Team Members:

1
Team Members Blake Samic Brent
Adams Dan Healy Chris Kantus
Chad Linville Aaron Frees Advocacy
Team Kyle Minnick - Mentor Thiago
Tognetti- Mentor Rob Willy - Mentor
2
AP5 Capillary Tube Scrap Reduction
3
Problem Area
Inside Case
Refrigerator
Smaller capillary tube is still clearly attached
to the large tube assembly.
Outside Case
Capillary tube is no longer visible outside of
the case, indicating that it has been broken off
at the entrance to the cas.
4
Possible Root Causes

• Excessive bending of capillary tube during
  production
• Many stations bend tube multiple times
• May strain material, causing breakage further
  down the line

• Missing/Misplaced protective tape on tube
• Unprotected tube rubs on raw edge of case back
• Rubbing may score tube, causing breakage

• Reuse of salvaged capillary tube assemblies
• Rerun tube undergoes more bending than normal

• Holes in assembly at liner drop
• Capillary can become hung up in holes causing
  severe scoring of the capillary tube

5
Process Flow
Freezer Liner Formation
Hole in conveyor identified as definite
contributor to broken tubes.
Reuse of capillary tubes of scrapped freezer
liners identified as possible secondary cause.
Reused tubes are currently being tagged to help
identify whether this is a contributor to the
issue.
Plastic liner to which cap tube will be assembled
is formed.
Case Line
Capillary Tube is foamed into the finished case
making it impossible to easily replace.
Capillary Tube from Supplier
Capillary Tube is attached to the formed plastic
liner.
Capillary Tube is attached to the formed plastic
liner.
Tube arrives from outsourced supplier.
Capillary Tube is attached to the formed plastic
liner.
Possible poor tube design identified by PMQ could
be contributing to broken tubes.
Testing and Packaging
Repair
Assembly
Somewhere in assmebly the broken capillary tube
is identified by a worker and marked out for
repair.
Somewhere in assmebly the broken capillary tube
is identified by a worker and marked out for
repair.
Refrigerators are scrapped at repair and never
make it to test and pack.
Ends of capillary tube assembly are brazed to the
evaporator and hi side assembly.
6
Financial / Business Benefits

• Hard Benefits
• Elimination of 3 or more scrapped units per week
  (45,000/Yr)

• Elimination of 3 scrapped units per week
  (45,000/Yr)

• Soft Benefits
• Labor reduction
• Less rework and salvage time with scrapped units
• Fewer salvaged parts returned to line

• Labor reduction
• Less rework and salvage time with scrapped units
• Fewer salvaged parts returned to the line

7
Actions

• Identified hole in the case assembly line were
  capillary tubes were becoming snagged and
  scored. Hole was temporarily covered by Case Line
  BTL Kyle Minnick and in long term the hole will
  be permantently bolted shut.

• All rerun capillary tubes off of scrapped liners
  are being marked in or to discern whether the
  rerunning of these tubes is contributing to the
  issue

• Note After covering the hole on the assembly
  line no broken capillary tubes were seen for a
  week and a half. A few were seen at the end of
  last week but we are unsure if these breaks are
  caused by the same one that has been causing the
  three or so a week. None of the units with
  broken tubes have yet to be from a rerun tube off
  of a bad liner.

8

• Future
• Plan to place metal slugs into assembly line to
  cover any and all holes where tube may become
  caught.
• No reuse of capillary tubes (if long term results
  indicate that this contributes to problem.

• Current
• On average 3 or more completed units per week
  are scrapped because of broken capillary tubes.

• 3 units a week are scrapped due to broken
  capillary tubes with costing the business 45,000
  annually

• Place metal slugs in all holes on assembly line
  where the capillary tube may hang up
• Possibility of not rerunning capillary tubes off
  of scrapped liners

9
Capillary Tube Project Contacts
Jay Fields (BTL Case Line) Kyle Minnick (BTL Case
Line) Gene Pikes (Tech Support Case) Martin Pike
(Inspector Assembly Line) Larry Byrne (EOLA
Technician) Larry Crouch (Test and Pack
Repairman) Mike Mulcahy (BTL Case Line) Del
Cofield (Blackbelt AP4/5)
10
What we gained from our lean experience
We learned how to

• C communicate with individuals out on the floor
  to work towards a common goal
• to research an issue of which we had no prior
  knowledge
• how to formulate a plan of attack in order to
  solve the issue
• work together with teammates on a project that
  would otherwise be to large and time consuming to
• u undertake alone.

We learned never to

• start investigating an area in a union factory
  without first consulting the union steward.
• take pictures of any union personel on the
  job.
• n ever to bring a camera, stopwatch, or large
  group of engineers into an area and start asking
  questions without first having the proper
  meetings with union officials.