Global Lighting Systems Company Cuts Time and Costs using Gait Design for Manufacturing Expertise for Die-Cast Housing
A globally recognized LED navigation and high-performance lighting system specialist organization used the expertise of Gait’s Supply Chain and Engineering teams to achieve thousands of dollars in monthly cost savings as well as speeding up their entire manufacture and testing process.
Case Study
The Opportunity
A major manufacturer, supplying over 60 countries worldwide, was dealing with major quality issues on the diecast housing on one of their high-volume products. These quality issues were leading to increased costs and additional time and resources being spent during assembly.
This company had initially contacted Gait to explore opportunities for them to de-risk their supply chain by exploring alternative supply solutions. Further understanding the breadth and expertise of the Gait team, they immediately saw an opportunity for them to save time and money as well as securing a more diverse supply chain.
The company expected to reduce their costs by working with Gait on a process review and redesign.
The Solution
In-depth Product and Production Review
Gait’s Design for Manufacture engineering team looked at the product from a fresh perspective. They looked at how it was currently manufactured, the materials that were being used and the testing process currently being employed.
Tooling Re-design
As a first step, the Gait team redesigned the tooling process. By carrying out this work, they were able to reduce the quality issues during the casting process.
Process-Enhancement
Next, the team looked at implementing a post coating process. This ensured that the housing was completely sealed to avoid leaks.
Quality Control
Finally, Gait designed and built a submersible test jig which allowed them to perform a 100% leak test on the housing units.
The Results
Reduced Product Cost
The tooling price and the unit price of the product have been significantly less than costs prior to the process redesign by the Gait team.
Increased Product Performance
The company experienced zero quality issues since transitioning to the new production process.
Reduced Resources
They now have an efficient production process with absolutely no re-work required.