SASTECH Journal 76 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011

ENHANCING THE PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF 300

TON PRESS BY APPLYING LEAN PRINCIPLES
M.Subburajan
1
, B.S.Ajitkumar
2
, G.K.Mohan
3
, Debhashis Bhuniya
4
1- M.Sc. [Engg.] Student, 2-Professor, Department of MME, M. S. Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies, Bangalore
3- Senior Manager-Engg., 4-Manager-Engg., TVS Motor Company Limited. Bangalore
Abstract
In the presents scenario competition in the current business world is marked by intense agitation and fierce
contention. This feverish situation has made organisations to rejuvenate themselves by marching in different routes like
Agile, Lean, TPM, TQM etc to keep them competitive as well to attain their objectives positively. But most of the
organisations have taken the established route Lean to crush the competition. This situation has enhanced the Lean
management strategies such as improving the value stream, levelling the production based on demand; creating flow in
manufacturing, reducing capital investment etc. Also this has provided them a major source of competitive advantage. The
source is mainly due to the ability of the organisation to change and manage the change.
In this paper, a press shop which is used for a new product was taken for capacity enhancement. The main objective
is to enhance the production capacity of 300 Ton presses from 600 to 800 sets /day. The objective needs to be achieved
with no investment or with very minimum investment because investment plays a decisive role at the growth stage of the
product life cycle. The scope covers the entire press shop for the proposed implementation of waste elimination ideas,
cycle time reduction as well the proposal for creating the flow for the pressed parts. A seven step methodology for set up
time reduction and a unique methodology for cycle time reduction were used to attain the objectives of the study.
The main results of this studies are that the production capacity of the press has been increased from 600 to 825 sets
/day with a reduced tool change time of less than 10 mins from 36 mins per setup. In a nutshell modifying the existing
practices has resulted in NVA elimination and cycle time reduction thereby finally enhancing the production capacity of
presses.
Keywords: Lean, SMED, Capacity Enhancement, Set up time, Cycle time
Abbreviations
TVS-M TVS Motor Company
SMED Single Minute Exchange of Dies
NVA Non Value added Activity
1. INTRODUCTION
It is well known that, for decades - Indian
automobile industries were behind some of the
influential economies like US and Japan. But the current
trend signals a different scene, the current automobile
industry is one of the most vibrant, modern and
competitive in the world with a fastest growth rate. The
Indian automobile industry has seen a tremendous
growth in the last few years.
The unevenness in the global competitive business
coupled with varying customer demand had put
organisations under huge pressure to manage them to
stay ahead in the competition. This stress has made
organisations to select various paths, but most
organisations selected the proven path Lean
manufacturing. Successful implementation has helped
them in identifying the activities which do not add value
to the customer right from raw material to final product
and also to eradicate the same. Just implementation may
not fetch results, but always there should be a
continuous improvement journey to stay ahead in the
global competition.
This study specifically pertains to enhancing
capacity in a press shop by applying Lean principles.
The study has been carried out in TVS Motor Company-
Hosur.
2. PROBLEM DEFINITION
On certain occasions organisations struggle to
manage the competition and finally they are forced to
lower the product cost and lose profit. Such cost
reduction strategies often end up in disaster; it is
acceptable to a certain extent for runner models. When
the same strategy is applied for a new model or a new
product it is sure to flunk and will wind up the new
product because it is not feasible to reduce costs when a
new product is just born. What is the use of having a
new product which has swallowed huge capital and
comes out to market with a very high product cost?

Figure 1 Demand vs Capacity
In this situation some of the most beneficial thing
companies should do when they have problems like this
is implementing Lean manufacturing inorder to focus on

SASTECH Journal 77 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011
cost. It is one of the most effective ways to decrease
costs and increase profit on long term. By this the
effectiveness inside and outside the organisation will
improve.
The problem behind the situation is, there is no
capacity to meet the market demand as shown in Fig 1,
but at the same time the organization is very much
concerned about the investment factor for enhancing
capacity. This situation has created a study Enhancing
the production capacity of 300 Ton presses by applying
Lean principles.
2.1 Aim of the Study
The aim of the study is to increase the production
capacity press from 600 to 800 sets/day as in figure 2.

Figure 2 Capacity plan
2.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM
The dynamics of markets, technology, and
competition have made organisation to introduce new
products very often, and if the same has been well
accepted by the market organisations should flood
products before the demand grow worse. While ramping
up the capacity organisations should keep four factors in
mind, they are the speed, efficiency quality and cost. If
any one of the factor fails the impact will be very high.
Therefore managing the new product is a key to a
healthy organization
Right now the organisation is facing a similar
situation, because the new product is well accepted by
the market and the demand is huge. In order to cater the
demand organisation is focusing on delivering products
to market at lower cost and higher efficiency. In a nut
shell about the significance,
Right now the new product is the Star model for
TVS-Motor Company.
Fierce pressure to deliver products to market
(Current demand in market is 800/day but actual
supplied is 600/day
If not delivered to market on time it could miss
one-third life cycle profit.
The new products gross contribution is expected to
be 11.5%.
3. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
For the current study furnished below are the data
collected to understand the current status of the
problem.
Loss details after analysis via Pareto as shown in
figure 3.
Tool change over time trend in mins per
changeover as shown in figure 4.

Figure 3 Loss details after analysis via Pareto
Below furnished are the points inferred from figure
3.
In the overall loss 70% of loss is contributed by
tool change.
Die polishing and equipment failure contributing to
15% of the overall loss.
On an average 4680 mins/month is lost only
because of tool change.
The scope for reducing the tool change time is very
high.
The vital one needs to be observed for further
analysis and action.
37
32
33
32
45
44
41
31
39
35 35 35
32
37
33
36
32 32
40
37
20
30
40
50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Figure 4 Tool change time in Mins
Below furnished are the points inferred from figure 4:
The minimum tool change taken is 31 mins.
The maximum tool change time taken is 45mins.
The average tool change time of the observed
timings is 36 mins.
4. METHODOLOGY
In order to find a solution in a systematic way, the
first and foremost thing which needs to be identified is
the right strategy and then a proper methodology.
Selection of an appropriate strategy and right
methodology is critical to the success of any study or a
study. The confidence level increases when there is a
right approach towards the problem. With one, the
problem can be solved quickly and effectively. Without
one, the solutions may be ineffective and may lead to
some painful consequences
In order to accomplish the aim of the study two key
strategies and two methodologies was adopted as shown
in figure 5.

SASTECH Journal 78 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011
To Increase
Capacity
Increase machine
availability
De bottleneck
process /Duplication
Eliminate/
Reduce Losses
Reduce cycle time
Capital
investment on
machines
Add new facility

Figure 5 Strategy to increase capacity
Figure 5 indicates that there are three strategies to
increase the capacity of a machine or cell. But the three
strategies are applied for a study in different situations
4.1 Capacity Enhancement Strategy -1
The first strategy talks about increasing the
machine availability and thereby increasing the
capacity. This strategy is useful when the capacity is
available, but the capacity is lost because of the standard
losses like tool change, equipment etc. To address the
standard losses the loss elimination activities are
triggered. By using this strategy the capacity can be
generally enhanced between 5 ~ 10 %. In this strategy
there is not much of time while money is spent. This is
very much useful for small level projects.
4.2 Capacity Enhancement Strategy - 2
When the first strategy is fulfilled, the next strategy
needs to be taken up for capacity enhancement. The
second strategy talks about debottlenecking a particular
machine. The debottlenecking activity is done in two
ways .The first way is to reduce the cycle time of the
machine. If there is no scope for reducing the cycle time
the same machine has to be duplicated to increase the
capacity.
This strategy is used when the capacity needs to be
improved in a more beneficial way. But this strategy
requires a little investment. This strategy is applicable
when the capacity needs to be improved between 20
30%
4.3 Capacity Enhancement Strategy - 3
This strategy is used when there is no scope from
the first two strategies. But some organisations directly
jump into the third strategy by investing huge amount
on assets. This will lead to higher manufacturing cost
also it will not allow meeting the targeted product cost.
This strategy is used at the initial stage of a new
product because everything cannot be managed from the
existing resource or by improving productivity or by
eliminating waste.
# Strategy
Capacity
enhancement
%
Time span Cost impact ROI
Impact on
Product cost
Doer
1
Improve availability
by reducing losses
5 - 10 % 1 -2months Very low < 1 month Very less
Front line
people
2
Reduce bottleneck
cycle time/ duplication
of machines
20 - 30 % 2-4 months Low
Less than 6
months
Less
Middle
management
3
Capital investment on
machines
Above 30% > 4months High > 6 months High
Top
Management
Factors
Strategy Summary

Figure 6 Summary of strategy
The factors in the summary sheet clearly indicate
that the first two strategies would be appropriate for
increasing the capacity with very less investment. The
third one should be selected when the first two
strategies are successfully completed. This strategy is
applicable for all sorts of industries in the aspect of
capacity enhancement. From the analysis of the various
strategies, in this situation the first and second strategy
would help the organisation to attain their objectives as
shown in figure 5.
It was decided that tool change time was to be
tackled through SMED and the machine cycle time
bottle neck has to be reduced by a unique methodology
4.4 Solution methodology for SMED
A seven step methodology is adopted for
successful implementation of SMED as shown in
figure7.
Observe the Current Practice of Tool Change activity
Study the Elemental activities of die change over
Separate the Internal and external activities
Externalizing internal activities
Analyze using ECRSS
Make Internal activities
more efficient
Standardize
Step
1
Step
2
Step
3
Step
4
Step
5
Step
6
Step
7

Figure 7 Seven step methodology for tool
change time reduction
4.5 Solution methodology for cycle time reduction
The second strategy for enhancing the capacity is
reducing the cycle time of the bottleneck machine.
Figure 8 explains the methodology for elemental
analysis of the machine movement.
To Reduce
Cycle Time
Machine time
Reduction
Man time
Reduction
Reduce feed
distance
By masking
operation
F
B
F
B
H
H #a #b
Process
Parameter
Optimization
Elemental
analysis of
Machine
movement
Low cost
automation
Easy loading
facility
Increase feed
rate

Figure 8 Methodology for cycle time reduction
5. SMED BY 7- STEP METHODOLOGY
The tool change reduction is approached by the
seven step methodology. The problem is solved just by
following the steps in the methodology. Now let us see
how the problem is solved using this methodology.
5.1 OBSERVE THE CURRENT PRACTICE
The current activities are understood by means of
listing down all the physical activities which was carried

SASTECH Journal 79 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011
out by the individual operator during the tool change
activity. Then all the activities are organised operator
wise.
5.2 STUDY THE ELEMENTAL ACTIVITY
The elemental activities of the entire tool change
are studied in terms of time. Then the time is
summarised for both the presses and then the tool
change time is arrived. The study is done for both the
presses and the tool change summary is furnished in Fig
9.
Activity time of
Operator 1
20
Activity time of
Operator 2
16
Activity time of
Opreator 1
18
Activity time of
Operator 2
15
Mechanical
press
36
mins
33
mins
Hydraulic
Press

Figure 2 Summary of Elemental activity
As shown in figure 9 the time taken in hydraulic
press is 36 mins and the mechanical press tool change
over time in 33 mins .Since these activities are carried
out in parallel the highest time is taken as the tool
change time. So the tool change time is 36 mins.
5.3 SEPARATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
ACTIVITIES
In this step out of all activities those which can be
externalised has been identified. Prior to this separation
all the activities are done as internal activities. Figure 10
shows the activities which has been identified for
externalising. The activities identified for externalising
is marked as I.
# Activity
I/ E
# Activity
I/ E
1 Move the Control panel
I
1 Move the Bundle loading trolley
I
2 Come back to press
I
2 Come back to press
I
3 Unload the inclined chute
I
3 Unload the inclined chute
I
4 Move the belt conveyor
I
4 Move the belt conveyor
I
5 Close the die
I
5 Bring the spanners near to the press
I
6 Unfasten the bolt fromthe die
I
6 Unfasten the bolt fromthe die
I
7 Up the ramand up the diecushion pins
I
7 Bring the die loader 2 in front of the press
I
8 Bring the crane near the die loader
E
8 Take the rope fromits location
E
9
Bring the crane and attach the steel rope
to the die
E
9 Assist the co employee
E
10
Bring the die to its parking location by
crane
E
10 Providing locators for placing the tool
E
11 Unload the rope fromthe tool
E
11 Unload the rope fromthe tool
E
12 Move the crane to the next tools loaction
E
12 Assist the co employee
E
OPR 1 Hyd Press OPR 2 Hyd Press

Figure 3 Activities identified for externalizing
(Sample)
5.4 EXTERNALISING INTERNAL ACTIVITIES
In this step the activities identified for externalising
has been externalised. The timings of individual press is
summarised in the summary sheet as shown in Figure
11.
As a result of this step the tool change time is
reduced and the result graph is shown in Figure 12.
Before timing
After
externalising
Activity time of
Operator 1
20 13.2
Activity time of
Operator 2
16 13
Activity time of
Opreator 1
18 12
Activity time of
Operator 2
15 8
Hydraulic Press
26
mins
Mechanical press
20
mins

Figure 11 Summary Sheet after externalizing
36
26
0
20
40
Before After
28%
m
i
n
s

Figure 12 Result graph of tool change time
after Externalizing
5.5 Analyze using ECRSS
In this step all the activity are mapped by the
factors ECRSS. In this stage the activities which can be
eliminated, combined, reduced, simplified or substituted
are identified. How portion for the identified activities
are analysed in section 5.6 Making internal activities
more efficient. The applicability of ECRSS is mapped
for all the activities as shown in figure 13.

Figure 13 ECRSS Mapping for activities
After analysis 51 activities are identified for
improvement.
5.6 Make internal activities more efficient
After externalising the activities, the remaining
part is the internal activities. This has to be focused and
the efficiency of the internal activities has to be
improved to further reduce the tool change time. In
order to identify the possible causes which is leading to
the inefficiency of internal activities, a cause and effect
diagram is drawn. The cause and effect Diagram is
shown in figure 14.

SASTECH Journal 80 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011

Figure 14 CED for inefficient internal activities
From figure 14 cause and effect diagram the
probable causes or the vital causes are identified based
on the inputs from experts and a why- why analysis is
carried out to bring out the root cause. The why-why
analysis for vital factors is carried out and the actions
are initiated.
5.6 SMED IMPROVEMENTS SUMMARY
Figure 15 shows the improvement in the process
time after completing the task.

5.7 CYCLE TIME REDUCTION
As per the methodology the elemental analysis for the
machine time carried out for panel front top is shown in
figure 16. It indicates there is a room for improvement
in 3-4 areas of the machine cycle time .They are
Scope for improving the feed rate
Scope for reducing the feed distance
Reducing the dwell time

Figure 15 Summary of SMED Improvements

SASTECH Journal 81 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011

Figure 16 Elemental analysis of draw cycle

In this method since the improvement option is
open, the ideas are directly generated. The ultimate
theme of this portion is to reduce the time in individual
portion. Based on the elemental analysis the ideas
generated are furnished below.
Increase feed rate
Reduce feed distance
Reduce dwell time in the cycle (by bench marking)
other presses
# Activity Beforeimprovement After Improvement Benefits Status
1
Increase
pressingfeed
rate
Pressing speedwas
35mm/sec
Pressing speedincreasedto
60mm/sec bychangingflowcontrol
valve
Action
completed
2
Increasethe
returnfeedrate
Returnfeedratewas60
mm/sec
Returnfeedrateincreasedfrom60
to90mm/sec bychangingtheflow
controlvalve
Action
completed
3
Reducefeed
distance
Feeddistancewas780,690,
770 mmrespfor 3 tools
Feeddistanceparameter reduced
by30 mminalltoolsby optimising
theair cuttime
Action
completed
4
Reducedwell
time
Dwelltimeduring
bottoming oftoolfound2
secs
Dwelltimereducedfrom2 secsto1
sec for eachtoolbymodifyingthe
dwelltimer parameter inthepress
Action
completed
Cycletimereduced
by6 secsinthe
hydraulic press
(bottleneck
machine)

Figure 17 Summary of improvements for cycle
time reduction
The above ideas have been proposed to the
maintenance team for their approval because of the
main flow control valve needs to be changed in the
hydraulic press. After getting the concurrence from the
maintenance team the ideas were implemented
physically and trials were taken for observing the
change in flow. The improvement is summarized as
shown in Figure 17.
1 5
9
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
Bef o re af ter
C y c le t im e

Figure 18 Before and After cycle time
As a result of the above improvements the cycle
time in the bottleneck machine reduced by six seconds.
The reduction in the cycle time is shown in figure 18.
After implementing the improvements the machine
time diagram is compared with the new machine time
diagram and the change in time significant. The
comparison study of the machine time diagram is shown
in Figure 19.

Figure 19 Before and After Comparison of
draw cycle
6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The ultimate result of the study is to enhance the
capacity. To support that some of the sub results are
also need to be addressed. The sub results are the results
after SMED as well the results after cycle time
reduction. First let us have a look at the results obtained
because of SMED.

Figure 20 Results after SMED
As a result of implementing SMED the tool change
time has been reduced from 36 mins to 10 mins in
overall. 72% of tool change time reduction is achieved
as shown in Fig 20.
6.1 RESULTS - CAPACITY AFTER SMED
After reducing the losses the machine availability
has increased and thereby the capacity of the presses
also increased. The capacity increased from 600sets/day
to a level of 667sets/day; which is an 11% improvement
in the capacity. The results graph is shown in Figure 21.

SASTECH Journal 82 Volume 10, Issue 1, May 2011

Figure 21 Capacity after SMED
6.2 RESULTS CAPACITY AFTER CYCLE TIME
REDUCTION
After reducing the bottleneck machine cycle time,
the capacity has been increased from 667sets/day to
825sets/day with a 158 sets increase with a base of
667sets/day. The capacity has been increased by 24% as
shown in Figure 22.

Figure 4 Capacity after cycle time reduction
6.3 RESULTS - CAPACITY AFTER CYCLE TIME
REDUCTION
This study has given immense benefit to the
organization. The organization has not only benefited in
terms of capacity but also in various measures such as
productivity, quality, cost morale and safety. The
benefits are summarized as shown in Figure 23.
Figure 23 Benefits of the study
7. CONCLUSIONS
Implementing Lean principles in any process will
fetch immense results to organizations. This study has
proved that eliminating NVA in any process can bring
huge results.. If this single project could give such
benefits, the results will be magnanimous if the entire
organization is considered for NVA elimination As a
result of this study the production capacity of 300 Ton
presses has been increased from 600 to 800 sets/day.
Eliminating waste in the entire operation improves
productivity, reduces the cost which in turn delights
customer and helps organizations in moving towards
their vision and goals.
8. REFERENCES
[1] Mohammad Taleghani, Key factors for
implementing the Lean manufacturing system,
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culture,
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paper/viewFile/1210/528, retrieved on 15th Feb
2011
[3] Andreas Pufall1, 2, Jan C. Fransoo2, A. G. (Ton)
de Kok2 , What determines product ramp up
performance,
http://cms.ieis.tue.nl/Beta/Files/WorkingPapers/Bet
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[4] Athanu Chaudhuri, Operations Management Group
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plant allocation and plant capacity enhancements
for new
products,http://www.iamot.org/conference/index.p
hp/ocs/4/paper/viewFile/629/132, retrieved on 15th
Feb 2011
[5] Jib Brown , Optimizing Capacity Deployment and
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[6] Ana Sofia Alves, Alexandra Tenera, Improving
SMED in the Automotive Industry, POMS 20th
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[7] S. Patel, P. Shaw, B.G. Dale, UMIST, Manchester,
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