Total Production Optimization at Ethan Allen
After exploring the theory of the integrated & dynamic optimization, an actual case study was presented by Cliff Thorn, VP of Upholstery Manufacturing at Ethan Allen, who successfully implemented Plataine’s TPO software solution for their fabric cutting operation in Maiden, NC.
The Business Problem: Manual Intensive Process for Upholstery Fabric cutting drives long lead times, high costs in labor and material.
Key Challenges:
I. Customized offering requires careful selection of Upholstery fabric pieces to meet customer demand.
II. Fabric nests were created manually; this stage causes a bottleneck in the process.
III. Short rolls inventory continues to grow; thousands of remnant rolls remain in stock.
TPO System Goals:
-
Automation of the fabric cutting processes, mainly: Piece- Selection, nesting and roll-picking
-
Optimization: Increase Material Utilization through optimal nesting and methodical use of short-rolls
Previous process - Serial fabric cutting process, where one decision followed the other:
After implementing TPO - Simulteneous real-time process, reaching optimized outcomes:
Current Production Volumes:
- The system is operational for 1 year and supports cutting operations in both Maiden, NC and Silao, Mexico
- Over 7000 customer orders are processed per week
- Over 400 frame styles and over 3000 fabric choices are available to customers
- Over 5,000 full rolls and short ends in inventory are managed
- All production runs are one customer at a time.
The Main Benefits seen at Ethan Allen after implementing the TPO were:
-
6.4 % savings in fabric consumption - through higher level of nesting optimization.
-
Methodical Reduction of Short-Rolls - TPO utilizes short end rolls for 15% of the orders.
-
Labor savings of 50% in the nesting process.
-
Improved quality – reducing manual errors that were sometimes found in later phases such as sewing.
Questions & Answers:
Following these presentations, a few questions were brought up by the participants and discussed both by Cliff Thorn and Avner Ben-Bassat:
- Being a custom business, Ethan Allen does not practice Multiple-ply cutting and spreading. However, there is additional room for optimization in such production processes, for example through optimal roll selection (by width and length) for stacking, considering part gaps and roll overlap.
- Management of shading / tones / dye-lot of rolls is currently handled by Ethan Allen and is taken into account by TPO when selecting the roll or rolls for any given customer order.
- The difference in yield between manual vs. automatic nesting depends on each situation, the ability of the manual nester and the power of the nesting software. At Ethan Allen the average material savings found with TPO was 6.4% but over 50% of the orders improved by 5% or more. Nonetheless, better nesting is just the tip of the iceberg when evaluating the strength of TPO. The bigger advantage is the selection of the optimal nest to the right roll with the right machine, while having different machine brands and models with different capabilities and constraints.
- In regards to the reaction of the employees to the change, Mr. Thorn commented that if management works with the staff on the floor and explains what they are trying to do, employees understand the importance and embrace the change.
- The webinar concluded with the note that these principles apply to any upholstery production environment, big/small, cut-by-order/ mass production. The challenges discussed are seen at many manufacturing facilities, and TPO can also be deployed to support a semi-automatic process that does not require a full automation of the production process.
Ethan Allen is also a satisfied customer of Plataine’s NESTERwood software for optimized plywood nesting and cut-path generating. For more information, please visit:
www.plataine.com/nesterwood.
Fill out the form below and Listen to the full recording of this online seminar.
