Regent Caravans
Lean Manufacturing Consulting Services | Regent Caravans Case
Regent Caravans' journey to enhanced efficiency highlights the transformative power of lean manufacturing consulting services. To tackle production bottlenecks and outdated workflows, the company contacted OE Partners for optimising their operations. We used a strategic lean factory layout and process improvements for them. This helped Regent Caravans not only reduced inefficiencies but also unlocked a 10-15% production increase—all with the existing workforce.
The business challenge
Regent Caravans, a familiar sight on Australia’s roads, have been manufactured in northern Melbourne for 25 years. Regent Caravans produces two ranges: the fully-manufactured Regent brand and the Snowy River caravans, delivered 80% complete from China. Due to growing demand, Regent Caravans’ Director decided to relocate from a 4,500 sq metre factory to 10,000 sq metre premises. The company called in OE Partners to create a Lean layout. The goal was to maximise the utilisation of space. It aimed to reduce double and triple handling of stock. Additionally, it sought to cut wasted movement of staff and materials on the two production lines.
The approach
OE Partners drew on years of experience in lean manufacturing consulting services and identified opportunities to improve productivity. These improvements aimed to free up production capacity and meet the increased demand for Regent products. The overall efficiency of the business also needed to improve to lay new foundations for growth. The project approach involved Value Stream Mapping (VSM) of current processes and Value Stream Design (VSD) to improve production flows for Regent and Snowy River, along with a Lean layout for the new premises.
The results
Regent hadn’t fully settled into their new premises yet. However, Andy He noted that the new Lean layout was already meeting the company’s growth needs. OE Partners developed this layout as part of our lean manufacturing consulting services. The common warehouse system for the two production lines made new parts ordering and stock control much easier. Staff were much happier with the warehouse system because it resolved previous issues with stock transfer and stock picking. Improved productivity would lead to reduced labour hours, and Andy believed the new plant could deliver a 10–15% production increase with current staff levels.
Our Lean Manufacturing Consulting Services enable 10 - 15% production
Increase with existing head count
A move to a large new factory presents the perfect opportunity to abandon a legacy of inefficient work practices, production bottlenecks and problems with warehouse systems.
So when Regent Caravans signed a lease on new premises that were nearly double the size of its existing factory, it called in OE Partners to design a new Lean layout that would:
- Deliver best utilisation of space and maximise productivity per square metre through a Lean analysis, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) of current processes and new Value Stream Design (VSD).
- Create a common warehouse system for two production lines.
- Optimise material storage, with locations based on high, medium and slow moving items.
- Minimise movement of staff and materials.
- Reduce double and triple handling of stock and product.
“Regent Caravans had already signed the lease on the new premises, so we had to work within the existing framework of the factory,” says OE Partners. “But we were successful in addressing all the concerns we had regarding a process flow that would facilitate the future growth of the business.”
“A caravan is quite a large item to move through a production facility. The major constraint was the shape of the building and how we could accommodate the two existing production facilities with a common warehouse system, and ensure the process lines were flexible enough to allow for future growth.”
Other key issues included minimising the movement of materials into the factory, then minimising movement across to each production line.
92 improvement opportunities identified
The VSM identified 92 improvement opportunities and revealed that an unordered production sequence caused excessive material and staff movement in the old factory.
OE partners utilised a U-cell flow from the start of floor assembly to final finish, ensuring that processes were broken out through the factory to prevent the previous bottlenecks.
“The team members were willing to support this major change, which demonstrated a strong culture of involvement,” OE Partners says.
In the former factory, materials travelled about 100 meters as they moved from cutting to assembly and finishing processes. With the expertise provided through lean manufacturing consulting services, this distance has been more than halved in the new factory.
The larger factory presented the opportunity to structure materials in a well-organised warehouse. So that it included new racking, trolleys, and adequate space to move materials efficiently to production lines
The team introduced location labels and minimum/maximum indicators for materials to speed up stock selection and streamline stocktaking while avoiding under or over-supply. Designated locations and storage for tools and equipment were identified, reducing the amount of space required and time spent searching for items.
Overall, the new VSD:
- Rebalanced processes to utilise excess capacity and eliminate bottlenecks
- Determined the correct levels of raw materials and WIP inventory
- Established a base line for lead time and to measure improvement
- Made all operational processes visible and known at a glance.
Client Reviews:
“Processes were rebalanced to meet Takt time (the rate at which a finished product needs to be completed in order to meet customer demand), resulting in an increased capacity to produce more caravans without increasing the headcount,” OE Partners says.
Once the factory move was completed and all stations in place, Andy He and his team took over the project.
“The bigger space and Lean layout, developed with the help of lean manufacturing consulting services, certainly allows for potential growth of around 10 to 15% with our existing staff,” Andy says. “The common warehouse system is much better and makes stock control and ordering new parts easier. The staff love it, and there are fewer issues regarding stock transfer and stock picking.
“We were very happy with OE Partners and the outcomes so far, and will work with them again in early next year on Lean manufacturing.”
What Our Client Had To Say About Our Lean Manufacturing Consulting Services
“We were very happy with the lean manufacturing consulting services provided OE Partners. We will defintely work with them again in early next year on Lean manufacturing. The Lean factory layout allows for growth of 10 to 15% with our existing headcount. Our staff supported the major changes to production lines and they love the efficiency of the new common warehouse system.”
Andy He, Director, Regent Caravans.