1. Caleb Fluker, Adam Lu, Heidi Keller, Nathan Green
Senior Design
2015-2016

2. Company History:
Neptune Technology Group
Incorporated started in 1892
when they created their first
water meter the Trident. Since
then they have created a
customer base throughout all of
North America with over 2.5
millions active water meters and
a plant in Canada, Mexico, and
Tallassee, Alabama.
Products:
Neptune creates accurate,
lead-free water meters that
are used by utility
companies to determine the
amount of water a customer
uses.
Market Shares:
Neptune is owned by its parent
company Roper Technologies.
On the NYSE Roper (ROP)
currently has a stock of $194.83
Sales:
Annually Neptune sells 2.2
million water meters, exact
dollar amounts are
unavailable currently.
Project Contact Information
Introduction

3. All of the plastic,
copper and circuitry
needed to create the
registers
Assembly of R6 and R7
registers for water
meters
Completely
assembled R6 and
R7 registers for
water meters
Scope
● Improve ergonomic well-
being of the employees in
Department 61 while
maintaining productivity and
number of workers
● Reduce twisting motions,
extended periods in
sedentary positions, and
materials handling
● Create job rotation schedule
and cross training program
● Create microbreak stations
for hourly stretches
Business Case
Neptune sells 2.2 million water meters per
year. There is a low turnover rate, which
allows the company to produce at a more
constant rate since little time is spent on
training new employees. Improving these
ergonomic concerns will allow Neptune to
maintain continuity in their workforce as well
as increase their ability to produce the water
meters. The improvements will prevent the
need for employee time off work due to
injuries such as wrist strains, carpal-tunnel
syndrome, etc. Also, because there will be
less time taken off because of ergonomic
issues, it will allow more time to implement a
cross training program which would create
even greater improvements in the ability to
rotate jobs.
Problem Statement
The current assembly process of Department
61 includes many ergonomic issues.
● The setup of the materials requires a lot
of twisting motions and the setup of the
process requires lengthy periods of
static positions, which can be harmful
to certain muscles and joints
● The material handler is tasked with
lifting, transporting, and placing large
containers as needed by the assembly
line workers. Since he is the only
material handler, this can be a heavy
load on him, both figuratively and
literally.
● A cross-training program must allow for
a job rotation that does not defy this
hierarchy.
Neptune Technology
creates all of their
necessary parts in
the factory
Neptune’s
Departments 48 and
58 for installation
onto the water
meters
InputSupplier Process CustomersOutputs
Goal Statement
Improve the ergonomics of
Department 61 by implementing the
following:
● A job rotation schedule is
implemented that allows
employees to rotate every
two hours
● A plan is developed to cross
train employees on different
stations
● Declutter the department
● At least once an hour the
employees take a short
stretch break
● The material handler is lifting
fewer heavy loads.
D M A I C
Define
SIPOC
Analysis

4. Line Workers
● 12 stations on line
● Hand Activity Level
○ Measures force and
speed of hand motions
○ Subjective because of
variations in workers
● Time Study
○ Measure repetition in a
specific period of time
Material Handler
● Liberty Mutual Snook Tables
○ Gives a
recommendation for
maximum lift weight
○ Account for several
different lifts
● Took measurements of
height, wingspan, bins
weight, height of hopper
D M A I C
Measure
The next step in the DMAIC process
is the Analyze Phase. In the Analyze
Phase we will need to look at all the
information to find the best layout for
the job rotation and training method.
We will also complete all of the Snook
calculations to determine what jobs
the material handler completes are
the highest risk and how to mitigate
that risk.
At each station the team asked the
workers what hurt them at the station
they were working at the time. Although
not exactly measurable, it gives us an
indication of what could be improved at
each station. We also discovered that in
2015 there was only one ergonomic injury
in the department, and it was for Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome. According to OSHA
the average direct cost for CTS is
$30,000 per case.
Next StepsOther Data Gathered

5. D M A I CAnalyze
In the Analyze Phase, the goal is to
use the data we collected in the
Measure Phase to narrow down the
potential causes of our issues in
Department 61 until we are able to
determine the root cause(s) of these
issues. This was done using various
charts, graphs, diagrams, and
analyses.
Our next step is the Improve
Phase. In this phase, we will
develop a standard job rotation,
a system of communication,
and redesign certain aspects of
the material handler’s
workspace.
The TLV chart depicts the jobs that are
above the Action Limit and Threshold
Limit Values.
Next Steps
Worker experiencing
ergonomic issues
Root Causes Ergonomic Improvement Initiatives
Line Workers • Lack of communication
• No standard job rotation
• No micro-breaks
• Create standard job rotations and
micro-breaks
• Improve communication between
management and workers
Material Handler • Lifting large bins
• Unnecessary motion
• Organize the workplace (5S)
• Suggest smaller bins and/or lighter
loads
• Decreasing the lift distance
Summary

6. D M A I CImprove
In the Improve Phase, we
● calculated an optimal job
rotation that will keep each
worker’s average HAL exposure
below the Action Limit
● simplified the Material Handler’s
lift by approximately 50% to
mitigate the risk of MSDs
● implemented 5S to mitigate the
risk of an acute injury
Our next step is the Control
Phase. In the Control Phase, we
will help the practices become
standard. Also, we will document
lessons learned and determine
what could be done differently
next time.
Next Steps
Summary
Issue Improvement Cost Benefit
Assembly Line • Job rotation
• Better communication
system
• Can initially only be done
during times of low
demand
• Virtually no direct cost
• Lower likelihood for
MSDs
• Greater knowledge of
the system by all
employees
Material
Handler
• Pallet jack to decrease
lift distance
• Alternate styrofoam
packaging
• $300 for a pallet jack
• No direct cost for
switching styrofoam
packaging
• Improves back lift by
approximately 50%
• Eliminates unnecessary
twisting of the wrists.

7. D M A I CControl
● Standard Operating Procedures
were created for the job rotation
and communication between
management and workers
● Future plans modeled for the
department
● Defined economic, social, and
ethical ramifications of our
project.
We will submit all of our work to
Neptune for approval. If they
approve the changes we will be
available to provide advice and
our lessons learned.
Next Steps
Summary
● Communication of issues
between management and line
workers is a key component of
resolving issues.
● Standards are only effective if
they are implemented correctly
and enforced.
● New employees should learn
whole system before joining line
so they don’t have to learn new
jobs on the job
Lessons Learned