Reducing an Indonesian Auto Part Production Cycle Time using the PDCA Approach: A Case Study

Constituting the biggest challenge in any manufacturing company’s product delivery, operational excellence can be accomplished by obtaining the best Quality, Cost, and Delivery (QCD). The delivery parameter has been an issue for the ABC Company, an Indonesian auto part manufacturer, having automotive manufacturers as customers, since its cycle time has been found to be lower than its takt time. This could jeopardize the company’s status in that it could degrade its customer service level. Thus, the company immediately initiated a quality control circle, especially when it was revealed that its production cycle time in Core Assy Line 3 was 49 s more than its targeted 41.7 s takt time. The team was then committed to reducing it to 39.2 s, accounting for a 20% reduction. A method named 8 steps and 7 tools was deployed under the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach to solve the specific problem. This method guided the team to find five root causes of the problem, while five solutions were equivalently provided. As a result, the achieved cycle time reduction was from 49 to 38.9 s, that is, a 21% decrease, capable of securing the company’s relationship with its customers and granting an order increase.