Bogie Overhaul Process Improvement

• £394,000 annual savings through process improvements and average hours reduction
• £191,000 recovery in previously unclaimed customer billable hours
• £69,000 annual savings in repair costs by reducing reliance on new components
• £5,000 savings improving parts presentation to production
• Three of seven active projects restored to planned delivery within initial weeks
• Client agreed ROI of 7:1

The bogie overhaul area faced multiple interconnected challenges that were preventing the facility from meeting contracted delivery schedules. The physical layout required excessive walking distances to perform routine tasks, and equipment maintenance requirements were disrupting production flow. Materials supplied from stores were frequently incorrect, causing delays and rework.

Production hours were not being captured properly, with work completed but not recorded in the system. This meant the business was performing work but failing to bill customers for it. Additionally, arising work discovered during overhaul activities was not being systematically documented and charged.

The planning team and site sales, inventory and operations planning (SIOP) process lacked visibility of the real resource requirements and material needs, making forward planning difficult. Visual management in the area was limited, so it was not immediately clear which bogies were affected by material shortages or other constraints.

The primary objective was to restore production output to meet contracted sales demand. This required addressing the root causes of inefficiency in the process, recovering lost billable hours and creating sustainable systems to prevent future performance degradation. The business needed to improve internal communication across the supply chain to resolve material availability issues more quickly.

Develop Consulting began by working closely with the planning team and site SIOP to improve the forward planning of resources and materials. The team analysed the delta in unclaimed hours, identifying where work was being performed but not captured in the system. Billing processes were corrected to ensure all work and materials were being properly charged to customers.

The organisation of kitting trolleys was improved and the bill of materials reviewed with planners to resolve discrepancies. Two-bin inventory levels were reviewed based on frequency of use, correcting stock levels and eliminating materials without demand. The layout was reconfigured to improve flow of work and materials, reducing walking distances and improving efficiency.

Visual management was introduced to highlight bogies affected by material shortages. Performance management boards were developed, establishing relevant KPIs, material tracking and daily monitoring of hours used versus hours outstanding. Regular reviews were conducted with a cross-section of leaders from across the supply chain to improve internal communications and highlight materials requiring expediting or escalation.

Diving deeper into the sub-assembly area, the team identified that three significant sources of waste stemmed from machines not being connected to water supplies. This resulted in operators having to manually fill machines daily using 25-gallon drums and excessive walking between work areas. Resolving this fundamental issue, along with improving tooling availability, delivered significant efficiency gains that enabled production to achieve takt time for both main value streams.