HBD INDUSTRIES, INC.
Elgin, SC

THE OVERVIEW
HBD Industries, Inc., through its flagship brand, Thermoid', has been producing rubber products for a wide range of industries for more than 85 years - including hoses, ducting, and with the 1986 acquisition of the BFGoodrich industrial rubber group, the line was expanded to include bulk transfer and hand-built hoses, v-belts, conveyor belting, rubber rolls and rubber bands. The company's products are sold worldwide. HBD Industries is headquartered in Dublin, OH, and has seven operations, including a facility in Elgin, SC. It employs about 200 people.

THE CHALLENGE
General Manager Dick McCombs and Renee Erickson, Lean Six Sigma project manager at HBD, previously participated in several lean manufacturing projects with the help of SCMEP Manufacturing Specialist Carolyn Lawrence and Central Carolina Technical College, including Lean 101 training and Value Stream Mapping. In September 2003, the company wanted to reduce batch sizes and increase sales by increasing product output on one press in the plant. To do this, Erickson put together a team of six people who spent four days participating in a Kaizen event.

THE SOLUTION
During the first day of the event, participants watched the employee in charge of the press as he changed molds. They listed each of his steps in the process and set a goal to reduce setup time on the machine. Next, the team worked on the press to make changes it deemed appropriate to improve setup and change times and on the fourth day implemented the new process.

THE IMPACT
The team was able to reduce setup time from 160 minutes to 25 minutes, surpassing its original goal. In the process, it discovered a new and safer method of removing molds from the press during changeover times that made it easier and less precarious for the machine operator to perform his job. The new process even allows the operator to change molds while they are still hot, further reducing setup time by eliminating the need for a three-hour cool down period prior to starting the changeover process. "Addressing these safety concerns was an added bonus resulting from the Kaizen event," said McCombs.

Through this Kaizen event, HBD Industries estimates it has saved approximately $1,800 per month in labor and increased production. In addition, improvements made on the press mold will be rolled out to other press molds and are expected to net similar results.