IntelliFinishing - The Only Lean Paint System

IntelliFinishing Powder Coating and Liquid Paint Systems are LEAN

Finishing systems have never been thought of as lean…or green. In fact, some lean experts believe that paint is the one production area in today’s factories that cannot conform to the lean methodology. IntelliFinishing is the first of its kind to introduce LEAN thinking into the finishing process. We do this by eliminating wastes within the manufacturing process. See the entire of list of reasons an IntelliFinishing system is lean below.

The secret to making a profit is building a system that is scalable, while handling a diverse size and quantity of parts. With IntelliFinishing, you can make your finishing system lean with point of use access to your factory floor. Also, decrease the amount of valuable floor space, while cutting energy and chemical costs, compared to the traditional monument systems.

Here are a few of the improvements achieved with IntelliFinishing's systems:

Removed 1,000 feet of chain after replacing power & free with IntelliFinishing
Reduced WIP by 50%
Doubled throughput
3 shifts to 1 shift
Decreased injury claims and turnover

Read how Caterpillar made their paint process lean in Modern Metals Magazine.

Elimination of Wastes with an IntelliFinishing Complete Finishing System

Lean is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing process. IntelliFinishing provides automated powder coating and liquid coating systems that eliminate waste in the following ways.

Transportation Waste

Transportation waste is the unnecessary movement of people or parts between processes or from one location to another.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces transportation waste:

no more batching = reduction in WIP
recipes (process speeds and times specific to the part)
independent zone and carrier control (systems are designed and implemented allowing control of individual carriers to start and stop independently throughout the system)
single piece flow
reduce downtime – 1% or less due to minimal conveyor maintenance
point of use – independent transportation of product from previous operation to finishing to next operation
no wasted movement – friction-driven conveyor only moves when part is present (unlike continuous running chain conveyors)
reduction in floorspace

no wasted space on return chain
use of shuttles & deadhead turns
layout flexibility

Inventory Waste

Inventory waste is the raw materials, work in progress (WIP) or finished goods stock that is held, not having value added to it.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces inventory waste:

reduce WIP using single piece flow
accumulation buffers can be decreased
no need to batch because of recipes
reduce number of parts to be reworked due to no risk of dripping lubrication because there is no chain (reduced number of defective parts)
reduce bottlenecks
IntelliFinishing customers use reports and tracking to determine the root cause of a bottleneck
downtime (scheduled or unscheduled) is reduced because maintenance of a carrier/trolley can be performed on a spur without stopping production

Motion Waste

Motion waste is the unnecessary movement of people, parts or machines within a process.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces motion waste:

lift for ergonomic loading of parts
conveyor (chain) does not run constantly
processes don't run continuously, only when a part is present
small footprint (decreases amount of employee movement)
layout flexibility (manual procedures, like masking or labeling, can be located in close proximity)
less maintenance required compared to monorail and power & free
manuals and operating instructions located at the HMI
smart controls (quickly identify part locations anywhere in your system)

Waiting Waste

Waiting waste is the act of doing nothing or working slowly while waiting for a previous step in the process to be completed.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces waiting waste:

no production gaps or empty hooks (employees aren't waiting for parts)
minimal (1% or less) unscheduled downtime decreases cost of employees waiting for production to resume
recipes (process can be pre-programmed for incoming parts)
ERP integration and product scheduling (allows operators to load parts quickly)
eliminate bottlenecks (independently controlled zones)

Overproduction Waste

Overproduction waste is making products in too great a quantity or before it is actually needed leading to excessive inventory.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces overproduction waste:

decrease your defect rate by reducing part contamination (no need to compensate for quality issues due to dripping lubricant)
consistent quality (independently controlled zones mean process times are consistent)
easily integrate to point of use (less risk of damage to parts because of less handling)

Overprocessing Waste

Overprocessing waste is adding more value to a product than the customer actually requires such as painting areas that will never be seen or be exposed to corrosion.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces overprocessing waste:

recipes determine:

How much time each part family spends in a process instead of having the same process time for all parts
The number of wash stages a part goes through (skip degreasing when a part does not require it)

Defects

Defects are products or services which are incorrect the first time and require repetition or correction of a process.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces defects waste:

reducing part contamination (no need to compensate for quality issues due to dripping lubricant)
consistent quality (independently controlled zones mean process times are consistent)
easily integrate to point of use (less risk of damage to parts because of less handling)
eliminate defects due to flash rust that are frequently caused when employees stop a monorail conveyor line for breaks
reduce damage caused by part sway (gradual acceleration and deceleration)

Resource Waste

Resource waste is the non-efficient use of your lights, heat and power and the wasted potential of people.

An IntelliFinishing system reduces resource waste:

reduce the number of employees required to operate system (replacement of monorail system condensed three shifts to one shift)
recipes determine

how much time each part family spends in a process instead of having the same process time for all parts
the number of wash stages a part goes through (skip degreasing when a part does not require it)

reduce energy consumption with insulated ovens and washers (49% reduction in energy usage)
ERP integration and product scheduling (allows operators to load parts quickly)
point of use – independent transportation of product from previous operation to finishing to next operation (reduces amount of material handling needed)
reduction in floor space

system is built to "right-size" from the beginning
due to elimination of return chain

eliminate bulb turns with shuttle or dead head
modular system allows for easy expansion
downtime (scheduled or unscheduled) is reduced with our system because maintenance of a carrier/trolley can be performed on a spur without stopping production
less maintenance required compared to monorail and power & free
retained asset value is higher than traditional systems (IntelliFinishing system typically has 85% retained asset value because it's re-deployable)
installation in half the time (modular washer and modular oven fabricated off-site)