maximum performance at lower cost, five initiatives were proposed, along with a new way of planning production:

shop floor management

According to Kolbenschmidt Pistons Industrial Director Mauricio Diniz, Shop floor Management was the main pillar that produced excellent results in the lean transformation. For him, regular, structured, daily communication brought organization, transparency and visual management of all data in a very simple and easy-to-understand way.

According to him, structured problem solving has also become a strong point of the operation, bringing the entire team together to think about the containment, impact, and ultimate resolution of problems. Process confirmation has also been very well implemented and has gained traction within the company’s lean culture.

The role of the leadership has changed a lot. The industrial director says that in the past, the team would receive the production program and go out and execute it without involving people or holding them accountable for their deliveries. “This new model gives more autonomy and requires managers to play a different role: breaking down barriers, helping to solve problems and, above all, developing people,” he explains.

“In addition, Staufen’s training academy has solidified the concepts throughout the operation, which guarantees the sustainability of everything we implement and develop here,” adds Maurício Diniz.

The CILMOP Machining Productivity Index had a baseline of 10.3, a target of 11.9, and a challenge of 12.9. The target was met and the challenge exceeded in 2021, with a dip and recovery in 2022.

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) was also successfully implemented in a simple and efficient way. According to Marcelo Menegatti, production manager at Kolbenschimidt Pistons, the success of the
transformation program is the result of the synergy between the the synergy between the entire team and the Staufen team of consultants. “All the consultants who have been here have shown a deep knowledge of the topics covered and a great ability to deal with people, giving constant feedback with mastery. That certainly made a big difference,” says Menegatti.

In addition, the manager explains that the kaizen events have brought a lot of motivation to the business unit teams. “We’ve created a routine of kaizen weeks on the lines, and the changes we’ve achieved are very visible. We receive many visits from customers and partners who observe the changes we’ve undergone and congratulate us on the maturity we’ve achieved.

“That’s really very satisfying and certainly motivates our entire team,” says the production manager.

Before the change, Menegatti says, people complained a lot that information wasn’t getting through and that people weren’t involved in the processes. “Since we started the project, that’s all gone. Today, all operators and managers are involved in everything, they know the problems at all levels and they act every day to solve them,” he says.

Willians Floriano, a production supervisor at the CILMOP business unit, says that before Shop Floor Management, he would come to work and find out why the other shifts hadn’t completed their deliveries.