51Fourth Quarter 2001

HydraForce: Doing What Comes VisuallyVisual management and focus on customer requirements.

Lea A.P. Tonkin

tomer satisfaction and profits.HydraForce manufactures high-quality hydraulic cartridge valvesused in mobile and industrial equip-ment markets. The company recent-ly hosted an AME workshop at itsLincolnshire, IL headquarters facility.Its multicultural workforce comprises350 employees spread over a dayshift, with a partial second shift.

Core competencies driving cost-effective manufacturing, according

to President Jim Brizzolara (Figure 1),include:

*Robust valve design*Proven and proactive quality assurance systems

*Tight control of manufacturing with low integration

*Highly-trained workers operatingin a team environment

*High application experience for strong customer support.

Visual Management AidsFaster, StandardizedProcesses

A willingness to try out newways of working together and learn-ing from formalized benchmarkingexercises drive ongoing improve-ment. Experience gained from theseexercises resulted in better visualmanagement techniques, setup timereduction, streamlined work flow,optimized Kanban/MRP materialcontrol blend, and reduced non-value-added (NVA) activities.Explained Brizzolara, "We're reallynothing more than a job shop thatutilizes lean manufacturing tech-niques. Most work cells in the plantare set up a minimum of five to sixtimes a day. It's important that we allwork on standardized, faster ways todo setups and other processes."

Whatever processes you can see, youcan track and improve. Easy-to-understand work flows and illustrat-ed worksheets are among the keys toHydraForce employees' rapidchangeovers and on-time shipments,while maintaining an exceptionalquality level. Visual managementtools also help workers gain controland flexibility in their day-to dayoperations. In a large job-shop oper-ation, that translates into better cus-

Update on Excellence

About HydraForce

HydraForce, Inc., based in Lincolnshire, IL, is the world leader in sales of hydraulic cartridgevalves used primarily in the mobile equipment markets, with limited sales in the automotive andindustrial markets. In addition to the Lincolnshire plant, the company has a 50,000 sq. ft.facility in Birmingham, England.

Sales volumes have grown at a double digit pace since 1992. The company has anestimated customer base of 2000. HydraForce places a high value on quality performance.They were Ford Q1 certified in 1991, ISO 9001 registered in 1993, QS9000 registered in1998, and Caterpillar certified in 2001.

The company relies on a supplier corps small in number, generally close to Lincolnshire.HydraForce designs and outsources coils, manifolds, castings, turned parts, etc. Inspection, finalfits/finishing, assembly, test, and shipment to customers are handled at either Lincolnshire orBirmingham. Process flow diagrams, FMEAs, supplier readiness reviews, process capacityanalysis, and other tools help the company gauge production readiness and flows.

A product development lab and an R&D lab for long-term materials research and otherprojects are located at Lincolnshire. One out of every eight employees (including sales) is adegreed engineer.

52Target Volume 17, Number 4

Kaizen projects have helpedemployees develop more speedyprocess flows in product-focusedwork cells (Figure 2). An importantelement is line leaders' ability toeasily see (and tweak when needed)shop floor operations.

Color-Coded, Easy-to-Understand Work Instructions and Parts Identification

Management initially developedwork instruction sheets in Spanish,Polish, and other languages to helpemployees handle changeovers andline changes. That system boggeddown in complexity, however. An esti-mated15 native languages are spokenby employees.

The company made the transi-tion to color-coded standard visualwork instructions (created in Power-Point software) so anyone can use

them, regardless of their first lan-guage. Everything from how to loadparts for assembly operations, howto unload and adjust machines, andtroubleshooting when problem con-ditions arise, to bulk item packaging,etc. is covered by these visual instruc-tions in work areas. "This system hasprovided us with a great deal of flexibil-ity in worker assignments and speedin job changeover," Brizzolara said.

Common component parts andtheir part numbers are used at masterboards on the shop floor, anothervisual aid for easy identification. Theyalso use color-coded cookie sheet-type trays to coordinate and priori-tize parts flowing through the shop."When you're putting together a finalproduct with ten different cartridges,it can cause disruptive flow if youonly receive eight of the parts whenneeded. The color-coded cookiesheets minimize the probability of

that occurring," said Brizzolara.

Production and QualityPlanning, Prioritizing Material and Work Flow

Capacity planning (for example,Figure 3 shows takt time calculations)efforts, combined with the use ofstandard work layout sheets, stan-dard work combination sheets, etc.help employees find ways to boostvalue-added (VA) activities andbanish NVA activities.

HydraForce uses a combinationof MRP and Kanban techniques forprioritizing material and work flow.Color-coded work orders are releasedto the shop floor (blue for Kanbanrequirements, green for sales prom-ised deliveries, etc.). In addition tothe normal production schedule, pro-duction teams daily process about 35rush orders for same day shipment,according to Geri Leatherman,assembly operations manager.

To support high-velocity orderactivity, MRP runs twice daily. Inven-tory turns normally run at 10-12. Thecompany's MRP system manages8000-10,000 part numbers.

Continuous one-piece flowassembly and test methods help elim-inate queues and level productionflows. HydraForce uses a techniquecalled the "rabbit chase" ---an assem-bler picks up the first component partand doesn't put it down until theproduct is completely assembled; itsupports quick reaction to changingcustomer demand. For instance,Leatherman said that if two peopleare working in an assembly cell andcustomer demand doubles, two addi-tional people can be assigned to thework cell or a second work cell canbe set up to double the processoutput.

Color-coded flags or tags areused to coordinate and identify theflow of incoming material in the

Update on Excellence

Figure 1. Jim Brizzolara (left) and AME workshop participants.

53Fourth Quarter 2001

receiving area. Incoming material isbar coded and lot identified in receiv-ing. Parts released for production,those ready for heat treat or othersecondaries, and parts ready to go tostock are identified with differentcolored flags.

More Visual Cues

Gauge and tool calibration andpreventive maintenance schedulesare additional opportunity areas forvisual management. For example,torque wrenches are identified with acolor-coded label indicating they arequalified to be used in a specific timeperiod. Color-coded luggage tagsidentify when filters need to bechanged on hydraulic test stands.Safety procedures such as lifting tech-niques are explained through colorfulillustrations posted in work areas.

The "War Room" just off the pro-duction floor ("the place where we

go to war on problems") featuresvisual updates developed and main-tained by employees. Takt times,process changes, kaizen project flowcharts, team workloads, plans for plantexpansion, etc. dominate the walls.

Visual controls, fishbone analy-sis, and other techniques contributeto employees' problem-solving capa-bilities, according to Leatherman.When product failures are found,employees can access additionalproblem-solving data and tools oncomputers in the shop area.

TeamingThe manufacturing area centers

on six product-focused teams andone process-focused team, whichsupport the shop work cells. Individ-ual leadership teams with represen-tatives from purchasing, valueengineering, shop floor teams, andfinal product testing meet for 15

minutes each day except Monday.Topics include new product produc-tion readiness, corrective action, con-tinuous improvement, and preventiveaction. On Mondays, all individualteams get together to facilitate plant-wide communication and coordination.

Each week, employees levelproduction workloads and track themby takt time analysis. Team leadersmonitor production rates throughoutthe day and compare them to takttime requirements. If takt timerequirements are not met, workforceschedules and work assignments areadjusted immediately. The extensive-ly cross-trained work force providesneeded agility for quick adjustmentsin workload changes. There are nofinished goods here. Everything isbuilt to customer orders.

TrainingLean manufacturing, 5S method-

ology, SPC, problem solving, andkaizen tools, along with other train-ing programs, give HydraForce acompetitive edge. "This has been a15-year journey," said Barb Bentsen,training and kaizen manager. "It'sbeen a challenging adventure that'sgotten us to where we are today."

Visual management gives moreoomph to training efforts. Most train-ing programs have been converted toor are in the process of being con-verted to multi-media presentations."Once we figured out the power ofthe picture, we knew it was the wayto go," Bentsen said.

Production team line leaders aretrained to use visual standardizedworksheets, enabling them to quicklyanalyze workloads and balance pro-duction work flow throughout theirwork cells. "It affords a non-engineerthe opportunity to do an excellent jobof balancing work flow and loads,"Bentsen said. Employees are trainedhow to use problem solving tools,

Update on Excellence

Figure 2. Employees develop more speedy process flows in product-focused work cells, throughkaizen projects.

54Target Volume 17, Number 4

control plans, process FMEA, andconstraint analysis methods to con-tinually improve quality and productflow.

FlexibilityBuilding a talented, dedicated

work force takes top priority atHydraForce. "Our number one priori-ty is to get good people and trainthem. Our number two priority is toget good suppliers," said Brizzolara.He's also keen on encouragingemployees to find creative solutionsfor day-to-day problems.

For example, the "six hat"approach is a shorthand way ofcueing perspectives from at least sixpoints of view ---wearing the creativehat, the purely factual hat, etc. Bench-marking activities are not limited tomanufacturing sites. Visiting a nearbyrestaurant, employees learned thatchefs in the busy eatery didn't movetheir feet much when they were inthe midst of dinner preparations.Whatever they needed was withineasy reach. Back at the plant,HydraForce folks reduced work tablelengths from 16 feet to six feet. Afterthis change was implemented, pro-ductivity rose 35 percent and stayedthat way, reported Brizzolara.

"Initially we used primarily one-piece flow production," he said. "Asvolumes grew and business levelsincreased, we drifted toward morebatch manufacturing. Then, 18months ago, we benchmarked acentral Illinois company and re-rec-ognized the advantages of one-pieceflow. Since retraining the line leadersand re-implementing one-piece flow,productivity has risen 15 percent."

When asked about what thefuture holds for HydraForce, Brizzo-lara replied, "While still an innova-tive product 16 years ago whenHydraForce was started, the hydrauliccartridge market today is approach-

ing maturity and is starting to be per-ceived as almost a commodity itemby many in the industry. The biggestchallenge the industry in general, andHydraForce in particular, faces todayis to overcome this commodity per-ception. Our mission as a company isto work as hard as we can to differ-entiate our products and servicesfrom those of our competitors. Weintend to do that by continuallystaying at the forefront of both qualitymethodology and product and manu-facturing technology. Intense focuson, and a strong management com-mitment to, a highly trained workforce utilizing cutting edge methodsthat drive continuous improvementin quality, delivery, and overall cost

performance will remain our stan-dard operating procedure. Manypeople consider what we do today ascutting edge in our industry. Tomor-row it will be considered the norm, acondition to survive in this business.We must make sure we neverbecome complacent with any aspectof our business processes."

Editor's note: The hospitality and assis-tance of HydraForce employees areappreciated.

Lea A.P. Tonkin, Woodstock, IL, is the editor ofTarget magazine.

Update on Excellence

Figure 3. Takt time calculations.

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