On The Job

Reduction of Cycle Time of Critical

Achievers Contest
In-jig Sub-Assembly Stage of Centre
(Lakshya 2015) Fuselage of SU30MKI Aircraft

Team:

Sukhoi
 A Report
On

“Reduction of Cycle Time of Critical In-jig Sub-Assembly Stage of

Centre Fuselage of SU30MKI Aircraft”
(24th- 30th Oct 2015)

At

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited,

Aircraft Manufacturing Division, Nasik

In The Partial Fulfillment of On the Job Achievers Contest in

OPERATIONS AND SCM Category at

LAKSHYA 2015, NITIE, Mumbai

By

Team SUKHOI
Team Leader Under the Guidance of

Sunit K Mhasade Shri B E Waghmare

Manager (Sub Assembly-Su30) DGM (Sub Assembly-SU30)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Aircraft Manufacturing Division, Nasik Aircraft Manufacturing Division, Nasik
Mob:- +91-9420589892 Mob:- +91-9423801159
sunitmhasade@gmail.com
www.hal-india.com

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 2

 Executive Summary
Objective
To maximize the output of the existing work center of assembling the complete center fuselage
of SU30 MKI fighter Aircraft.
 Identifying critical stages
 Reduction in cycle time and TAKT time of critical jigs
 Effective line balancing of all the stages
 Layout design of various activities
Project scope
 Detailed study of the existing process of assembly of center fuselage
 Identify critical work centers / jigs
 Identifying the major contributors increasing cycle time of each jigs
 Identifying the loop holes in production activities
 Identifying the loop holes in the layout of the system and taking measures to either eliminate
or reduce them
 Implementing the suggestions
Deliverables
 To reduce the Cycle time / Takt time for supplying the sub assembly from one work center
to another in less than 20 days.
 To Simplify and standardise the process
 To eliminate the non-value added activities.
 To increase the performance efficiency of employees and Deploy multi-tasking among them
 Effectively use the available manpower
Tools Used
 Flow diagram  Sequencing
 Process mapping  5 “S”
 Cycle Time  Resource Allocation
 Takt time
 Scheduling

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 3

Benefits Achieved
The project was successful in identifying the actual cause of delay of center fuselage assembly
by identifying the value adding activity and non-value adding activity either eliminating or
reducing them by using the above mentioned management tools.

a) Thus with the suggested techniques along with the sustainable continuous improvements, the
Division has saved Rs. 1, 82, 59,200/- (Rs. One Crore Eighty Two Lakhs Fifty Nine
Thousands Two Hundred) per year as compared with the old existing set up.
b) The Overall cycle time of coupling in jig has been reduced to 14 days from existing 30 days
(i.e. reduced by 54%)

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 4

 Table of Contents
1. COMPANY PROFILE .........................................................................................................................6
2. NEED OF THE PROJECT..............................................................................................................7
3. PROBLEM DEFINITION .....................................................................................................................9
4. METHODOLOGY ADOPTED FOR STUDY..........................................................................................11
4.1 MANPOWER ALLOTMENT..............................................................................................................11
4.2 PROCESS MAPPING .....................................................................................................................11
5. MAJOR FINDINGS ..........................................................................................................................12
5.1 FROM MANPOWER ALLOTMENT .....................................................................................................12
5.2 FROM PROCESS MAPPING .............................................................................................................12
6. SOLUTIONS RECOMMENDED.........................................................................................................14
6.1 FOR MANPOWER ALLOCATION .......................................................................................................14
6.2 FOR PROCESS MAPPING ...............................................................................................................14
7. BENEFITS REALIZED .......................................................................................................................16
7.1 FROM MANPOWER ALLOCATION .....................................................................................................16
7.2 FROM PROCESS MAPPING .............................................................................................................16
7.3 SAVINGS IN TERMS OF COST OF PRODUCTION .....................................................................................19
8. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE ................................................................................................20
9. APPRECIATION FOR PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE BY MANAGEMENT ............................................21

List of Illustrations

Figure 1: Critical Path of Sub assembly Complex___________________________________________8

Figure 2: Centre Fuselage of Aircraft ____________________________________________________8
Figure 3 : Work Content per aircraft in Sub Assembly Complex _______________________________9
Figure 4: Number of employees per stage ________________________________________________10
Figure 5: Cycle Time of Coupling In jig before improvement _________________________________10
Figure 6: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities before improvement _________________________11
Figure 7: Milling, reaming and spot facing plane of wing panel ______________________________12
Figure 8: After Complete milling operation_______________________________________________14
Figure 9: Bin tray for fastening ________________________________________________________15
Figure 10: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities after splitting milling tasks only_______________16
Figure 11: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities after complete improvement__________________17
Figure 12: Total Cycle time after improvement____________________________________________18
Figure 13: Total Takt time after improvement _____________________________________________18
Figure 14: Appreciation for Performance Excellence by HAL Management _____________________21
 1. Company Profile

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is a premier aeronautical complex in Asia with 19

production divisions and 10 R&D centers. HAL’s expertise encompasses design, production,
repair, overhaul and upgrade of Aircraft, Helicopters, Aero-engines, Accessories, Avionics and
Systems having a turnover in excess of US$ three Billion. HAL today provides one stop
solutions for all the design needs of aircraft and helicopters in airframes, airframe systems,
avionics, mission and combat systems using advanced design tools. The 19 manufacturing
divisions of HAL are equipped with modern infrastructure for production of fighter aircraft,
trainer aircraft, transport aircraft and helicopters. The current workforce is around 32,000 with
over 50% having more than a decade of aircraft industry experience. The Company has also
diversified into manufacture and repair/overhaul of Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine engines,
and manufacture of structures for aerospace vehicles. HAL has so far Designed and Developed
15 types of Aircraft / Helicopters including Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Light Combat
Helicopter (LCH) and the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT). HAL has played the prime role in the
design and development of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The indigenous Design and
Development activities on Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Multi-role Transport
Aircraft, Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and HTT-40 are progressing presently. In addition to
design and development of aircraft, HAL has also developed expertise in aircraft upgrades.

Aircraft Manufacturing Division, Nasik

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Nasik Division was established in 1964 for license
manufacturing of MiG 21FL aircrafts & K-13 Missiles. Since then the Nasik Division is engaged
in manufacturing and overhaul of Russian origin aircrafts under license like MiG-21FL, 21M,
MiG-21 BIS and MiG-27M. The ongoing project is manufacturing of SU30MKI aircraft under
license manufacturing from Russia.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 6

 2. Need of the Project

Under the license manufacturing, the SU30 project is under taken in 4 phases to cater the
absorption of manufacturing technology in progressive manner as below...
Phase – I : Flyway series (Direct Purchase from Russia)
Phase – II : Installation and equipping onwards (Looming done by HAL)
Phase – III : Structural Assembly onwards (Pre-coupling and further assembly done by HAL)
Phase – IV : Raw Material Series Production (Complete indigenization)
Over the period of time, as compared to original Contractual production plan with Indian Air
Force (IAF), the supply of SU-30 MKI aircrafts to IAF is behind schedule by 36 aircrafts as on
March 2015. The present rate of production is not able to meet the customer demand. There is
still a difference of 36 aircrafts in planning and actual delivery to IAF. This is attracting huge LD
charges against HAL. In order to compensate the backlog, the production rate of aircraft from
the Division has to be enhanced up to 14 aircrafts per annum specially from sub assembly
complex.

The whole aim of this project is to either eliminate or to minimise this gap so as to achieve the
required rate of production through reduction in TAKT time by implementing various new and
worldwide accepted management techniques and capacity enhancement. The implementation of
the suggestions and recommendations of this project will result in reduction of LD charges. Sub
assembly is the area where we can augment the capacity and increase the direct production rate.

Hence it was necessary to identify such critical stages which contribute majorly in increasing the
cycle time of sub-assemblies. The sub assembly complex consists of 5 different major shops.
1. Front Fuselage shop 4. Air Intake Assembly shop
2. Centre Fuselage shop 5. Wing Assembly Shop
3. Rear Fuselage shop
The Critical path of Sub assembly complex shows that Centre Fuselage assembly is critical as
shown in fig 1.

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 Figure 1: Critical Path of Sub assembly Complex

The work content and criticality in terms of inter jig requirements involved in Centre fuselage
assembly was more as compared to other Fuselage assemblies. Hence, Centre fuselage assembly
is taken for project study and analysis (Fig 2)

Figure 2: Centre Fuselage of Aircraft

(Note: Due to confidentiality issues some of the data and values cannot be disclosed in this
report)

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 3. Problem Definition

Centre Fuselage is the aircraft’s main load carrying structure. The design of the wing centre section
includes two fuel tanks; Tank No 1 and Tank No 2, and two wheel well bays. The Tank No 1 is
located between frame No 18 and 25 and Tank No 2 is located between frame No 25 and 34. The
wheel well bay on port and starboard side provide accommodation for main wheels after retraction
of landing gears. The main landing gear legs are attached to the bottom side of beam provided inside
the tank No 2. The engine air intakes and air ducts are attached to the bottom panels of wing center
section.
The Centre Fuselage Assembly involves six main stages as below…
a) Tank 1 Assembly : Structural assembly of Tank 1 parts and small assemblies
b) Tank 1 Equipping : Assembly and Testing of pipelines, accumulator, etc
c) Tank 2 Assembly : Structural assembly of Tank 2 parts and small assemblies
d) Tank 2 Equipping: Assembly and Testing of pipelines, accumulator, etc
e) Tank 1 & Tank 2 Coupling : Joining of Both Tank1 & 2, its off jig work and Airbrake suiting
f) Testing : Airtightness and fuel testing with PPU installation

The work content in Centre Fuselage assembly and employee distribution is as shown in fig 3 &
4 respectively.

Work Content per Aircraft (SMH)

6 Testing
6% 1 Tank I
5 Tank I & II
Coupling 2 Tank I Equipping
17% 1 Tank I 3 Tank II
36%
4 Tank II Equipping
4 Tank II
5 Tank I & II Coupling
Equipping
5% 6 Testing

3 Tank II 2 Tank I Equipping

30% 6%

Figure 3 : Work Content per aircraft in Sub Assembly Complex

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 Testing, 5 No of employees Tank I

Tank I & II Tank I Equipping

Coupling, 15
Tank I, 31 Tank II

Tank II Equipping
Tank II
Equipping, 4 Tank I & II Coupling

Testing
Tank II, 14
Tank I
Equipping, 5
Figure 4: Number of employees per stage

The Avg Cycle time required for completion of all the tasks in coupling in jig was 30 days (fig 5)

Coupling In jig Cycle Time (In Days)

50 46
45 42
40
33 34 33
35
Cycle Time (in Days)

30
Avg Cycle time: 30 days 24 24
25
20 20
20
15
10
5
0
1st A/C 2nd A/C 3rd A/C 4th A/C 5th A/C 6th A/C 7th A/C 8th A/C 9th A/C
Number of Aircraft

Figure 5: Cycle Time of Coupling In jig before improvement

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 4. Methodology Adopted for Study

4.1 Manpower Allotment

 Total number of employees in in-jig are 8 in group of 4.
 These employees are divided into two groups of 4 employees for allotment of tasks.

4.2 Process Mapping

The existing work procedure of coupling in jig.
No of employees : 8
No of Major tasks : 24
Cycle time required : 166.51 hrs (Approx. 30 days with only one working shift, 6 hrs. /shift)

All the tasks are distributed equally among employees based on SMH. With this we come to
know non value adding activities, time consuming and critical activities. The study is mainly
concentrated on these two aspects of shop for improvement. In Fig 6 all tasks oc coupling in jig
are mapped.

Figure 6: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities before improvement

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 5. Major Findings

5.1 From Manpower Allotment

 4 employees (2 each on LH & RH) for milling operation is resulting in idle time of operators.
 Operators are doing activities as per their incentive requirement (i.e. high value tasks first)
 Waiting time for other small tasks was evident.
5.2 From Process mapping
1. Milling is the major activity that takes more time and hence critical
1.1.Work on milling of parting plane of centre section on both RH & LH side respectively
(activity no 16 & 17) is started after the completion of task of fastening tank-I with centre
section of wing on joint (Activity 10).
1.2.The total material required to be removed from parting plane is about 14-15 mm. (fig 7)
However the material requirement is 10.1 on both side of wing panels. Thus additional 5
mm of material is to be removed.
1.3. This takes almost 32.5 hrs for continuous working i.e. approx. 6 days for both LH and
RH side milling.
1.4. Four operators (2 each for LH and RH) were engaged continuously in doing this milling
operation at a time.
2. Activity 19 & 20 consists of two different major activities viz. Reaming and Spot facing.
Considering the important tasks of coupling In-jig, Spot facing is Non Value Adding activity
and can be done in parallel with other activities in off jig. The complete activity takes 5-6
days.

13-14 mm

Figure 7: Milling, reaming and spot facing plane of wing panel

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 3. The Activity 10 of fastening of Tank I & Tank II, involves bolting by 18 types of bolts (Qty
241 nos),5 types of Nuts (226 nos) & 7 types of washers (256 nos) The segregation of all
these bolts, nuts and washers as per the location, side, qty requirement, is a cumbersome
activity. It always takes 4-5 Hrs. Resulting in taking the fastening on next day. Thus whole
days is wasted.
4. Testing of centre Fuselage: After activity 10, the pipes are coupled and then tested at certain
pressure. There are 11 different pressure lines. Along with this testing, the whole centre
fuselage is to be pressurised for air tightness testing. If the tests are found satisfactory then
the coupling in jig activity is completed. Any leakage is to be rectified and cycle repeats. In
such case also the cycle time again increases even after completion of structural activities.
This cycle time may extend up to 2-3 days.

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 6. Solutions Recommended

6.1 For Manpower allocation

1. Even though there was lot of resistance from the employees, the incentive group is changed
to 2 employees from 4 employees by convincing and explaining the benefits to them.
2. Each group is allotted task in rotation at each next aircraft so that each employee gets
hands on expertise and knowledge of all activities.

6.2 For Process Mapping

1. We have splitted complete milling activity into two phases.
1.1. Phase I:-
1.1.1. We are starting milling operation immediately after loading of Tank 2 (Activity 1)
1.1.2. The Final dimension required for wing panel is 10.1 mm. (Fig 8). In this phase we
are maintaining wing panel dimension upto 11.5 to 12 mm.

10.1 mm Final Dimension required

Figure 8: After Complete milling operation

1.1.3 Since this is contractual obligation, we have taken approval from OEM Designer
before implementing.
1.2 Phase II:-
1.2.1 In this 2nd phase, balanced milling operation is started after completion of
Fastening/coupling of tank-1 with centre section of wing on joint (Activity 10)
1.2.2 In this phase we are removing balance material of about 1.5 to 2 mm followed by
reaming of parting plane (Activity 19 & 20)
1.2.3 Only 1 operator (each on LH & RH) are allotted for doing milling task. At the
same time the other partner operator is engaged in doing other activity in parallel.
1.3 Reaming and spot facing activities were also splitted into two activities.

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 1.3.1 For reaming operation jig locators and its positioning is required hence, reaming
is required to be done in in-jig itself.
1.3.2 Spot facing operation can be done as off jig work in parallel with other off jig
tasks.
1.4 Two bin trays (for LH & RH) are made with identification of location of bolting. Thus
sorting activity is eliminated.(ref fig 9)

Type of bolts, nuts washer

required at one location are
clubbed in one bin

Figure 9: Bin tray for fastening

1.5 Testing of centre Fuselage:

1.5.1 The Pressure lines are categorised as mandatory and non-mandatory for coupling
in jig. Thus 4 mandatory lines are tested in coupling in jig. This testing is done in
parallel work with coupling in jig activities. Thus there is no addition in cycle
time.
1.5.2 The non-mandatory pressure lines (7 lines) are tested at off jig stage along with
airtightness testing.

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 7. Benefits realized

7.1 From Manpower allocation

1. The tendency of operator to work for their group instead of waiting has increased.
2. All 4 groups (2 employees each) are allotted different tasks. Thus eliminating monopoly of
employees and increased multi-tasking of employees.
3. Only one operator is engaged for milling, other partner can carry out other tasks in parallel.
4. More tasks are getting completed in same time. Hence more monetary benefits to operators.
5. Parallel and effective work load distribution

7.2 From Process Mapping

1. Due to changes made in milling activity, the cycle time of complete in jig has been directly
reduced to 131 Hrs (19 days).(Fig 10)

Figure 10: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities after splitting milling tasks only

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 16

 2. Further, Spot facing tasks alone was contributing to 70 % of time of activity 19 & 20.
Shifting of this Non value adding activity in off-jig has further reduced the cycle time of
coupling in jig to 125 Hrs (i.e. 17 days). (Fig 11)

Figure 11: Gantt chart of Coupling in jig activities after complete improvement

3. Provision of Bin trays has eliminated the non-value adding activity. Now the activity can be
done in 15-20 mins instead of indirect 1 day.
4. Shifting of testing procedure has again reduced the cycle time to 1 day instead of 2-3 days.
5. The increase in moral and enthusiasm among employees due to ease and standardization of
work procedure has increased the learning factor rapidly. Due to parallel and effective work
distribution, more tasks are getting completed in time.
6. Thus overall effect all these improvements and changes in all respect has resulted in
reduction in cycle time of coupling in jig to 13-14 days over the period of time (i.e. reduction
by 5%)( Fig 12)
7. The total Takt time of coupling in jig has been reduced to 38 days from 111 days i.e
reduction by 68 % and is maintained further. Thus the improvements are standardized and
sustained for longer production run.(fig 13)

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 17

 Coupling In jig Cycle Time after Improvement (In Days)
50 46
45 42
40
33 34 33
35
30
24 24
25
20 20 20 20
20 17 18
16 15 16 16
14 13 13 14
15 12 12 11 12 12 12 13
Avg Cycle time before
10 improvement 30 days
5 Avg Cycle time after improvement 14 days
0
1st A/C

3rd A/C
4th A/C
5th A/C
6th A/C
7th A/C
8th A/C
9th A/C
2nd A/C

SB-178
SB-179
SB-180
SB-185
SB-186
SB-187
SB-188
SB-189
SB-190
SB-191
SB-192
SB-193
SB-194
SB-195
SB-196
SB-201
SB-202
SB-203
SB-419
Figure 12: Total Cycle time after improvement

Coupling In jig Takt Time after Improvements (In Days)

180 171 Avg Takt time before
160 improvement 111 days
142
140 123125
116
120
100 90

80 69
55 55
60 50 48 48
43 45 45 41
39 35 36 38 38
40 28 32 31 30
19 23
20
Avg Takt time after improvement 38 days
0
1st A/C

3rd A/C
4th A/C
5th A/C
6th A/C
7th A/C
8th A/C
9th A/C
2nd A/C

SB-178
SB-179
SB-180
SB-185
SB-186
SB-187
SB-188
SB-189
SB-190
SB-191
SB-192
SB-193
SB-194
SB-195
SB-196
SB-201
SB-202
SB-203

Figure 13: Total Takt time after improvement

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7.3 Savings in terms of Cost of Production
Number of employees = 8
Daily Attendance factor = 7.5 Hrs
Overload cost = Rs. 1585 per Hrs
Before improvement
Cycle time = 30 days
Cost of manufacturing = 8x7.5x30x1585 = Rs. 28, 53,000/-
After Improvement
Cycle time = 14 days
Cost of manufacturing= 8x7.5x14x1585 = Rs. 13, 31,400/-
Savings per aircraft = Rs. 15, 21,600/- per aircraft

Annual savings (12 AC per year) = Rs. 1, 82, 59,200/- per year

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, AMD, Nasik Page 19

 8. Conclusion and Future Scope
The project was successful in identifying the actual cause of delay of center fuselage assembly by

identifying the value adding activity and non-value adding activity either eliminating or reducing

them by using the above mentioned management tools.

Sl no Description Before Improvement After Improvement % Saving

1 Cycle Time of coupling in jig 30 Days 13-14 Days 54%
2 Takt Time of coupling IN jig 111 days 38 days 65%
3 Cost of production Rs. 28, 53,000/- Rs. 13, 31,400/- 54%
4 4 employees 2 employees
Resource Allocation
completes milling completes milling 50%
(Manpower )
task task
5 5 “S”
(Time for segregating of 4-5 Hrs 10-20 Mins 94%
coupling task)
6 Scheduling
2-3 days 1 day 67%
(Change of testing procedure)
7 Sequencing
(Change of sequence of Spot 6 days 4 days 34%
facing Activity)

The Cycle time and Takt time of coupling in jig has been drastically reduced and made the jig
non critical. Similar type of tools can be applied to other stages of Center fuselage assembly so
as to reduce overall cycle time and Takt time of Centre Fuselage Assembly. The HAL
Management has appreciated efforts by letter in fig 14.

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 9. Appreciation for Performance Excellence by Management

Figure 14: Appreciation for Performance Excellence by HAL Management

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