Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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A roadmap to improving productivity in a fastener manufacturing unit

by process optimization using ARENA
Niranjana Sundararajan a,⇑, Ravi Terkar b
a
Mechanical Engineering, NMIMS University, Vile Parle West, Mumbai 400056, India
b
Mechanical Department, NMIMS University, Vile Parle West, Mumbai 400056, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In an increasingly competitive market, the need for resource maximization is ever-present. Efficient and
Available online 6 May 2022 maximum optimization is desired throughout the organization. This paper focuses on methods and tech-
niques that can achieve said effectivity in production through mainly heuristic means. Hence these tech-
Keywords: niques are ideal for engineers in management. They are based on both experience of personnel and
Manufacturing system analysis scientific analysis of academicians, thus creating an excellent and executable plan that is straightforward,
Process improvements flexible and practical. A detailed study and analysis of the manufacturing unit was carried out. Personal
Lean principles
interactions with the operators and employees in their workplace, during work hours, greatly helped in
problem identification. Each problem was identified was then categorized and observed to gather solu-
tions for improvement in quality and productivity of the process from which the problem originated.
An intensive time-study analysis was also done to understand the inefficiencies in process flow and
the results were simulate on Arena Simulation Software and various models for improved models were
proposed. These improved models were found by either adjusting resources or eliminating processes,
thus improving output. Thus, this research will be beneficial for practitioners and researchers alike, for
tacking various inefficiencies in an organization.
Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Second International
Conference on Engineering Materials, Metallurgy and Manufacturing.

1. Introduction floor by proposing different model of applications to be imple-

mented and followed [6]. It largely emphasizes on placing a pro-
Total quality management is a crucial approach where the posed nomenclature to function in totality. It is based on various
entire focus is on the end point results and conclusions. It can be statistical methods to quality improvement standards and product
further defined as the series of activities, that are implemented movement at the shop floor. This technique of overall improve-
or controlled by human force and completely focuses on the final ment is an amalgamation of tools, techniques, assumptions and
output to manifest the input [1–3]. The main observation of this conceptual understanding for a perfect product life cycle in initial
approach is that the processing or manufacturing of product as well as final stages of decline. The TQM is very often also
should be a high-quality services and output. The human machine expressed as a coherent relation between continuous improve-
interface also holds as an important parameter in influencing the ment, active participation of workforce at all levels, process orien-
end results with better possibilities and serviceability. In a nutshell tation, decision criteria and implementation and authoritative
the critical developments work hand in hand with the technology support based on facts and figures [11–16]. Lean manufacturing
and hierarchical organization along with the human interaction for concept is based on maximum utilization of the available resource
an integrated approach. While implementing this technique care- and eradication or minimization of waste as in scrap and more
ful attention is given on safety, health, efficiency and wellbeing such activities engrossed in wastage of time and space at all levels
of manufacturing processes and work force involved in doing so [4]. The need for Lean Manufacturing was to selectively and contin-
[5]. Ergonomics or safe working conditions for operation deals with uously respond to company variation and changes from start to
the appropriate interaction and reduced risk of accidents on shop end employing an easy and smooth pathway in the service value
put forth [17–22]. It depends on the study one can apply Lean
⇑ Corresponding author.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.04.265
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Second International Conference on Engineering Materials, Metallurgy and Manufacturing.
N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 1. Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram.

Fig. 2. (a) Process Flow.

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N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 2 (continued)

methodology focusing only one arena or more than one aspect of it. The proposed techniques would, in essence, achieve this objective
It collectively. through small radical changes and innovative ideas that take effect
This project focuses on one major areas through which produc- over time.
tivity can be improved that is the Time Study Analysis through pro-
cess flow simulations using arena software. This is done to spot
1.1. Methodology
bottlenecks and need for additional resources. In a highly compet-
itive manufacturing sector, extremely efficient and optimized
This project was constructed through consistent and frequent
manufacturing and management practices are essential to run a
visits to the Manufacturing Unit (MU). All the data collected and
sustainable and profitable business.
observations made, were obtained through such personal visits.
In Mumbai and Thane district alone, there are over 100 fastener
These visits were conducted over a period of 8 months. The staff
manufacturers and suppliers. Thus, in such a fiercely competitive
and personnel were interviewed through which feedback and
market, maximum utilization and optimization of workforce and
problems were recorded. During the study, major production loses,
resources is not just desirable, but critical. The objective of the pro-
wastage and product quality were analysed. The worker satisfac-
ject is to obtain the most effective results in productivity of the
tion and workforce productivity was also studied. By studying all
organization with least possible investment of capital and time.
the factors that affected the productivity of this MU, it was realized
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N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 3. (b) Process Flow.

that there is a huge scope of overall improvement of the organiza- is a major problem since it contributes to a lot of unnecessary tra-
tion by implementing different productivity tools and techniques. vel and makes it hard to keep track of parts in the manufacturing
process. Several machines in the MU are not laid out according
to the sequence of the components that are frequently being made,
2. Analysis of problem areas
which leads to long travel distances and poor communication
between departments.
2.1. Ishikawa analysis
This situation directly causes the presence of large amount of
WIP on the shop floor. The MU does not only keep inventory as
Ishikawa Analysis allows for highly visual representation of the
WIP in between workstations, the department also has large areas
possible causes of the problems (Fig. 1).
where raw material is stored.
The reasons of using such an analysis to show the problem
In addition to complicated flows a lot of travel back and forth i.e
statement is the following include that fact that such analysis are
back flow exists. This way of handling material requires a lot more
highly visual, and easy to understand, cover all areas of possible
travel than necessary and the ability to perform visual manage-
causes and think in all directions during problem solving and help
ment with this kind of flow is very hard.
to easily find and pick out the root cause of the problem. When a
One way this problem can be tackled include the complete re-
single cause appears multiple times in different branches.
structuring of plant layout using Systematic Layout Planning
(SLP) This method might prove to be difficult to implement. There
2.2. Process flow and material movement will be significant investment in time and planning efforts. Another
way could be proposing effective schedule for usage of various
In the MU, a variety of machines, raw material storages, inven- machine to minimize idle time. Finally we could reduce the num-
tories, WIP and areas exist. Many streams of parallel material flows ber of machines to just the required number and/or using one
take place at the same time and therefore the overall material flow machine to perform multiple functions, thus disallowing machines
in the MU is complex and hard to (Figs. 2 and 3). that perform the same function with minor difference to take up
The main issues in the MU involve the many and complex flows space on the shop floor.
that are take place between and within departments, and the vast Other major issues that were observed that hindered processes
number of machines currently existing in the department. included poor storage of raw material inventory work environment
Currently the MU has several machines that can perform the organization and cleanliness, accumulation of scrap, non standard-
same job, with some minor differences. This results in many ized jigs and fixtures that increased safety risk and decreased pro-
machines taking up a lot of space, not being used to capacity and ductivity, lubricant oil wastage increasing costs, redundant
at times not being used at all. The complicated flows in the MU technology left used consuming space and increasing costs, time
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 Table 1

N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar

Data Gathered for Arena Simulation.

Process Flow Time (Value Added) Idle Time Set Up Time Distance Number Of Opera Tors Number Of Machine s Rejection Rate
(Non Value
Added)
1 Raw material to cutting 2 min NA NA 6m 2 NA
2 Cutting 2 hrs 30 mins 30 mins 45 mins NA 6–7 15 1–3 pieces per 100
for 200 pieces
3 Cutting to store 2 mins NA NA 8m 2 NA
4 Store to drilling 5 mins NA NA 20 m 2 NA
5 Drilling Per 60 mins 700 pieces 10 mins 10 mins NA 7 15 2–3 pieces per 100
6 Drilling to countering 2s NA NA 0.3 m
7 Countering 1 hr 30 min NA 3 min NA 3–4 pieces per 100
8 Countering to tapping 2s NA NA 3.5 m
9 Tapping Per 1 hr NA 25 min NA 2–3 pieces per 100
30 min
300
pieces
0 Tapping to polishing 2 min NA NA 25.1 m
11 Chemical polishing 10 min for 300p 1 min 15 secs NA 2 4 2–3 pieces per 100
12 Chemical polishing to 30 s NA NA 1.5 m
sawdust
polishing
13 Sawdust Polishing 10 min for 300p NA 8 secs NA
14 Sawdust polishing to air 30 s NA NA 6.85 m
polishing
15 Air polishing 10 min for 300p NA NA 3m
16 Air polishing to lift 1 min NA NA 3m
1021

17 Lift to ground floor 1 min NA 2 min 3.5 m 2

18 Ground floor to sorting 5 min NA NA 50.292 m
19 Sorting 3 hrs 10 min NA NA 9–11 pieces per 100
20 Sorting to packaging Per 50 pieces 30 min NA NA 1.5 m
21 Packaging 30 mins 10 mins NA NA 6 3
22 Packaging to storing 10–15 secs NA NA 10m 1 2 pieces

23 Storing to dispatch 30 mins NA NA 3 min

Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 4a. Existing Process Simulation Results – WIP highlight.

Fig. 4b. Existing Process Simulation Results – Resource Utilization Highlight.

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N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 4c. Existing Process Simulation Results – Scheduled Jobs Highlight.

Fig. 4d. Existing Process Simulation Results – Queueing.

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N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Fig. 5. Process Simulation by Addition of Resources (Cutting operators).

programming at every stage, complete range of statistical analysis,

process variability determination through various different statis-
tical distributions, realistic 2D and 3D animation capabilities to
visualize results beyond numbers and finally statistical analysis
which leads to report formation that can allow further study.
Some major advantages include improved visibility into the
effect of a system or process change, exploration of opportunities
Fig. 6. System Output after Removal of Sorting Operation. for new procedures or methods without disrupting the current sys-
tem, diagnoses and fixes for problems, reduction or elimination of
bottlenecks, reducing operating costs, improvement of financial
Table 2 forecasting, better assessment of hardware and software require-
Data Gathered for Arena Simulation.
ments, reduction of delivery times, better management of inven-
Model Original Proposed model 1 Proposed model 2 tory levels, personnel, communications systems, and equipment
System Output 18 20 39 and finally an increase in profitability through overall improved
Increase in Output 10% operations.
(>100%) 116.6%
Average Queue
Cutting 23,661 20,434 25,453 4. Arena Simulation as applied in this case study
Tapping 16 40 14
Countering 12 30 10 The decision to use arena simulation in this project came from
Chemical Polishing 13 34 2
Saw Dust Polishing 0 0 0
needing to address issues that include the need for simplifying the
Air Polishing 26 69 4 process flow simulations, assessing and analyzing current process
Packing 0.025 0.025 3.73 flow for a regular fastener, simulating and hypothesizing improved
Sorting 1722 4622 0 process flows and the impacts on productivity, worker efficiency
Avg Queuing 3181 3153 3185
and process efficiency and comparing various proposed models
Decrease in queueing – 28 –
based on efficiency.
In the interest of process optimization, this paper includes three
simulations of the Fastener Manufacturing Process:
inefficient manual packaging, intensive labour and higher costs for
manufacture of customized pallets, poor safety and ergonomics
 The current process model
and inefficient storage of work-in-process inventory.
 The proposed model 1 - By process elimination
 The proposed model 2 - By resource addition (Table 1)
2.3. Areas of focus
4.1. Results of Arena Simulation
In this paper, in order to find solution to maximum number of
problems, we have chosen to analyse and/implement the methods
The simulation screenshots below show the results of the tree
of Time Study through process simulation to control costs, detect
models simulated – the process in its existing state, the process
bottlenecks and improve overall process flow.
with addition of resources to reduce queuing and increase resource
utilization (Cutting operators) and finally by eliminating a redun-
3. Simulation using Arena dant process to increase throughput.
The results of these simulations are highlighted in red and dis-
Arena Simulation Software is a discrete event simulation soft- cussed below in order to draw conclusions of the best methods to
ware that is used to analyse a process or system’s behaviour over optimize this process (Figs. 4a-4d).
a certain period with certain number of replications and which Thus through existing process simulations it can be observed
enables the asking of ‘‘why” or ‘‘what if” questions. that the cutting and sorting operators are overutilized indicating
a possible bottleneck and the WIP entities are considerably high.
3.1. Features of Arena Simulation software The report below shows the complete queueing inefficiencies
found in the processes.
Some features of Arena Simulation Software include, flowchart In the table below, there are added cutting operators, increased
modeling methodology includes a vast library of predefined com- from six initially to fifteen in order to distribute the work and
mand sets to a model and process without the need for custom reduce the load per operator on the cutting machines (Fig. 5).
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N. Sundararajan and R. Terkar Materials Today: Proceedings 62 (2022) 1017–1025

Finally, through the elimination of the sorting operations it was tion, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft,
found that the throughput increased from 18 in the original simu- Writing – review & editing, Software. Ravi Terkar: Supervision.
lation to 39 as seen below in the final report (Fig. 6).
Declaration of Competing Interest
5. Observations and inferences
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
In the existing model, we observe that queuing and bottlenecks
to influence the work reported in this paper.
occur the most at firstly the cutting station with approx. 23,000
pieces in queue and the sorting station with approx 1700 pieces
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