Pennsauken Manufacturer Creates 3 New Jobs and Increases Sales by $10k through Value Stream Mapping (VSM) as it Acquires New Facility

(Pennsauken, N.J.) – Connector Products Inc. (CPI), a company that designs, develops and manufactures innovative, high-quality products for power utilities and mass transit, realized the following as the result of Value Stream Mapping (VSM):

• 3 new jobs created
• $10,000 in increased sales
• $50,000 in cost savings
• $10,000 invested in plant equipment
• $10,000 in additional savings as a result of new processes

CPI acquired a new 20,900 square foot facility in Pennsauken and wanted to optimize this space along with streamlining their existing processes before the move. They connected with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. (NJMEP), a not-for-profit that helps manufacturers become more profitable by increasing sales, reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and spurring job creation.

NJMEP met with representatives from CPI, received an overview of operations, and heard their challenges related to the move. NJMEP and its resource partner proposed developing a layout for the new facility and improving operations using VSM, a Lean manufacturing tool.

VSM is a “dock-to-dock analysis” of a company’s procedures and processes involving their customer order and demand, order entry processes, the fabrication and assembly processes, and product flow (push vs. pull) from raw material through to packaging and shipment.

The objective is to identify bottlenecks that hamper efficiencies and identify improvements that reduce material handling, improve material flow, reduce inventory, and reduce “lead time.” The improvements discovered as a result of the VSM were incorporated into the new facility layout.

In addition to VSM, CPI participated in a 4-hour Principles of Lean Manufacturing with Live Simulation workshop. CPI was able to meet their objective of streamlining their processes before the move, and the workshop helped them identify other valuable Lean techniques.

“The VSM project provided us with a detailed process flow that we used for layout changes for our relocation, and we still refer to this flow chart today. It helped us to better visualize areas of waste, especially in excess product and people movement. As a result of this project, our relocation was more successful, and we continue to look for ways to reduce waste throughout our new shop,” says Nick Polidori, President of CPI.

For more information about CPI, visit www.connectorproducts.com or call (856) 829-9190. For more information about NJMEP, visit www.njmep.org or call (973) 998-9801. 

About NJMEP

NJMEP is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization affiliated with The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a network of more than 60 MEP centers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. To learn more about NJMEP visit www.njmep.org or call 973-998-9801.

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