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Client Success Stories |
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BorgWarner Turbo Systems Saves Almost $1.5 Million Annually with Six Sigma
Neal Narron was already a Six Sigma Black Belt when he searched the Internet more than a year ago looking for additional Six Sigma training for his staff at BorgWarner Turbo Systems in Asheville. Narron knew what Six Sigma could do for his company, which designs and develops turbochargers for commercial diesel engines and diesel passenger cars.
Six Sigma, the mathematical term for perfection, uses data-driven facts to arrive at standardization of a process so that defects are reduced and quality sustained.
Narron stumbled upon the web site for the Six Sigma program at North Carolina State University and made a call. A year later, five Six Sigma projects led to five new Green Belts for the company. And Narron estimates these five projects save the company almost $1.5 million annually.
Narron, quality manager for BorgWarner Turbo Systems, said he had a list of requirements for Green Belt training. The NCSU team was eager to meet his needs. In a room in nearby AB Tech Community College, the BorgWarner Turbo Systems group met with NCSU instructors once a week for 10 weeks beginning in November 2002. In the days between classes, the group worked on their individual projects. Green Belt certification could only be earned upon the successful completion of the course and the implementation of one project with documented savings for at least six months.
By January 2004, five BorgWarner Turbo Systems employees had earned Green Belt certification. Here are their stories:
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Lewis Rogers led the transfer from batch flow to a robotic cell in the automated line for bearing housing. In cost avoidance and other savings, this project saves $23,000 a month.
- David Franklin created a new step bore process that salvaged inventory that had been junked. This resulted in $10,700 savings a month and it’s good for the environment, Narron noted. And this number is only going to go up. This was for one model, and as BorgWarner Turbo Systems expands, this salvage process will be used on three additional models, resulting in even more savings.
- Doug McDaniel tackled the occasional problem of missing journal bearings. While the savings have been a relatively meager $1,500 a month, it has been tremendous for customer satisfaction. For the six months from August 2003 to March 2004, not a single part was returned under warranty.
- Brian Allen led the transfer from batch flow to a robotic cell in the new turbo housing that a customer required with a change in its engine line to meet new emission standards. Combining both Six Sigma and lean manufacturing principles, a monthly savings of $60,300 was found.
- Seth Temple worked on a complicated project to reduce damper scrap, a defective product in the manufacturing process. The damper at the end of the crank shaft absorbs engine vibrations and reducing scrap required a year of highly detailed, complicated work. The result is an annual savings of $351,000
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With the demand for diesel engines increasing both in this country and Europe, BorgWarner Turbo Systems is expecting to grow and to hire more employees. Narron has a list of 20 projects he would like to see tackled. “We will make the resources available to get it done,” he said. Six Sigma has come to stay at BorgWarner Turbo Systems.
April 2004
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