Off-Road Buggy Fuel Tank Manufacturing Process Analysis

Your task is to analyse the production process based on the data provided.  Do a Supplier?Inputs?Process? Outputs?Customers (SIPOC) Chart Analysis to propose what a buggy tank manufacturing process would involve  regarding critical information and key stakeholders of the manufacturing operations. Refer to Six Sigma Week 3 nLecture Notes for a detailed overview of SIPOC Chart Analysis. 

Problem

The fuel system of the off?road buggy is comprised of two fuel tanks, one on either side of the chassis. The fuel tanks are made from steel sheet that is 2mm thick. Within each tank is a set of baffle plates that are made of  1mm thick steel sheet. The fuel tank also includes a filler cap, a fuel outlet port and a breather port. The fuel  tank is fitted with a leak?proof filler cap. The fuel tank must be vented out to the atmosphere. The vent pipe  (breather valve fitting) is located on the upper surface on the tank, very close to a corner. This vent valve acts as  a non?return valve to the fuel system. The baffle plates in the fuel tank reduce sloshing of fuel in the tank. Fuel  tanks on either side of the buggy are not identical, they are a mirror reflection of each other and hence are two  separate assemblies.  The fuel system would normally come with an off?the?shelf fuel pump and plumbing parts,  but the scope of this analysis is limited to the fabrication of the fuel tanks only (with only the pipe fittings  installed). The locations of these fuel tanks on the buggy are shown in Figure 1 below

The fuel tanks are to be ordered for production at a rate of 50 buggy sets per week, which is equivalent to 50  left side and 50 right side fuel tanks per week.  A delivery is to be made at the end of each day.  

Table 1 summarises The Job Shop’s proposed production capacity and major process steps. 

Table 1.  Production Capacity of “The Job Shop” 

Figure 2. Fuel Tank Design   

Fuel Tank Design

This assessment paper analyses the production process of the off-road buggy based on the provided data by evaluating a supplier-Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers (SIPOC) Chart Analysis so as to propose the manufacturing process of buggy tank regarding the key stakeholders and critical information of the manufacturing operations. A SIPOC Chart Analysis is a tool used for the purposes of identification of all relevant elements of a process improvement project before the beginning of the project. It assists in defining a complex project that may not well scoped and is normally implemented at the measured phase of Six Sigma.

Some of the components required during the manufacturing process of off-road buggy include fuel outlet port, leak-proof filler cap, breather port, fuel tanks, and filler cap. The fuel system of the off-road buggy is made of dual fuel tanks on both sides of the chassis. The fuel tank is composed of a steel sheet of thickness 2mm with baffle plates also made of steel of thickness 1mm. The vent valve acts as a non-return for the fuel system. The baffle plates in the tank reduce fuel splashing in the fuel tank. On both sides of the vehicle, there is mirror reflection (Badiru, 2009).

SIPOC CHART ANALYSIS

During the process of building the SIPOC Chart, a team of four individuals will start by initially inquiring concerning the manufacturing process of the two fuel tanks of the off-road buggy. The team can then brainstorm and prioritize the major processes out of consumers and then identify, align, arrange, and align the most significant production to the client. The team will then finally identify the input or information needed to carry out the processes as well as the individual providing the input. The following are some of the information used during the analysis of SIPOC for the buggy tank manufacturing process:

Consumers: The consumers are those individuals who will ultimately receive the final output. It is significant to note that the consumers should receive the product from the manufacturing company directly and may not basically be the product consumers (George, 2013).

Output: The outputs are the final product distributed which for this instance is the two fuel tanks of the off-road buggy.

Time estimated: The estimated time is the time taken to fully complete the processes involved for a particular step.

Supplier: The suppliers are the organizations or individuals who provide the numerous inputs that will ultimately be used during the off-road buggy tank manufacturing process (Gygi, 2012).

Components Required for Manufacturing Process

Processes: These are the numerous activities that are normally carried out to satisfy the customer or consumer requirements who will purchase the final product from the manufacturing company. The table below shows the chart analysis of the Supplier-Process-Outputs-Customers for the process of manufacturing of off-road buggy tank:

The manufacturing processes involved during the off-road buggy tank manufacturing are explained below:

Step 1

Cutting laser: The steel if cut first at a thickness of 2mm on both two fuel tanks on each side of the chassis. For both tanks, there are baffle plates which are made of 1mm thick steel sheet. These thicknesses are measured an then cut from the initial steel material before proceeding to the next step of welding and folding according to the dimensions of the design below:

Step 2

The folding process by the use of folding machine: The dimensions indicated in the figure above are then folded to make the required shape of the fuel tanks. It is not mandatory that the two fuel tank must be identical, however, their specifications and shape should be similar for appropriate incorporation and functionality of other segments inside the tank such as the filler cap, fuel outer port, and breather ports. This stage will take approximately one minute for each of the buggy fuel tanks (Rasmusson, 2011).

Step 3

The tracking and filling Process: This stage involved looking for corners made after folding, and then filing the corners by the use of manual welding jig. During this step, the filler cap, fuel outer pot, and breather ports are welded on the buggy fuel tank. The reflection mirrors are also welded on both sides of the off-road buggy. The process of tracking can be carried out by the use of ultraviolet radiations which has the ability to detect minute pores in the fuel tank corners (Shankar, 2009)

Step 4

The robotics welding stations: This station of welding is used for the purposes of welding the other elements in the buggy fuel tank such as filler cup, fuel outer pot, and breather pots for instance when there is the manufacture of numerous bugger fuel tanks with similar dimensions and components. This step is expected to take approximately 5 minutes for each buggy fuel tank (Taghizadegan, 2010).

Step 5

The leaking Tests: The leaking test is performed after the ultimate completion of two fuel tanks so as to evaluate if there are any probabilities of fuel leaking from the tanks. The process is carried out by pouring fuel samples inside the two fuel tanks and then observe in case there is any leakage from the fuel tanks. In case there is fuel leakage, then the tanks are returned to the filing and tracking corners stage (George, 2013).

Step 6

The final inspection: This ultimate scrutiny is performed through testing physically of the off-road buggy fuel tanks to evaluate in case the fuel tanks are in the position of properly function after being assembled in the buggy. In case of production of buggy fuel tanks in large quantity using a robotic mechanism, then the last buggy fuel tanks and the first fuel tanks to be produced should be inspected because it is difficult to scrutinize all the buggy fuel tanks if they are many (Hintze, 2012)

Conclusion

A SIPOC Chart Analysis is a tool used for the purposes of identification of all relevant elements of a process improvement project before the beginning of the project. The major metrics that are considered during the SIPOC Chart Analysis include the suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs and customers.

References

Badiru, A., 2009. STEP Project Management: Guide for Science, Technology, and Engineering Projects. Perth: CRC Press.

George, M., 2013. Lean Six Sigma for Service, Chapter 11 - Using DMAIC to Improve Service Processes. Perth: McGraw Hill Professional.

Gygi, C., Williams. B., 2012. Six Sigma For Dummies. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Hintze, M., 2012. Analysis and improvement of the setup time reduction effect, the order strategies and the operating curves of manufacturing operations. London: GRIN Verlag.

Przekop, P., 2012. Six Sigma for Business Excellence. Melbourne: McGraw Hill Professional.

Rasmusson, D., 2011. SIPOC Picture Book: A Visual Guide to SIPOC/DMAIC Relationship. Toledo: Oriel Incorporated.

Shankar, R., 2009. Process Improvement Using Six Sigma: A DMAIC Guide. Colorado: ASQ Quality Press.

Taghizadegan, S., 2010. Essentials of Lean Six Sigma. Michigan: Elsevier.