Production on line 5 made each day a challenge at Spacesaver Corporation in Fort Atkinson. “We basically all came in every day and kind of crossed our fingers and asked, ‘How’s it running today?’ It really would determine what your day was like,” recalls Jim Muth, vice president of operations. With 475 employees and over 30 years in business, Spacesaver manufactures high-density storage solutions, which include mobile and stationary shelving systems for the legal, healthcare, library, museum, business and governmental sectors; it was acquired in 1998 by Krueger International, Inc. (KI). 

Although line 5 was a core process on the shop floor, wear and tear had taken its toll on the key work center. The most obvious solution, though, was also a daunting one: replace the machine for a capital expenditure of $750,000 to $1 million. After the troublesome line went down for three weeks, Muth called WMEP manufacturing specialists Keith Lodahl and Jim Houge to help implement two total productive maintenance (TPM) projects. By analyzing OEE data sheets, filled out by machine operators on each shift, they discovered that 40% of total machine run-time was consumed by setups, idling, minor stoppages, breakdowns, and adjustments.

“What we were able to improve the most was reduction of our overtime,” emphasizes Marty Weber, Spacesaver’s fabrication superintendent.  “We’re no longer working Saturdays and Sundays, and we can produce more in a five-day week than we were doing in six- and seven-day weeks.”

“After TPM, our productivity for parts produced each day increased by 30%,” says Jim Heathman, Spacesaver’s plant manager.  Heathman adds that because machine downtime is now planned, emergency maintenance on the machine was completely eliminated, and setup time, stoppages, and idling time all have been significantly reduced.  Machine uptime has skyrocketed, and TPM has increased output quality, while also reducing machine scrapwork. The best news, though, is that by increasing machine productivity through a focused TPM initiative, they avoided a $750,000 to $1 million expense, and can now utilize that money for other improvements in the manufacturing facility.