Home | About the Arizona MEP | Upcoming Events | Success Stories | Partners & Resources | News | Board of Directors Sign-Up for News & Events | Contact Us | Enterprise Management | Performance Based Training | Supply Chain Management Future Fabricators Phoenix, AZ - Facing increased competition and a slowing economy, officials at Future Fabricators turned to the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Arizona MEP) to assess its strengths and weaknesses and to identify changes that would make the company more competitive. "While we haven’t yet implemented all the suggestions we received, we plan to do so as soon as it becomes possible," Rubin added. Utilizing Time Wise Principles of Lean Manufacturing, officials at the Arizona MEP looked to create greater production efficiencies through maximizing value-added activities while minimizing waste in manufacturing. "The Lean manufacturing workshops were well thought out, the lesson plan was well done, and the instructors at the Arizona MEP modified the plan to our needs and rolled quite well with the punches," Rubin said. "The Arizona MEP has been an important resource for us," said Rubin. "We expect to see the changes we are making result in Future Fabricators being highly competitive in emerging markets." According to Rubin, an Arizona MEP assessment of the company’s operations identified areas needing attention, requiring capital and time investment, and some non-technical areas of the operation that might be impeding growth and competitiveness. As a result, the 22 employees at Future Fabricators have been involved in developing quick changeover fixtures and hand-tool shadow boards at each machining center. This has resulted in a significant reduction in set-up time that ultimately will result in increased production and profits. Lot quantities have also been reduced to limit inventory exposure, decrease first-piece delivery time, and lower rework time and scrap, Rubin said, since a defect that is detected early on means fewer problems with work in process downstream. When a company can increase changeover accuracy, reduce set-up time, shorten lead time and increase flexibility the chances are good that it will become a more highly competitive manufacturer.