KIHOMAC is a veteran-owned and AS9100C certified company with a proven track record in delivering complex parts and assemblies for customers such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and the Intelligence Community. Located in Layton, they work with the United States Air Force, to keep our nation’s aircraft flying, through their broad capability in fabricating sheet metal and aluminum honeycomb parts, composite bonded honeycomb or laminate fiberglass, and carbon and Kevlar parts. Since their founding in 2003, KIHOMAC has provided rapid design and delivery capabilities spanning small production quantities and supporting unique fleets, as well as larger runs where several complex assemblies per week are produced.
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Project Scope
As part of their ongoing Continuous Process Improvement (CPI), KIHOMAC identified the receiving line in the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a hub of activity in their new 130,000 square foot facility, as the next opportunity for streamlining. They knew from previous experience that improving their incoming receiving processes would have immediate and significant impact on product throughput.
Solution
The vice president of KIHOMAC’s aerospace engineering group, Matt Majewski, requested that the University of Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (UUMEP) Center staff lead a Value Stream Mapping event. UUMEP Center staff engineer Nick Wilkes and center director Theresa Drulard, worked with KIHOMAC staff to document the receiving department’s current state and identify improvements.
Results
- Reduced process steps from 14 to 10 steps
- Reduced opportunity for manual errors by 79%
- Improved availability of data and reduced data “pushes” from 12 to 2
Impacts
- Cost avoidance: Staff is trained to lead future Value Stream Mapping events, saving up to $10,000 (assuming three events per year).
- Improved receiving cycle time by 7 minutes, with annual labor cost savings of $18,200
- Reduced distance and walking time for employees
- Ability to meet increased demand for upcoming large contracts
Client testimonial
V.P., Aerospace Engineering Group
“In partnership with the University of Utah MEP Center, KIHOMAC is very happy to report that a new receiving process has been implemented and is already reaping measurable improvements. With the help of the UUMEP Center, future Value Stream Mapping initiatives are being planned and we are continuing to increase our capabilities to utilize internal resources to facilitate these events as our managers and CPI teams gain experience and see their efforts bear fruit. We have no doubt that this joint effort with the UUMEP Center has been a huge success.”