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Success Stories

MEDICAL

Results:	Improved productivity by 20% Shortened production time Payback of initial investment was realized in 3.5 months
Business Goal:	Increase Profit
Business Driver:	Increase Productivity
Challenges:	A high-speed medical device manufacturer was facing significant worker overload, which in turn was causing production schedules to slip on several projects. This company also experienced numerous delays in generating accurate process sheets, inspection sheets, and other documents being released and revised to support manufacturing. Finally, the company wanted to eliminate the redundant work due to inefficient communication between various facilities.

Overview:

To enhance efficiencies and improve current processes and infrastructure this company enlisted Accuer to help with user support and mentoring. After implementing several Accuer solutions unique to the needs of this company, they were able to complete more projects—often times ahead of schedule. This directly increased both their profit and revenue. “I've been able to complete a number of projects that were moving at a snails pace and taking months to complete in a much more timely manner.” Randy Claypoole, EDP/PDM Manager This company also realized the value of the one-on-one approach Accuer takes with all its customers. “Because Accuer took the time up front to work with me directly to discuss the many issues we were facing, it saved me a tremendous amount of time on the back end. I had Accuer to help me find the right answer – I didn’t have to do it all on my own.” James Baros, Manufacturing Engineer Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

CONSUMER PRODUCTS  (Viking Range Corporation)

Results:	Less than 30 days to implement the environment & infrastructure solution Payback period = 3.5 months Increase in productivity = 25% Labor Hours reduced = 1,430.5
Business Goal:	Increase Revenue
Business Driver:	Decrease Time to Market
Challenges:	Process standardization, process measurement & improvement, and increased communication throughout the enterprise.

Overview:

Viking recognized that before they start improving their processes they needed to optimize other facets of their business. People, processes, and tools need to be investigated to determine the impact on the enterprise. The improvement of the infrastructure and environment were the first tasks that needed attention. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Results:	Greater than $3.75 million in “hard cost” reduction 75% Reduction in part inventory 85% Reduction in part vendors / suppliers 18% Increase in average volume purchase orders Less than 90 days to implement solution Payback period = 2.25 months
Business Goal:	Increase Profit
Business Driver:	Decrease Costs
Challenges:	This Company was crippled by the cost associated with managing their parts. Thousands of duplicate parts were found in the standard library directory and parts inventory. The inconsistent modeling practices of creating and editing standard parts were unable to be used across the enterprise. An excessive number of part vendors drove the cost of part purchase orders to an all time high.

Overview:

Accuer was hired to clean up the library parts directory associated with their USA operations. Accuer began by reviewing all the parts in the standard library. We evaluated the design intent, part standards, parameters, procedures for editing existing parts and the creation of new parts. New standards and procedures were established in order to: reduce the number of library parts, reduce the number of part vendors, increase the volume purchase order discounts, and create parts that can be interchangeable throughout their worldwide operations. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

Results:	30% Reduction in the design cycle 75% Reduction in interferences
Business Goal:	Increase Revenue
Business Driver:	Decrease Time to Market
Challenges:	Competitors consistently were releasing products before this company, which resulted in many problems: decreased market share, product re-design, and the lack of market leadership status among consumers. Interferences were a common occurrence in the production phase and the lack of accurate communication throughout the enterprise continued to contribute to delays in the production release schedule.

Overview:

This sporting equipment manufacturer hired Accuer to reduce their design cycle so they could develop entirely new products in less than 12 months. Accuer performed a process audit of their last project. Recommendations were made that included engineering infrastructure, training, CAD process and collaboration. These changes were implemented concurrently with an existing project, which resulted in a 30% decrease in the design cycle. Further improvements are expected on the next project. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

Results:	5:1 productivity gain Reduced time to market 2-5 years (5 year reduction) Entry into new markets increased revenue by 25% Departments outside of engineering received accurate and up-to-date documentation Used an advanced planning group from early concept through design of production processes
Business Goal:	Increase Revenue
Business Driver:	Decrease Time to Market
Challenges:	New conceptual products took 7-10 years to bring to the market. Departments outside of engineering were not getting the most up-to-date documentations (BOM, part drawings, assembly drawings, etc.). Lack of communication throughout the enterprise was not only delaying product release but also driving up costs late in the product development process. Interferences were common among sub-assemblies.

Overview:

A heavy equipment company was unable to bring products to market faster as a result of numerous delays in the product development process. Accuer evaluated the entire product development process. Engineering was the first department that was evaluated followed by other departments that received information from engineering. Accuer was assisted by the company in order to quantify the existing cost of doing business, which helped in prioritizing the most costly challenges. Once those challenges were quantified and prioritized an action plan was developed. The plan outlined changes to existing processes, optimizing the use of existing tools, personnel training, and new standards / procedures. Both the company and Accuer had active roles in measuring the improvements throughout the product development process. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

Results:	75% Reduction in warranty induced ECO’s 90% Reduction in product assembly time
Business Goal:	Increase Revenue
Business Driver:	Increase Quality
Challenges:	Warranty claims was the source of many challenges such as: product return costs, increase in field service expenses, and a decrease in brand loyalty, which contributed to a significant decrease in revenue. This company wanted to reduce warranty induced ECO’s by 75% and decrease the assembly time for their product by 50%.

Overview:

The first order of business was to identify all the costs of the challenges that were plaguing this industrial equipment company. Once the challenges were quantified, they were prioritized into two categories: financial impact and time to implement a solution. This information was important in developing and implementing a plan that would have speedy results. Engineers from Accuer developed 11 recommended changes. The customer approved all these recommendations. The new product assembly time was reduced by 90%, which was almost double their original goal. Warranty ECO's were reduced by 100% to zero. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

Results:	$300,000 savings for modifications for each vehicle 98% reduction in interferences
Business Goal:	Increase Profit
Business Driver:	Reduce Cost
Challenges:	Time and cost of prototypes were severely impacting their production release schedule. The primary problems were related to the costly mock-ups that were necessary for routing cables and checking for interferences.

Overview:

Accuer recognized the need to identify alternative methods and processes to reduce the costly delays. Together a plan was created to eliminate such challenges in order to accomplish the company goal. Employee training and better use of their CAD tools assisted in reducing the problem. New tools were recommended and implemented to allow the company to more accurately project their production schedule and visualize their assembly without the expense of multiple mock-ups. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top

Results:	Increased efficiencies Automation of non-value activities New contract awards due to innovation and cost
Business Goal:	Increase Profit
Business Driver:	Increase Productivity
Challenges:	Engineers were spending 50% of their time on non-value activities. Too much time was spent on creating drawings and there was little time available to spend on product innovation.

Overview:

An aerospace company was trying to decrease engineering costs by reducing the number of hours required to complete a project. At the same time it was critical to keep innovation high as that was a factor in winning proposals. To enhance efficiencies and improve current processes and infrastructure this company enlisted Accuer to help with environment and infrastructure. After Accuer developed a highly customized and automated infrastructure for a new CAD tool, the first program to use it recorded a lower hours-per-drawing rate than programs that had been using the existing tools for years. In other words, the cost of the learning curve was completely avoided and the desired efficiencies were realized immediately. The end result was that the program came in under budget and also won their proposal. Contact us to learn more about our solutions Back to top