NTN EUROPE

NTN Europe is a global leader in design, development, and industrialization of products for industrial, automotive, and aerospace sectors.

The company stands out for its global presence and technical expertise. NTN Europe has established itself as a major player when high technical demands require pionners.

The Argonay site is dedicated to manufacture and repair of high-precision bearings for aerospace industry. It is at the heart of this success story.

NTN EUROPE in 3 figures

production sites

25 000

employees

continents

Expectations

The Argonay site of NTN Europe is specialized in productions for the aerospace sector, it faces significant challenges in managing a wide range of active references (more than 500), produced in small and medium series.

These references present great complexity and high diversity in their manufacturing processes.

The goal of NTN Europe is to master this high variability to increase its agility and reduce its production lead times. To achieve this, NTN Europe is working to optimize its internal production flows. After the initial successful implementation of the method CONWIP in its ring machining sector, the site decided to extend the approach to the critical roller production sector, identified as a bottleneck.

Another major challenge is the perfect feeding of assembly lines (the last operation before product shipment to customers) to ensure maintaining Customer satisfaction and market competitiveness with impeccable OTD (On-Time Delivery).

The solutions

WIPSIM, an expert in complex flow management, and NTN Europe adopted an innovative approach by implementing a double-loop Conwip system, specially designed to meet the specificities of these productions.

Although globally distinct, these loops share some common resources. Therefore, the sizing of the queues and the visual management thresholds for each loop have been finely adjusted using the WipSim simulator, a key tool for refining the production strategy.

Project approach

The project took place over a six-month period, starting with the analysis of technical data and the construction of various possible scenarios, particularly around the design of the generic routing and then the sizing of the loops with the WipSim software.

Next, NTN Europe’s teams underwent Conwip method training, based on a situational exercise with the “Conwip Game®” and the presentation of various implementations from WIPSIM’s experience and expertise.

At the end of the training phase, a multidisciplinary working group was formed to design a prototype of a visual loop control board in the workshop. This board, designed for simple and efficient control of the two Conwip loops, also focused on readability and effectiveness to deal with the daily uncertainties inherent in complex productions.

The commitment of NTN Europe’s operators and project team, as well as WIPSIM consultants, was crucial to ensuring a rapid and effective adoption of the system.

Results

Within 3 months, the lead time on the spherical roller CONWIP loop was halved and is now sustainably stabilized.
The paper visual control board has effectively reconciled anticipation and daily production, even during periods of heavy maintenance and local adjustments (industrial transfer, workshop evolution, etc.) ensuring a 100% On-Time Delivery (OTD) to assembly lines.
A gradual reduction in lead time on the second loop, though more progressive due to its greater complexity.

“This is a success in flow control, a good challenging task accomplished successfully on the first try!”

Carole MB; NEO – Operational Excellence at the Argonay site.

What’s next ?

Following the success of the method and our collaboration, NTN EUROPE was able to gain expertise and initiate a new Conwip project in the Cages sector.
Adoption of the SmartWip® workshop control and planning software to digitize the paper board and eliminate low-value-added tasks.