This is a Lean case study of "Continuous Flow Applied to Batch Manufacture of Tanks" for an Engineering & Metal Fabrication Company.

BACKGROUND
This organisation's core business is stainless steel fabrication. It manufactures plant for the food and chemical industries from small liquid holding tanks to huge complexes for the drying of liquids to fine powders. The company also supplies proprietary equipment to industry, and provides site management services.

The workshops have a total covered area of 25,000 m2 with maximum headroom of 20m and lifting capacities of 45 tones (fixed) and 200 tones (mobile). Sophisticated equipment is available for handling, welding, turning, rolling and water jet cutting of stainless steel and other materials.

While New Zealand and Australia are the primary markets for this company, their engineering capability has enabled them to carry out projects in other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and the Americas where they have established excellent working relationships.

They have workshops located in Waikato, Taranaki, South Island, Australia and China. They also have partnership in other workshops located in the South Island.

SITUATION
This company has a 4 year contract to supply X number of farm holding tanks to a dairy manufacturing company. As they have traditionally worked in a batch manufacturing environment, they were unable to meet the requirements of their client.

Vishnu co-delivered a workshop on "World-Class Manufacturing" for the Manufacturing Management Diploma students at the Waikato University in April 2007 and the participants of the workshop were taken to their Waikato factory for a tour. The tour lasted about 3 hours and at the end the students gave a presentation to the NZ Production Manager and his team on a basic high level value stream map created by the students and also suggested a few improvement opportunities. That triggered curiosity and enthusiasm among them to embark on a Lean journey at their Taranaki plant on a pilot scale.

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