Original Date: 07/21/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility’s relocation and reconfiguration of its Electrical Manufacturing Shop facilitated the reduction in manufacturing time from 14 months to less than seven months and reduced labor costs by an average of 32%.

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility (EBQP) reconfigured and relocated its Electrical Manufacturing Shop using Lean Manufacturing techniques and a team of functional experts most familiar with the process. Prior to this change, the shop was remote from other manufacturing activities, mostly the Sheetmetal Shop and Test to Inspect workstations. The team performed a value stream analysis of the flow process and determined that the Electrical Manufacturing Shop should be relocated closer to the Sheetmetal Shop and the test area should be co- located in the Electrical Manufacturing Shop. In its new location, the travel distance between shops has been reduced and the coordination has improved.

The Electrical Manufacturing Shop was designed to provide optimal flow paths for console and panel manufacture, reducing travel distances by 50% to 60% for most items, and handling by 20% to 25%. It was also determined that by reconfiguring the work process into a station-loaded work cell, manufacturing times would be reduced. Materials (e.g., hardware, fasteners, and other consumables) are loaded directly into the work cell cabinets, bypassing warehousing. Delivery sites have been established for various work cells enabling warehousemen to direct-deliver materials to the shops. Each work cell has been supplied with its own tooling, thus decentralizing the control of calibrated tools and reducing employee travel time. With few exceptions, all of the required materials and tools are at the work cell to support uninterrupted panel manufacture.

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