"Since lean manufacturing projects were introduced on October 17, according to the results of implementation and improvement, the project has produced effects but is still short of expectation." On February 19, the second monthly colloquium of Yuchai Group on lean manufacturing was held at the multimedia room of Yuchai Power Machinery Co., Ltd. (YPM).

Three pilot entities, including CSR Yuchai Sichuan Engine Co., Ltd. (CSR Yuchai), YPM and Yuchai Huayuan (Yulin) Machinery Co., Ltd. (Yuchai Huayuan), reported corporate-level projects on work progress, monthly work performance, work highlights, work problems, countermeasures and next plans.

Tan Jiang, head of YPM's assembly efficiency increase project, said, "Since launching the assembly efficiency increase project on November 27, 2012, YPM has set a target of increasing man-hour output and production capacity by 20 percent. Through rectification, adding equipment, improving tools, optimizing layout, straightening out logistics, dismantlement and rearrangement and line balance re-measurement, by January 31, the project's man-hour output and production capacity had increased by 14.92 percent and 16.9 percent respectively. We must fulfill the target before the project acceptance on March 30."

YPM's assembly efficiency increase project is just an epitome of effects of Yuchai's lean manufacturing project. Among CSR Yuchai's lean manufacturing projects, through earlier efforts, the time consumed in the bottleneck process of the project of standard operation of medium-speed engines has reduced from 326 minutes to 276 minutes, and the assembly efficiency of cylinder cover is expected to increase by 18.2 percent; by adjusting processing technology, the speed regulator efficiency increase project has increased the efficiency of cylindrical fine turning by 310 percent.

Meng Jianmei is a member of Yuchai Huayuan's efficiency increase project team. During the lean project, she and her teammates compressed the site work-in-process inventory by optimizing the process layout. In January 2013, Yuchai Huayuan's work-in-process inventory dropped by 13.92 percent.

After hearing the report, Zhou Sunhai, vice president of Yuchai Group, said, as Yuchai's systematic project in the "twelfth five-year" period, lean manufacturing should focus on building Yuchai's lean industry platform and its advantage in industrial skills. The team members should overcome the fear of difficulties, make innovation, accelerate lean talent training and endeavor to bring Yuchai's lean manufacturing projects to a new level.

(Li Wei)