IMM's Plant Tour: Error-proof molding on a massive scale

Thou shalt notshut down an OEM assembly line!" This commandment is observedby all devout Tier One automotive suppliers. Suppliers must becommitted to providing competitively priced, defect-free productsand services on time, every time. In fact, this is the qualitypolicy at Rantoul Products. Error proofing is acknowledged bythis full-service automotive supplier as being the best of itsbest practices for observing this hallowed tenet.

In its quest for the holy grail of zero-defect/pull-throughproduction flow, the company relies heavily on the commonsensecreativity of its human resources to pave the way. Everyone inthe facility works together to develop error-proofing methodsand systems that force the verification of satisfied requirementsat each step in every process before a product can move on tothe next step. If quality can't be proved, the part doesn't move.Still, parts are definitely on the move in Rantoul's three largeproduction facilities.

Rantoul Products is the biggest single injection molding operationin the Textron Automotive Trim Div. of Textron Automotive Co.(Troy, MI). TAC is the foremost, full-service U.S. supplier ofinstrument panels (IPs), cockpits, interior/exterior trim, andfunctional components for North American cars and light trucks.It runs several plants in 15 countries, contributing 25 percentto the annual revenues of $11.6 billion Textron Inc. (Providence,RI), a burgeoning Fortune 500 company. Textron is consistentlyranked the number one molder in the U.S.

Rantoul Products hadjust 13 injection molding machines when it was brought to lifeby American Motors as Accustar Plastics back in the early 1980s.The company runs 67 presses today, 50 of more than 1000 tons.The combined molding capacity at its three facilities comes toa staggering 92,965 tons.

On the grandest scale imaginable, Rantoul Products proves whatkaizen-driven, lean manufacturing principles like error proofingcan do when it comes to keeping customers up and running. Wantto see how? Just be sure to look both ways for forklifts-it'salways rush hour in Rantoul. Let's tour.

Error Prevention, Not Correction
DaimlerChrysler sets stringent price targets on its presourcedwork to Textron Automotive. Even with its historical ties andclose working relationship with its biggest customer, RantoulProducts has to stay competitive. That's why error proofing hasbecome an absolute. Rantoul Products physically error proofs 100percent of everything coming in, moving through, and going outthe door. It purchases 1013 components from 230 suppliers.

Ed Rutkowske, our guide, is vp of operations at the Trim Div.and its recently acquired M&C Advanced Processes subsidiary(see "Textron Automotive Takes Closed Loop Control,"May 2000 IMM, p. 212). In his previous stint as engineering managerat Rantoul Products, Rutkowske was instrumental in helping toerror proof its plants.

"We developed our error-proofing system to catch errorsbefore they get out of our door-actually, to stop the part fromtraveling any further down the line until the error is corrected,"says Rutkowske. "But, the best error proofing is in designof the components, making sure that they fit together properly.If this is accomplished correctly, then all that is required isfor us to error proof the details, such as clips, screws, rivets,and fastener torque.

"When walking around the plant, Jerry Mosingo, our executivevp of operations, will often offer line workers a $50 bill ifany of them can come up with a way to defeat our error proofing.Unless these systems are invulnerable, people will find a wayaround them-that's just human nature. By the way, he's never lostmoney here on such challenges."

Dedicated Moldmaking

Rantoul Products is fortunate when it comes to tooling. Itslargest mold supplier, H.S. Die & Engineering, based in GrandRapids, MI, has built a fully equipped moldmaking facility just15 minutes away.

Engineering changes can be handled over the weekend, whichcan be very important. Terry Reno, engineering change managementcoordinator, often oversees more than 100 active engineering changesat any given time, especially during product launches.

"Not many shops can say they have their own dedicatedtoolshop nearby in the middle of a cornfield," jokes KennethF. Kaiser, engineering and quality manager.

In Plants 1 and 2 parts are produced for finishing and assemblydownstream. Plant 3 is more cellular, with machines directly feedingpress-side finishing and assembly systems. Projects for Mitsubishiand DaimlerChrysler are kept totally separate.

Plants 1 and 2 each have 16 shipping bays. Plant 2 has eight.All bays have automatic locks and levelers. Though it uses a fewgaylords, most resin is stored in its 14 silos. Most have 80,000lb capacity.

An intense predictive and preventive maintenance program keepsRantoul Product's older machines performing well, including aNew Britain and a Beloit in Plant 3. But the company prefers tostandardize on all new purchases. The newest presses are fromVan Dorn Demag. Its latest material handling systems all are fromNovatec. And, though it buys 22 different resins from seven differentsuppliers, it purchases its 36 color concentrates from just one.

All presses, new or old, are painted computer-beige, and eachmachine is equipped with a Kleentech electrostatic oil cleaner,another standard. Dave Waller, maintenance superintendent, tellsus that the company has gone for five years in one plant withoutan oil change. The oil is still cleaner than new.

Any machine of more than 1000 tons is equipped with a servorobot. The company uses both Conair-Sepro and Wittmann part removalrobots. All robot EOATs are designed and built in-house. All hotrunner manifolds and controllers are purchased exclusively fromPlastic Engineering & Technical Services.

Optimized Airspace

In Plant 1 utilities come from underneath the floor. In Plant3, formerly a U.S. Air Force hangar and Rantoul Products' biggestplant, utilities come from overhead for its molding machines,26 of them more than 1000 tons, which are configured with theirclamp ends facing the aisles.

Plant 3's 90-ft ceiling was dropped to 44 ft, but it stillprovides more than ample airspace for big presses, robots, andoverhead 50-ton Demag cranes, while optimizing shop-floor environmentalconditions with excellent heat and noise dissipation.

Throughout Rantoul Products banks of bright metal halite 400Wlights, 8-ft-high, high-intensity fluorescent lighting, skylights,and 5-by-10-ft windows also help maintain optimum life support.
There's also ample room for 12-ft-high mezzanines in Plant 3,where all materials distribution systems and utilities are kept.Centralized materials handling systems are provided by AEC, Conair,and Novatec. Centralized drying systems in Plant 1 are from Conair,and from AEC in Plant 2. None is used in Plant 3.

Materials generally are fed from the mezzanine through flexiblehoses directly into the machine barrels. The Novatec gravimetricblender and vacuum pumps are located on the mezzanine to reducenoise and potential messiness downstairs, and to open up floorspace for press-side assembly systems and operations.

Plant 3's existing concrete floor, poured in 1939, is 534 inchesthick with steel plates on top to distribute the load. Floorsfor the 1999 52,300-sq-ft expansion are 8 inches thick. Throughoutthe Rantoul Products plants all floors are coated with polyurethane.

Works In Process

The guiding principles of kaizen promote continuous improvement.As a pious follower of the creed, Rantoul Products continues toevaluate and apply new systems and procedures to improve its performance.

For example, Rutkowske feels that application of TAC's M&Cclosed loop process control system will reduce tooling complexitiesand allow the addition of more part features. It also may do awaywith manual SPC data gathering at the company. A single-screendisplay could identify any processing anomaly.

On the whole, Rantoul prefers homespun engineering solutions.It builds all of its robot EOATs, for instance. Among the latestworks in progress is a seeing-eye EOAT. Two cylinders on the EOATwill house digital cameras that will make sure the customer-specifiedpins in the mold are back before the robot moves.

Eric J. White, a second-generation molder, is senior vp ofoperations. The three Rantoul Products plants report to White,plus three others in Indiana, Missouri, and Mexico.

"Chrysler had already put a significant amount of businessin here when the demand for its light trucks went crazy,"he says. "They went from shipping 5000 per year to 450,000per year in three or four years, just in full-size pickups. Thenthe Jeep Grand Cherokee went crazy, and then the Durango hit.And, oh, don't forget the minivan. This level of growth was notin our original plans, and, today, we have about 100 new moldstartups going on, on top of maintaining our existing production."

White concludes that managing growth with continuous improvementat the pace required by the automotive business is the molder'sbiggest challenge.