ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The Defense Non-tactical Generator and Rail Equipment Center, better known as DGRC, is working through their first series of Lean Six Sigma events with the hope this process will reduce locomotive rebuild time by 14.2 percent.
DGRC, a depot component located at Hill Air Force Base, is the Army's overhaul center for locomotives.
Each year, three locomotives are completely overhauled at the facility in a seven-month process. Additionally, throughout the year, teams from DGRC are sent to installations throughout the United States and, on rare occasions, abroad to repair and inspect the U.S. military's rail fleet.
The first three Lean events at DGRC focused on the overhaul mission at their Utah location. A Value Stream Analysis looked at the locomotive rebuild process, a Problem Solving/Corrective Action event assessed the procedure for ordering parts and a Roles and Responsibilities study, done in the form of a Rapid Improvement Event consolidated check sheets and quality sheets into one set of forms to streamline the quality inspection process.
Employees from the depot's Enterprise Excellence Division within the Directorate of Engineering and Quality visited DGRC in May to teach employees the Lean basics and again in June to assist with the VSA.
"We mapped out our processes using notes stuck on the wall, so we could see where waste could be eliminated," said Rich Greenwell, an electrician for DGRC.
The process found nine movements that could be eliminated to save time. The changes can't be implemented immediately, because the center is in the midst of three locomotive overhauls, but Brad Goodwin, the mechanical leader for DGRC, said they hope to apply the consolidation of several process and the elimination of one final paint process during the next round of rebuilds.
For many of the employees at DGRC, the Lean process, which reduces waste and makes workflow more efficient, was a new concept. However, it is one the center readily embraced as they quickly sent four employees to Anniston to become Lean certified.
"We are getting a lot of information from the class and the books that will make our processes even better," said Chris Dunyon, electrical leader for DGRC. "We are receiving the tools we need to make things more efficient."
The team spent the week of July 23 at ANAD in their first week of Lean training. Three additional weeks of training, during which they will assist in Lean events, are necessary before certification is complete.
Social Sharing