Work Instruction for the Manufacturing Department at Viking Forge

[Audio] Work Instruction for the Manufacturing Department at Viking Forge.

Work Instruction Evaluation. The focus of my final project is to devise a more coherent set of working instructions for press operators in the manufacturing department at Viking Forge, an Ohio-based manufacturing company. The primary purpose is to develop and implement time saving practices, reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, and enhance overall sustainability within the organization..

Introduction. My name is Cameron Hartman and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technologies at Kent State University. A common challenge that modern day manufacturer's face are developing an efficient allocation of their resources and waste, while maintaining their quotas for their contracts. My goal is to find a way to reinforce Viking Forge’s sustainability methods, in today's age all factories are required by law to have a plan in act, but it is the responsibility of every engineer to maintain and improve our environment and resource allocation initiatives..

Need for Project. There a many ways resources can get wasted in the manufacturing industry, bad parts end up getting scrapped, although our steel waste is recycled for extra profit, enough faulty parts can cost the company a large amount of money. Time is another precious resource to any business. If one machine goes down for a week, Viking Forge could lose millions from the downtime it takes to repair machines. Better trained employees can reduce the risk of machine wear due to improper use by its operator. With better work instructions we could better teach everyone to not only be confident with the machine, but more efficient in other matters such as tooling switches after jobs are completed, or proper setting adjustment when a different part begins production on a line..

Outline. Bad part production is the biggest threat to any manufacturer; a single misinput on a machine setting could produce a thousand bad parts if it isn’t noticed in time. This is why a strict set up sheet for forge and trim presses are made to ensure good parts are being made. There are also hourly quality checks, along with inspection at the end of every job assigned to a line. Factories are ran with a tight grip, but improvement always needs to be sought out to keep ahead of the any problem the future may hold for them. If we can establish a better training system for our machine operators we would be able to heavily reduce downtimes and wasted material while increasing our overall production rates..

Details of Work Instruction. In the first days of looking over the current work instructions for Viking Forge I immediately found difficulty understanding due to lack of visuals. Almost every forge line has a different looking control panel, while some presses are made from the same company, it can make it quite confusing to learn how to use these machines. If I can make a picture based set of sequencing instructions it would give all operators or interns in training like myself an easier time getting comfortable on the floor..

Benefits. If we can reduce training times and make it easier for new hires or temps, we can increase the amount of jobs running at one time 24/7. It's hard to find motivated and confident employees who are willing to learn in tough conditions. If our operators are better trained then we can ensure a safer working environment with fewer chances of randomly occurring faults..

Conclusion. In my limited time at Viking Forge I hope to leave a mark in my time there this summer, in a stressful work environment it helps to know that you’re good at what you’re doing. Confident workers are what lead to a successful business, everyone should want their employees to take pride in their work. It provides motivation, caution, and skill; which are extremely important factors in manufacturing..

Thank you for watching. For any inquires you may reach me below at any address. chartm22@kent.edu 123-456-7890.