2. Founder/CEO Bob Duncan
American Leather was founded in 1990
Revolutionary idea: “ Custom leather furniture
could be made and shipped in three weeks or
less.”
“just-in-time” Manufacturing
From a small four person shop, the company has
grown into a thriving leader in the furniture
industry, with over 130 different collections sold
in over 650 stores
The factory, based just outside of Dallas, Texas
3. Redesign comfort sleeper upholstery/final
assembly workstation to make employee
more efficient.
Increase productivity by 10%
Factors to consider:
◦ material flow
◦ material handling
◦ work station location in relation to steps in
upholstery process.
4.
5. Manufactures Comfort Sleeper
Comfort Sleeper
◦ Couch with sleep system
◦ Can be converted into bed
Work Stations Involved:
◦ Sewing Upholstery
◦ Sub-Assembly Assembly
◦ Deluxing Packaging
6. Bed Type Version Bed Size Bed Height
Foam V3 KH LL
Plush/Premier V5 KS HL
Gel Sleeper QP
Temperpudic V6 QS
FS
TS
CS
7.
8. 24 Workstations
One worker per station
worker uses the
upholstery table to put
the leather and fabric
into the frame and then
staple it together
Cycle Time: 40 minutes
per order
9. 2 Sub Assembly Station
2 workers per station
Sub assembler puts the
frames and mattress
together to make a bed
Cycle Time: 11.72 minutes
10. 6 Final Assembly
One Assembler per Station
Assembler assembles
Frames from upholstery and
Bed from sub assembly
station
Cycle Time: 19.2 minutes
13. Walking Time and Distance
Lack of Sequencing
High WIP
14. 41 trips/ day (Sub-Assembler)
Time traveled by sub –
assembler = 1.03 min / trip
(42.23 min/day)
Distance traveled = 68.4m/trip
(2804.4 m/day)
25 trips/day (Assembler)
Time traveled by Assembler =
1.10 min/ trip (27.50 min/day)
Distance Traveled = 58.8m/trip
(1470 m/day)
15. Lack of Systematic
Ordering
Frames were
completed and are
placed in the conveyer
belt but the beds were
missing causing
assembler to work on
next WIP on conveyer
belt
16. There were a lot of
WIP in the moving
cart
Total space covered
by WIP is 2786.62
square ft.
17. Barcode System of Ordering using MS Excel
Replacement of the upholstery table with
modified transfer carts
18.
19. Version Bed Type Bed Size Bed Height Barcode
V6 Temp KS LL
V6 Gel TS HL
V3 Foam QS
Sleeper Foam FS
V5 Plush CS
20.
21.
22. Wheel Lock
• Replacement of the
regular wheels with lock
wheels
24. For Sub Assembler,
Total # of bed assembled = 41 beds per day
Total time saved = 41 * 1.03 = 42.23 min per day
Total time required for assembling the beds= 480 – 42.23 = 437.77 min
= 7.29 hrs. (instead of regular 8 hrs.)
Similarly for Final Assembler,
Total time required for assembling the beds = 480 – 27.5 = 452.5 min
= 7.54 hrs. (instead of regular 8 hrs.)
25. For Sub-Assembler, ( Wage/ hr. = $11)
Total expenditure for four employees in 8 hrs. = 4 * 8 * $11 = $352 per shift
Total expenditure for four employees in 7.29 hrs. = 4 * 7.29 * $11 = $320.76 per shift
Total amount saved = $352 - $320.76 = $31.24 per shift
= $62.48 per day
= $1374.56 per month
= $16,494.72 per year
Similarly for Assembler, ( Wage/ hr. = $11)
Total amount saved = $528 - $497.64 = $30.36 per shift
= $60.72 per day
= $1335.84 per month
= $16,030.08 per year
Total saving per year = $32,524.8
26. Cost of one wheel lock = $42
Total cost of wheel lock for 24 upholstery = $4,032
Total cost of the flat screen monitor = 2 * $500 = $1000
Total cost = $5,032
Calculated savings per year = $32,524.8
Total amount saved per month = $2,710
Payback Period = 2 months.
27. For Sub-Assembly,
After the solution, In 7.29 hrs. was needed to assemble 164 beds
Before the solution, In 7.29 hrs. total number of beds assembled =
7.29*164/8 = 150 beds
Therefore, extra number of beds = 164 – 150 = 14 beds
Hence, Productivity = 14/150*100=9.33%
Similarly For Assembler,
Productivity = 9/141*100= 6.4%
28. • COO of American Leather
• Manager
• Employee
Final Assembler
Sub Assembler
Upholstery employee
Material handler
33. ECONOMIC
• Amount saved = $32,524.8 per year
• Save Expenditure
ENVIRONMENTAL
• Trash can recommended
• Spare parts Handling
SOCIAL
• Role of workers and the managers
POLITICAL
• Convenient management
34. ETHICAL
• As an engineer, we are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and
integrity. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that
requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.
• Contract with American Leather.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Health factors were considered
MANUFACTURABILITY
• Engineers helps to manufacture more products.
• Increase in productivity
SUSTAINABILITY
• Will help American Leather to compete with others in future
35. Course Title Knowledge and skills acquired that were used in this project
IE 1105 Introduction to Industrial Engineering Lab PowerPoint presentation and deliver an oral report.
IE 2305 Computer Applications in Industrial Engineering Lab Programming in Excel and prepare the bar code.
IE 3301
IE 3314
Engineering Probability
Engineering Research Methods
EXCEL for performing descriptive statistics
IE 3312 Economics for Engineers Payback period, Financial summary.
IE 3315 Operations Research I Networking Problems, Shortest Path
IE 3343 Metrics and Measurement Time study , Work Design
IE 4303 Production and Inventory Control Work In Progress (WIP), Productivity, Cycle time (CT), Just in time (JIT)
IE 4308 Statistical Quality Control Process diagnosis, capability and improvement of the system.
IE 4343 Facilities Planning and Design Analyze flow, space, and activity relationships with impact to material handling and design layout
alternatives
IE 4344 Human Factors Engineering Measure and understand human capacities for work, table design and physical movements
IE 4350 Industrial Engineering Capstone Design Design Project , Professional ethical responsibility and contemporary issues
36. Initial investment was $5,032 and the payback
period is 2 months.
Total area saved is 2786.62 square ft.
The total amount of money saved is $32,524.8 per
year
Total time saved by a worker is 42.23 min per day
in the sub – assembly section while in the final
assembly section is 27.5 min per day.
37. UTA faculty members
American Leather
Mentor and Instructor
Dr. K.J Rogers
