Due to the extreme competitiveness of the automotive industry, the search for increased productivity is more necessary than ever, given the emergence of new players in the market with extremely aggressive pricing policies. The components industry is therefore under intense pressure to reduce costs by continuously improving its manufacturing processes. This study describes a novel approach with the aim of reducing cable waste during the Bowden cable trimming operation on production lines. Traditional production lines can generate thousands of meters of cable waste per year. However, there is a gap in studies trying to reduce this waste of resources. Since the automotive industry is highly competitive this waste is unsustainable both from an economic and environmental point of view as it becomes a competitive disadvantage. There has been a lack of studies developed about how the implementation of the DMAIC cycle (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) can generate a very significant reduction not only in material waste but also in the reduction of the number of workers on certain assembly lines. These improvements resulted in trimming lengths reductions ranging from 35% to 50%, depending on the assembly line considered. For example, in assembly lines C and F1 (Italian Electrical Cut) the implementation of the new electric cutting kit allowed for an average reduction in trimming length from 40 mm to 25 mm, resulting in material savings of 37.5% for the highest-volume production line. The results confirm the DMAIC cycle as a robust and replicable approach to reducing variability, setting a new standard of operational excellence in Bowden cable production. Thus, this study validates the DMAIC methodology as a key catalyst for cost optimization and increased efficiency in the automotive component supply chain.
Silva et al. (Fri,) studied this question.