Kormac Insights
Foundry Maintenance
Kormac helped a foundry maintenance operation establish critical KPIs and a sustainable maintenance system
A leading supplier of metal components to the mining industry was struggling with manufacturing variability in its foundries. The president turned to Kormac for help in improving operational stability and predictability, including maintenance, operations management, and employee training and retention.
Our initial foundry analysis revealed an understaffed and undermanaged maintenance organization. Incomplete backlog management, planning and scheduling, and KPIs fed a reactive cycle of daily work. High employee turnover and inadequate training contributed to 20+% overtime. Roughly 40% of finishing-process scrap was attributable to skill gaps and deviation from established work instructions.
To address these interdependent opportunities, we:
• Established critical KPIs (overtime, average net tons, hours per ton, etc.) to measure and manage performance trends
• Developed a sustainable maintenance system and Daily Operating Report for front-line supervisors and managers, providing visibility into preventive maintenance attainment and productivity
• Enhanced data collection and analysis to improve preventive maintenance activities and minimize breakdowns
• Reduced downtime and scrutinized work that exceeded defined thresholds and tolerances
• Developed workforce metrics to improve staffing predictability
• Created Skills Flexibility Charts by area to identify individual and group cross-training opportunities
• Prepared organization for new Learning Management System
Together, we measured how time was spent, improved preventive maintenance time, and developed robust scheduling processes and reporting. We ultimately built a system and approach to manage all maintenance activities and hold the maintenance team accountable for results.