Optimizing Production Flow with Strategic Station Relocation and Quality Check Expansion

Industry:
Rail Transport Manufacturing

About the Customer:
A prominent subsidiary of a global French transportation company, this organization operates several manufacturing and maintenance facilities in India. Known for its extensive work in metro projects across major cities and its contribution to freight infrastructure, the company has a rolling stock manufacturing plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, where it produces metro coaches and performs rigorous quality checks.

The Backdrop:
In 2020, Sparkline supplied two key stations—a waiting station and a framing station—to the customer’s Sri City facility. The facility’s assembly line for metro car bodies follows a structured workflow involving six stations: Under Frame Assembly (two stations), Waiting Station, Framing Station, Fitting Station, and Quality Check. While initially designed to meet demand with 16-hour cycle times at each station, the increasing market demand for metro coaches required an expansion to sustain production targets.

To boost throughput, the company decided to add a second Quality Check station. This addition required repositioning several existing stations, necessitating precise dismantling, relocation, and reinstallation to ensure smooth production flow.

The Challenge:
The existing assembly line required a restructuring to accommodate the new Quality Check station without expanding the facility footprint. This restructuring involved:

  • Relocation of Existing Stations: Each station needed to be dismantled, relocated, and reassembled in a new sequence to fit the updated layout, which now included two Quality Check stations.
  • Minimizing Downtime: The project had to be completed within a 10-week timeline to avoid significant disruptions to the production schedule.
  • Coordination Across Suppliers: Since different suppliers originally installed the stations, the project required coordinated oversight to ensure a seamless transition, especially for the stations initially supplied by Sparkline.

The Solution:
Given Sparkline’s familiarity with the facility and its previous work on the waiting and framing stations, the company was awarded the supervision contract to oversee the dismantling and relocation of these stations. The restructured assembly line layout was planned as follows:

  1. New Layout Sequence:
    • Under Frame Assembly-1
    • Under Frame Assembly-2
    • Waiting Station
    • Framing Station
    • Fitting Station
    • Quality Check Station-1
    • Quality Check Station-2
  2. Strategic Dismantling and Relocation:
    • Dismantling Phase: Sparkline supervised the dismantling of the stations in phases, starting with the Fitting Station, which was moved to make space for the new Quality Check Station-2. This process continued sequentially to ensure minimal disruption.
    • Reinstallation Phase: Each dismantled station was reinstalled in its new location with careful alignment and calibration, ensuring each station operated seamlessly in the restructured layout.

A Statement of Overall Benefit:
Sparkline’s strategic supervision of the relocation process enabled the customer to expand their quality check capabilities within the existing facility. This optimized layout increased production efficiency, reduced bottlenecks, and ensured the facility could meet the rising demand for metro coaches without extending project timelines.

Benefits:

  • Increased Production Capacity: The addition of a second Quality Check station boosted throughput, allowing the facility to meet growing market demands for metro coaches.
  • Efficient Use of Space: By reorganizing the layout rather than expanding the facility, the customer maximized use of the existing infrastructure, saving on expansion costs.
  • Minimized Downtime: Sparkline’s supervision and strategic planning enabled the project to be completed within the scheduled 10 weeks, maintaining production continuity.
  • Streamlined Coordination Across Suppliers: With Sparkline’s oversight, the dismantling and relocation were executed smoothly, minimizing potential disruptions in the multi-supplier environment.

Sparkline’s expertise in managing complex station relocations ensured a successful and efficient reconfiguration of the assembly line, helping the customer scale up production while meeting high standards of quality and efficiency.