Hensoldt | Case Study

Case Study | Hensoldt UK

HENSOLDT UK, formerly Kelvin Hughes, has established itself as a world leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of maritime navigation and surveillance radar systems.

Problem

The company began its lean journey in a bid to save time and money and reduce errors.

HENSOLDT needed a way to write procedures that were easy for the operators to work to, utilizing pictures and brief written descriptions. Their previous written procedures were bogged down with words to the point that the operators couldn’t be bothered to read them. This leads to each individual working differently and introduces inconsistency and errors.

The workforce was using a word processor to detail their work instructions, a process that they described as ‘laborious’.

Solution

NoMuda VisualFactory came to HENSOLDT UK off the back of a first-hand recommendation.

“The switch to VisualFactory was easy. The training was provided at our premises and additional online courses were available to use,” says Paul Cole, Production Engineer.

"Rather than having a separate Standard Operating Procedure for every product, you can build one that covers many variants. This saves a great deal of time. Updating existing Standard Operating Procedures is quick and easy too."

“Operators all work the same way with quality built into the product, greatly reducing any errors. It ensures the correct items are used and the product is built the same way every time – no matter who works on the line.”

Benefits

  • VisualFactory has cut costs by 50% due to the software being much easier to use and navigate, enabling them to move from a small form factor PC to tablets.
  • Standard Operating Procedures are now easy to build for the administrator and easy to use for the Operator.
  • HENSOLDT has greater control over their shop floor, giving them a ‘right-first-time’ tool.