Auto Maker Increases Key Component Output by 14 Percent in 30 Days Due to Pinnacle Strategies

Plano, TX -- (SBWire) -- 03/21/2013 --The hyper-competitive automotive industry is called to deliver breakthrough engineering, design, and technology advances each year. Pinnacle Strategies uses proven methods and solutions to help teams gain absolute clarity about what needs to be done in order deliver on time and on budget, every time.

A throughput analysis and training adjusted buffers and cycle times to allow the cast line to work at optimal efficiency, leading to 14% increase in throughput in just 30 days, overtime expenses cut by 50%, and client engineers trained to replicate success on additional foundry lines.

“Unbalance” the line to optimize performance at the constraint. Pinnacle Strategies visited an automotive foundry for one week of Throughput Analysis and Training to identify and fix the problem in the casting line, and teach the manufacturer’s engineers how to find untapped capacity. The Pinnacle team began with hours of direct observation of the three-step line process: core making, in which the precision sand cores were assembled; casting— the actual pouring of the metal; and finishing, the removal of residual sand and extraneous metal. Their observations revealed casting as the constraint, the crucial step in the process that dictated the overall cycle time—and ultimately the throughput—of the entire line. Further, the team could see that the cast line was both starved for input (the cores) and blocked with output downstream.

An analysis using simulation, based on realistic assumptions, exposed erroneous design assumptions, informed decision making that avoided significant capital investment, and lead to improvements that increased capacity by 35%.

About Pinnacle Strategies
Pinnacle Strategies (http://www.pinnacle-strategies.com) is an international management consulting firm focused on operations management excellence. We work with organizations to increase shareholder value by developing high-performance business processes that significantly enhance productivity, reduce costs and time to market, improving profitability and accelerating sustainable growth. Pinnacle Strategies offers results-driven consulting solutions in the areas of performance management, project management, operations management, and supply chain. Pinnacle Strategies is the developer of ViewPoint a service that dramatically simplifies managing projects, enabling project teams to rapidly improve project performance. The RABIT methodology is a proprietary approach that is concentrated on implementing quick response solutions with rapid results. The RABIT methodology culminates years of practical experience and expertise in continuous improvement; it consistently delivers dramatic increases in process output to deliver solutions to industrial and manufacturing firms worldwide. Pinnacle Strategies offers results-driven consulting solutions in the areas of performance management, project management, operations management, and supply chain.

Pinnacle Strategies
http://www.pinnacle-strategies.com
Jennifer Thompson, Marketing Coordinator
pr@pinnacle-strategies.com
405.620.1160