The Kenworth chassis project group was first assigned to tackle the problems that were encountered at the chassis paint booths. However, with the time constraint of only a quarter to complete the project, we were given the opportunity to choose our own topic to instigate. We decided that it would be helpful to choose a section of the process of building the trucks, and then to try to discover, investigate and overcome the problems that are hindering the process from achieving a higher level of efficiency.

The Kenworth management suggested four stations that were part of the initial chassis assembly. The stations include the fold station through the torque station. Our main goal is to increase the efficiency of these three stations. Throughout the quarter, we spent a lot of time observing the process of these stations. We discovered that the main problem with the current assembly process is the under-utilization of the storage system. This problem branches out and causes more problems, such as excess walking distance by the workers, parts stored beyond the boundaries of the power zone, and excess waste materials. We have come to determine that by solving to enhance the utilization of the storage space, the efficiency in those three stations will be increased.