Materials Management System
Case Study
Our team designed and developed an easy-to-use Materials Management System experience that displayed accurate and up-to-date information on all material quantities, expiration dates, and their locations. Tracking materials and notifying when they expire, allowing for quick inventory changes to be made in the system.
To solve Collins Aerospace’s problem, our team set out to discover what frustrations their technicians were experiencing on the assembly floor. After meeting with the client, we identified their pain points, such as wanting a system that was reliable and intuitive, and that didn’t involve double-checking data.
The Challenge
Collins Aerospace approached us after they experienced a failed AS9100 audit due to having expired materials on the assembly floor. The client had grown significantly over the past year and their existing Materials Management process was no longer sustainable for their current workload. Upon our review, their process relied heavily on a single person manually tracking all materials with an expiration date.
Passed Audit
1
The resulting system must comply with AS9100 requirements.
Intuitive Process
2
Technicians are able to follow the process with minimal training.
Zero Waste
3
The system achieves its goals with the least amount of technician effort and time.
0
Failed Quality Audits
1
Modernized Materials Management System
Design
CyberMedics designed a Materials Management System to augment the current inventory management system, allowing accurate tracking of materials and expiration dates.
In order to learn about Collins' existing process failures, we facilitated an in-person process improvement kaizen event. As a group, we created goals for the new system based on the existing system's weak points:
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Reliance on one person to log material expirations
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Lack of a formal material tracking process
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Pen & paper-based record keeping
Develop
CyberMedics developed a date of expiration system that automatically tracks specific material locations and notifies of upcoming expiring dates.
Having completed the design phase, we were able to focus development on the features that would provide the most value to the customer. The system we developed included:
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Auto-escalating notifications for upcoming expirations
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Easy-to-use digital material location tracking
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Seamless integration into existing inventory system
deliver
CyberMedics worked closely with the end users to ensure the system startup was as smooth as possible.
The system was deployed using a progressive method to guarantee no data was lost and operations continued smoothly. We worked closely with Collins' technicians to ensure they understood the new process and how to use the system. Once everyone was confident the system was working as expected, we were ready to analyze its impact.
Impact
Working with Collins, we standardized their management processes so no expired materials would end up on the assembly floor.
After a few weeks, we were able to analyze how material moves through the system and developed reports to help management identify process failures. Overall, the biggest impact of the new system is that responsibility for the organization's quality compliance is now spread amongst the entire organization instead of relying on only one person.
The client is a Fortune 500 company operating as one of the world's largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products. They serve commercial and business aviation companies, military and defense sectors, and airports.
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