The document discusses productivity improvements made at the Noble Fire plant over a two week period in October 2012. Key points: - Productivity was increased by 15% without new equipment, raising output from 2,189 to 2,317 units per week. A new sprinkler outlet design reduced safety field repairs by 95%. - The biggest gains were seen on the NOGEO machine, where output rose by over 40% (from 17 to 24 units per hour), saving an estimated $175,000 per year. Cycle times on this machine were reduced from 2:36 to under 2 minutes. - Labor costs per unit were reduced by $1.48 within the first month, and additional savings of $230,

1. NOBLE FIRE PRODUCTIVITY
IMPROVEMENTS & SAVINGS
by Julian Kalac P.Eng
November 12, 2012

2. Capacity Issues & Report
• On October 6, 2012 –asked to assess Noble Fire
production capacity & make recommendations for
improvement
• October 9th I prepared a formal Engineering report
on Production Capacity
• October 19th was asked to implement the needed
improvements

3. Noble Fire Productivity Improvements
Within 2 weeks (Oct. 16 to Nov 2, 2012)
• increase productivity by 15% w/o new equipment
(from 2,189 to 2,317 outlets/Week)
• completed DVP&R and Approval new SPRINKLER
OUTLETS for a pilot run build of 1000pcs
• New ANSI Outlets reduced Safety Field repairs by 95%
• The biggest improvement has been seen on the
NOGEO machine over 40% (17-24/hr)== $175K/Year
• We have reduced the NOGEO m/c cycle time from 2:36
to <2 min/outlet (by implementing a M/C PM

4. Labour Cost/Outlet
• The plant is working OT 55hrs/week to
maintain the customer deliveries
• Since Oct 19 we have Reduced Labor Cost by
$1.48/Outlet in less than 1 month
• Developed a capacity plan that will save
$230K/Year in Plant OVERTIME COSTS within
3-4 months
• Total labour savings= $230,000/Year

5. 2012 Noble Fire Production Capacity per month
$481.00
$364.00
$598.00
$483.00
$482.00
$686.00
$579.00
$448.00
$579.00
$522.00
$625.00
$550.00
$800.00
$700.00
$600.00
$500.00
$400.00
$300.00
$200.00
$100.00
$-
2012 Avg= $534K
When I started to help
Jan Feb March April May June July August Sept Oct Nov Dec

6. OUTLETS/HR AND LABOUR COST
M/C Outlets
Producti
on Hrs
3 DAYS USING NEW OUTLETS
DT Hrs PPMH % DT
LAB COST
@40HR
OT COST
TOTAL
LABOUR
COST
LABOUR
COST/OUTLET
WB #1 748 54 10 13.9 18.5% $ 1,600.00 $ 840.00 $ 2,440.00 $ 3.26
WB #2 517 54 9.5 9.6 19.0% $ 1,600.00 $ 600.00 $ 2,200.00 $ 4.26
NOGEO M/C 1052 54 7 19.48 24.1%
$ 1,600.00 $ 840.00 $ 2,440.00 $ 2.32
TOTAL PRODUCTION 2317 158 32.5 14.3 20.6% $ 9.82
% NOGEO Production 45.4%
M/C Outlets
Producti
on Hrs
DT Hrs PPMH % DT
WB #1 589 32.25 10 18.26 31.0%
WB #2 357 32.25 9.5 11.07 29.5%
NOGEO M/C 789 32.25 4 24.47 12.4%
TOTAL PRODUCTION 1735 96.75 23.5 17.9 20.6%
% NOGEO Production 45.5%
3 Days Only
Oct 29 - Nov 2 Production (5 days)
MON-WED WITH NEW OUTLETS

7. $250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$-
OCTOBER ACTUAL CAPACITY BY WEEK
Max Sales Capacity ACTUAL SALES PRODUCTION
~20% Increase in sales (new outlets)
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Week

8. CYPRESS AUTOMTED BURN & WELD
FUTURE LABOUR COSTS WITH AUTOMATED CYPRESS CW-5 & CBP-1 BURNER
Min Oulets/Hr Labour Cost/Outlet Outlets/8Hr Day Outlet/40Hr week Outlets/month OUTLETS/YEAR
50 $ 0.80 400 2000 8000 96000
WITH OT@ 60 Hrs/week
Max Outlets/Hr AVG LAB COST Max Outlets/Day Max Outlets/Week Max Outlets/Month Max Outlets/Year (9000 Lab Hrs)
41 $ 3.89 440.8 2203.8 8815 105780
NEW TOTAL CAPACITY
OUTLETS/HR NEW LABOUR COST @$120/HR OUTLETS/8HR DAY Outlet/40Hr week Outlets/month OUTLETS/YEAR
91 $ 1.32 728 3640 14560 174,720.0
Min Sales @
$600K/month
Max sales @
$1Mil/Month
% Increased Productivity
ANNUAL SAVINGS Min OUTLETS/YEAR Max OUTLETS/YEAR 91%
90000 150000
CURRENT Avg Labour
Cost/Outlet $ 3.89 CURRENT COST $ 350,528.30 $ 584,213.84
FUTURE COST/OUTLET $ 1.32 FUTURE COST $ 118,681.32 $ 197,802.20
SAVINGS/OUTLET= $ 2.58
DIRECT LABOUR
SAVINGS $ 231,846.98 $ 386,411.64
$ 231,847
MIN LABOUR SAVINGS/YEAR =

9. NOGEO CYCLE TIME IMPROVEMENTS
OLD OUTLETS NEW OUTLETS
CYCLE TIME (Min) CYCLE TIME (Min)
1 OUTLET 2.76 2
Outlets/Hr 21.739 30
Outlets/8 Hrs 173.9 240.0
Outlets/Week 870 1200
Outlets/Month 3478 4800
Outlets/Year 41739 57600
15861
Labour rate $ 40.0 $ 40.0
Normal Labour cost/Outlet $ 1.84 $ 1.33
Labour rate $ 60.00 $ 60.00
OT Labour Cost $ 2.76 $ 2.00
$ 21,147.83
0.95
$ 22,260.87
Improvement in Outlets/Year =
MIN DIRECT LABOUR SAVINGS YTD=
NEW OUTLET $0.05 LESS THAN OLD ONE
MIN YTD SAVINGS WITH NEW OUTLETS=

10. Total Outlets Produced by Week
Started to use new Outlets
Oct 8-12 Oct 15-26 Oct 29-Nov 2
2350
2300
2250
2200
2150
2100
2050
Outlets
Total Outlets 2181 2149 2317

11. Avg Outlets per Hr
13
With new Outlets
13.6
15.2
Oct 8-12 Oct 15-26 Oct 29-Nov 2

12. % Downtime by M/C
% Donwtime,
24.1%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
WB #1 WB #2 NOGEO M/C
Axis Title
% Donwtime

13. Recommendations next step
• Fix/replace the chuck drive stalling issue to
reduce the cycle time from 2 min to < 1.5 min
• Rebuild/Replace the weld unit
• Fix the magnet issue
• Replace all worn air cylinders
• Develop a spare parts list of most critical items
• Schedule 1-2hrs/week for regular machine
maintenance and inspect/replace worn parts

14. Questions?