Production Planning & CNC Optimisation.
The Friction
A structural steel fabricator suffered from severe shop-floor bottlenecks, causing unpredictable project delivery and suppressed CNC machine yields. Production planners were forced to rely on theoretical guesswork rather than actual machine cycle times. Furthermore, heavy steel sections were being double-handled due to disconnected routing between cutting, drilling, and welding stations, creating massive hidden labour costs.
The 3A Application
Time & Motion Baselining: Conducted granular, physical observations of machine cycle times and material handling to capture the absolute reality of shop-floor constraints.
Planning Standardisation: Translated raw observational data into accurate production standards, enabling planners to build schedules based on measured capacities rather than theory.
CNC Integration Support: Provided the critical operational baselines and strategic oversight required to successfully connect cutting and drilling lines to the central planning software.
Workflow Mapping: Mapped new physical routing workflows to feed raw steel directly to the correct CNC station, eradicating unnecessary crane and forklift movements.
The Growth
Maximised Machine Yield: Drastically increased the tonnage processed per shift by ensuring CNC lines were continuously fed with optimised, data-backed production programmes.
Precision Production Planning: Replaced theoretical guesswork with absolute operational certainty, empowering management to commit to aggressive client delivery dates without risking bottlenecks.
Slashed Handling Costs: Minimised the physical double-handling of raw materials, stripping unnecessary labour and equipment overheads directly out of the production cycle.
