Strategies for Laser Printer Cartridge Manufacturing

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Strategies for Laser Printer Cartridge
Manufacturing

• Recharger Magazine Expo 2004
• Session S70 Wednesday 100-230pm
• Mark Hibbard Washington County Community
  College

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Remanufacturers as Entrepreneurs
Five Characteristics of Entrepreneurial Growth
Company (EGC)
Process that leads up to looking for modification
of production floor, including process control,
process modification, or redesign
Entrepreneurial Growth (Time)
3
Risk Management

• Initially
• Not much money, and even then
• Not much experience in the industry
• Persuading others to take on risk employees,
  suppliers, customers
• Initial Success
• Significant value created that might be lost
• To grow, the tasks are more difficult
  (management, strategy, sound investment)
• Fear of failure, you may lose company, or lose
  control, or lose market share

4
Intellectual Property

• Earliest Stages
• Remanufacturers create solutions ..
  Improvisation, creativity is maximized
• Growth
• Education .. Process knowledge
• Incremental improvement and variations
• Distinctions leading to control
• Protecting you distinctions
• Start to think get bigger, get niche, or
  get out

5
Planning

• Beginning Stages .. seek resources
• Research Development 14
• Business planning 33
• Financial help 50
• Management by crisis vs. detailed strategy
• However successful remanufacturers show
  Adaptiveness, Open-mindedness, Quick Decisions,
  Relationship-based sales
• Growing
• Demands strategic planning, tactical decisions
• Demands coordinated management
• Demands investment which demands accountability

6
Expertise

• Initially
• Most have no industry experience (Printing, EP,
  Toner, Testing)
• High opportunity is recognized (sales, )
• Intelligence, desire, adaptability, sales
  marketing skills lead to linked recoveries
• Growth Requires
• Upgrading resources
• Skilled, experienced, specialized training
• Strategy

7
Formal Capital

• Early
• No angels
• 66 or less than find capital 50,000 average
  is about 25k not millions of dollars
• Success requires
• Transition through growth stages
• Truly comprehensive changes in the entrepreneur
• From start to finish, new attitudes and new
  skills and roles

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Your Manufacturing Operation

• Small Shop (
• People
• Sales
• Time
• Medium Shop ( 500-2000 Carts/mo)
• Materials
• People
• Sales
• Time
• Performance
• Sales
• Manufacturing

• Operations ( 2000-5000 Carts/mo)
• Materials
• People
• Sales
• Time
• Performance
• Growth
• Large Operations ( 5000-20,000 carts/mo)
• Materials
• People
• Sales
• Time
• Performance
• Growth
• Quality
• Management

9
Current Wisdom

• It is not the strongest of the species that
  survives,
• nor the most intelligent
• but the one most responsive to change.
• - Charles Darwin

10
Your Manufacturing Operation

• Remanufacturing consumables is in the class of
  entrepreneurial growth companies (EGC)
• Not just a fancy name for a small business
• Most EGCs evolve over time, through rough stages
  of development

• Design for production
• Materials management
• Manufacturing processes
• Manufacturing systems automation
• Physical controls for manufacturing systems
• Information control in mfg enterprises
• Quality management

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Starting Points

• Failure is Acceptable
• No such thing as winners and losers
• More like winners and learners
• Product design and development
• Process design and control
• Manufacturing system and facility design and
  analysis
• Production planning and control
• Operation analysis and management
• System engineering and integration
• Technology, human resource and organization
  management
• Technical sales and technical marketing

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A Basic Model of Change

• The present is not relevant

Fact
Inference
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Managing Manufacturing

• A managers product is action.
• A managers raw material is information.
• Analysis and Synthesis
• are a part of the managers assembly line.

14
Cultivate

• Inbound Logistics
• Receiving / Inspection
• Production Scheduling
• Inventory Control
• Warehouse management (Position control)

• Share Knowledge.
• Identify Best Practices.
• Build Institutional Processes.
• Attract Best People.
• Create Training Courses.
• Communicate Consistent and Coherent Messages to
  Customers and Employees.

• Operations
• Production
• Equipment Maintenance
• Rework
• Facilities
• Inventory
• H/R

• Outbound Logistics
• Order Acceptance
• Picking
• Inventory Adjust
• Cycle Count / Inventory Adjust
• Ship Confirm

• Service and Support
• Technical Training
• Production Process Development
• Testing
• Documentation
• Recruit / Hire

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Lean Objectives
Anything that adds COST to the product without
adding VALUE

• muda - waste
• mura - inconsistency
• muri - unreasonableness

• Waste
• Correction Rework First Pass Yield
• Waiting Any non-work time waiting for tools,
  supplies, parts, etc..
• Motion Any wasted motion to pick up parts or
  stack parts, wasted walking
• Processing Doing more work than is necessary
• Overproduction Producing more than is needed
  before it is needed
• Conveyance Wasted effort to transport
  materials, parts, or finished goods into or
  out of storage, or between processes.
• Inventory Maintaining excess inventory of
  raw matls,parts in process, or finished
  goods.

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LOOK at YOUR Operation

• Forecasting (sales, manufacturing, materials)
• Delays (shipping, suppliers, scheduling)
• Transportation (floor layout, build area, evac
  kitting)
• Inventory (positions, control, materials,
  systems)
• Inspection (process validation, zero defects)
• Defects or correction (validate corrective
  action, inter-dept. feedback)
• Inefficiencies and other non-value added movement
  (within processes)
• Traditionally RMs look at floor layout, capital
  equip, test equip, new components, and other
  singular objective to improve operations
• Not that easy.

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Enterprise Tactics
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Timing is now

• Remanufacturing is decades smarter
• New Business / New Product Life Cycles
• Development 1986
• Growth 1995
• Expansion 1999
• Maturity Mono Laser
• Saturation Mono Laser
• Development Color 2002
• Growth --

Decline
Mono ripe for lean technique as color goes into
the growth
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US Market Monochrome Laser Printer (CAP Ventures
2000)
Total Cartridge Market
OEM Portion
Remanufactured Cartridge Market
RM Portion
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Opportunity Placement

• Development stage, there are no cartridge sales
  at all. However manufacturing must support a
  development area and resources to insure a timely
  product launch.
• Growth stage, sales are slow and marketing costs
  are high often manufacturing resources need to
  be supplemented by frequent training sessions and
  manufacturing team building.
• Expansion stage, sales should grow more rapidly,
  and manufacturing teams are executing their well
  thought out plans to accommodate growth.
• Maturity stage, sales will plateau as most
  customers who want the product have quality
  sources for the product. Manufacturing teams have
  predicted this plateau and the production
  schedules will adjust for sales volume and
  inventory reduction.
• Saturation stage, every customer who wants the
  cartridge product has several competitive sources
  for acquisition, and there are few opportunities
  for increasing sales.
• Decline stage, cartridge sales fall and the
  product eventually becomes obsolete.
  Manufacturing teams have transitioned resources
  to new products and reduced raw materials and
  finished goods to reduce financial risk.

Color opportunity to model new process ideas
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US Market Color HP 4500 --- 4550 ---- 4600
Total HP4500 Cartridge
9500/3500/2003
4600/2002
4550/2000
Remanufactured Color Cartridges
4500/1998
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Production Mode 1000/mo. -- Key Statistics
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Process Developments for Planned Improvement at
Critical Process Points

• SX Corona Wires
• NX Developer sleeve / PCRs
• EX Toner/OPC
• 4000 Developer sleeve / blade
• Pocket carts OPCs / Seals / PCRs
• WX Developer Sleeve Sys / Toner
• 4000 Toner / Developer Sleeves
• 4500 Toner / Seals / Rollers

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Data - Truth

• Statistics 101
• List ALL areas where data can be gathered
• Accuracy
• Usable data
• Taking the data is the first step
• Leaders need time to work with the data to make
  process changes
• Acquisition and presentation

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First and Foremost

• Objectives
• Consistency, Reliability, Accuracy.
• Raw Materials ( Purchases)
• Empties
• Incoming Inspection Quality Control Methods and
  Examples

• Allies Interactive Vendors, Customer feedback,
• Adversaries Variation, Unexpected Vendor
  modifications, Inappropriate process deviation
• Teamwork

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Process Design Details

• Cell .. To ...
• From past experience develop cell picture
• Solve material flow
• Breakdown training issues
• Document bill of materials (BoM)
• remember the LEAN long range plan (LLRP)
• Managed Production
• Correct process
• Training
• Scale UP

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Prototype Process Improvements/Changes (IE1011)

• Draw pictures cut out the paper pieces
• Map the process from the Cell stage to Managed
  production
• Look at the facilities details
• Air .. Heat Power .. Lights Traffic
  Storage
• Pick your people resources Carefully Cultivate
  shared ideas
• Set up a dummy cell . Dry run
• Check Raw materials flow
• Whos waiting
• Check your plan

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Internal Corrective Action (plan for it) TEAM

• Process defects or procedural changes
• Review with all production teams you may have
  some ability to kill a problem before it starts
• Retain Visual samples of manufacturing issues for
  training
• Prevent drone mistakes Awareness of the process
  is crucial
• End of shift positive reinforcement
• Announce data
• Show / Chart progress
• Training awards not material verbal praise in
  front of peers . MB walking around (MBWA)

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Team Leaders are people

• Groom people with future goals in mind
• TRAINING is communicating your lean plan
• Clear concise and ATTAINABLE Goals
• POSITIVE Atmosphere Always

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Critical Area's Management

• Empties (The EVAC people !!!!)
• Source Cleaning Inspect . Waste Cost
• Cleaning Handling (High incidence of waste)
• Storage Damage Control Assembly Staging
• Solvents Inspect .. Waste Time Cost
• Assembly
• Readiness Tools Inspection Time ..
  Cost

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DO you NEED Capital Equipment ?

• What is Primary Equipment requirements
• Time savings
• Quality enhancement
• Training required
• Human component
• New tech .. New process
• Secondary requirements
• Maintenance
• Obsolescence
• Expansion

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Capital Equipment Productivity

• Facility Layout
• Material flow
• Cleanliness
• Documented Procedures
• Simplifies training
• creates standard
• Training
• Cross training, and daily rotation
• Team Leaders Building TEAM
• Sound Forecast
• Minimize... waste, storage,hassles
• Supply Chain Management

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Cell to Managed ProductionTransition

• Planned transition
• Pick the scope of scale-up early
• Set training goals early DO NOT wait
• Excellent training and complete task description
  fosters worker happiness
• Success is people when you scale up
• EXPECT Surprises (good and bad)

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Diagram and Document
uS Visio has great layout tools and
documentation features
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Keep it Simple Stupid (KISS)

• Visual aids 75 of learning is facilitated by
  visual cognition. PICTURES not WORDS
• (Digital Cameras are CHEAP)
• Constant positive reinforcement is Constant
  Improvement.
• Cross train similar job functions .. Remember
  social circles and peer pressure are your allies
• Disassembly ---- Assembly
• Evacuation ---- Component Prep
• Pre Test ---- Final Test
• Language Barriers More than 60 of RMs have non
  English Speaking Staff (ESL)

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Assess each work function - REGULARLY

• Map mini processes
• document
• training guidelines
• WORK Timing IE 101
• Mini production for some work function
• Skill assessment
• Time
• Realistic training goals
• Critical for process control
• No job is more important

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Production Layouts

• Layouts Continued
• Assumes products total 250 carts a day (3-6
  products) monthly target is 10000
• Setup is for one line teams and a specialty
  cell
• Product switchovers are scheduled on daily
  intervals

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Production Layouts
2000 square feet
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Safety Teamwork

• FROM the TOP Down
• ALL quality management tools start from
  acceptance at the top Safety requirements and
  concerns are PRIMARY
• High visibility area for procedures and Training
• Monthly assessments

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Critical Path -- Toner - OPCs -- etc.

• Toner Placement/Storage Bulk purchased ..
  mark/label
• all position, track mass flow, bottling?,
  Filling, Cleanouts? Protect from Temp/Humidity
  Fluctuations
• OPCs Lightsafe, Clean Dry
• Magnets/Sleeves - Clink Clink
• PCRs Clean, Dry, separate !!!
• Cleaning Blades Critical, safe the edge, NO
  stacking
• Charge Blades Major critical element post EX
  and Pocket cartridges
• Print Testing Time, Data, Review, Statistics,
  Charts, REVIEW what are you screening?
• Acceptance Criteria First Pass Yield

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Production SPC
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Production SPC
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Production SPC
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Summary

• More than 25 individual items may be purchase
  for network cartridges today.
• Less than 38 of remanufacturers have established
  quality processes for their products or processes
• Less than 50 of the remanufactured cartridges
  sold last year met an OEM specification
• Lower Cost and higher profits will only be
  realized by process control and good
  manufacturing practice