Erpec News

Key account Manager David Casanova and
Market Development Manager Javier Díaz,
were our primary meeting partners for the
day. after a quick briefing in the boardroom
we were quickly moved on to meet with the
Quality Manager Álvaro Vilar and the lean
Support Manager Javier Correa, who would
take us on to the factory floor and guide us
step by step, through their manufacturing
procedures. as mentioned earlier in this
article, Istobal’s production line is based on
the lean manufacturing system, fashioned
and styled originally by Japanese car manufacturer
Toyota, the principles of which are
used throughout the world today by some of
the largest manufacturers in the world. The
lean manufacturing system is also known
as lean Production – ‘Doing more for less’,
driven by five key areas of manufacturing.
Cost, quality, delivery, safety and staff morale.
Underpinning this, as Álvaro and Javier
explained are seven key principles.
Reduced Setup Times: all setup practices
are deemed to be wasteful as they add no
value and tie up labour, so by organising
things differently, workers are trained to do
their own setups. Small-Lot Production:
Producing things in large batches results
in high-speed dedicated machinery costs,
extended lead times and larger defect costs.
Employee Involvement and Empowerment:
Organise workers in teams with a team
leader and give them each the responsibility
and training to do many specialised tasks.
Teams should be given responsibility for
housekeeping and minor equipment repair.
Quality at the Source: Since workers are
in the best position to discover a defect and
to immediately fix it, they are assigned this
responsibility. If a defect cannot be readily
fixed, any worker can halt the entire line by
pulling a cord called a Jidoka. Equipment
Maintenance: assign operators primary
responsibility for basic maintenance, since
they are in the best position to defect signs of
malfunctions. Pull Production and Justin-time:
The quantity of work performed at
each stage of the process is dictated solely by
demand for materials from the immediate next
stage. Supplier Involvement: Suppliers are
partners and an integral element of the lean
manufacturing. Suppliers are trained in ways
to reduce setup times, inventories; defects,
machine breakdowns etc., and take responsibility
to deliver their best possible parts.
For someone like me who had only ever made
something you might sit on, the whole process
as explained to us was truly fascinating.
It was no surprise that we started our tour
where each factory worker starts every morning,
at one of the 20 group meeting points
or GaP’s spread throughout the factory. In
keeping with the lean manufacturing model
we are shown yesterdays production figures,
how the group is performing to overall targets
and made aware of any problems that
need dealing with. Usually workers spend
5 minutes doing this everyday and they
seem to unreservedly welcome it. Going too
far maybe, might be to say that they almost
seem to generate a degree of pride from the
whole process. all the information workers
see is designed to allow them to operate on
a more informed basis, whilst having a group
hug at the same time i.e. serious bonding with
other members of the team, which normally
amounts to 10 – 15 people in each.
We were told as we walked around that the
Product Development Department has the
challenging task of applying new technological
advances to the design and manufacture of
Istobal’s products. The engineers work with
a combination of the most up-to-date CaD
design and CaM construction programs to
achieve optimum levels of quality. The designs
are taken from high tech computers and turned
into real products by the different sections of
Istobal’s workshops, where, part by part, the
various components of Istobal’s products are
made. The robots used in the car industry
also play an important role in the Istobal plant,
where they are used in the welding process.
The company say they take great efforts to
guarantee the quality of parts and machines
through on-going training programmes and by
integrating new quality control systems into
the processes of manufacturing and assembly.
The Treatment of Surfaces Workshop was
also fascinating and ensures that the various
metal parts that make up the product get the
most suitable protective coatings and finishes.
The steel structures actually go through a five
stage process: Stripping, Hot dip galvanizing,
microcrystalline phosphate coating, Epoxy
polyamide primer coating and finally a two
component polyurethane resin coating. There
are 21 stages in the whole process.
The latest piece of equipment in Istobal’s
high tech production line is the Nordson
Prodigy Power Port. a ‘Star Trek’ type spray
paint machine in plain English, which is
more akin to an amusement park attraction
the way it allows large multi coloured pieces
of steel to be effortlessly moved around in a
start finish cycle, suspended high above the
factory floor. Throughout the visit we regularly
stopped at other GaP’s meeting points to see
a different set of tables, group targets and
key initiatives, designed for another group of
workers, but also it meant we had time to enjoy
another cup of strong Spanish coffee, which
I have to admit on a number of occasions I
ISTObAL – CELEbrATING 60 yEArS OF SUCCESS
Sandra Stroppel from petrolplaza, meets Quality Manager
Álvaro Vilar, Lean Support Manager Javier Correa
the first stage at which we see recognisable car wash parts
the Lean production process being demonstrated by
Álvaro and Javier at one of the 20 Gap’s meeting points
the nordson prodigy power port, sending ready painted
batches of car wash parts across the factory floor
one of eight car washes manufactured that day, for oMV
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