Lean Manufacturing Case Study: LaMotte Company (Kent County)

• Chestertown-based LaMotte Company, one of the country’s largest manufacturers and distributors of water testing equipment contacted UMMAP for assistance in resolving ergonomic issues in its shipping department.

• UMMAP consultants Barry Frey and Ron Hawkins visited LaMotte, met with company officials, and studied its shipping department. Their analysis determined that, in addition to ergonomic issues, product flow was a problem, as well.  Product would pile up on LaMotte’s conveyor system to be processed, then rushed to meet deadlines.

• Dave Rizzardo (UMMAP Lean Manager), with the assistance of Frey and Hawkins, arranged a new cellular flow for LaMotte’s product processing and shipping. Cellular or Flow Manufacturing, a principle of Lean Manufacturing, links manual and machine operations into the most efficient combination to maximize value-added content, while minimizing wasted motion and valuable resources.  Cellular Manufacturing is one of the primary techniques used to obtain the Lean benefits of: shorter lead-times, improved quality, reduced inventories, simplified scheduling, and minimized material handling.

• UMMAP incorporated LaMotte’s request into its plan for a two-line conveyor system, using one line for unregulated material and the other for material that had to be processed and documented. Further down the line, the product was combined and sent through the manifest system.

• LaMotte also purchased lift tables, which allow the packers to adjust their work to a comfortable height—regardless of the carton size and material being packed. These lift tables are also integrated into the conveyor system.

• UMMAP’ solutions made a difference. According to Herman Wefelmeyer, LaMotte Company’s Director of Manufacturing, “Order packing productivity has improved at least 50%.  Material flow has improved dramatically by reducing the number of order pickers and reassigning people to the packing operation to reduce queue time. Productivity in the picking operation has improved as well.”

• Wefelmeyer added, “Morale in the department has improved.  The employees are more efficient and productive, and are working well together in the cell.”