lines to be installed at Dotson later that year. While the employees were at the Sintokogio manufacturing facility, they also were able to watch a Sinto FBOX horizontal molding machine in production. Knowing Dotson would need to replace a molding line, they established a knowledge base for the upcoming $10,000 Project. Te company determined the molding line needed to be replaced because of its age and scrap produc- tion. Te line produced more scrap on average, was less consistent, had more downtime and was slower than the others in the facility. In addition to the poor performance data, Dotson had begun planning a melt deck expan- sion to add additional capacity, and the older molding line would be less capable of taking advantage of it. When a formal $10,000 Project is initiated at Dotson, it is important to ensure the right people are on the project team. Early in 2011, 12 employees were selected to become part of the new molding line project. Te individuals were from mainte- nance, supervision, technical, account- ing and—perhaps most importantly— molding. Having plant floor employees in the group improves morale and cultivates ownership and the desire to make the equipment work. “It is not the company telling me what
equipment I am going to run,” molding department employee Brad Butler said. “I get to have input and the ability to decide what equipment we buy.” After the team was assembled, the members visited several metalcasting facilities running the equipment being considered for the plant. Te ability to see the equipment in a working facility allows employees to learn more than they would if they sat in a room and listened to a vendor explain it. Te opportunity to ask questions of operators provides references from day- to-day users of the product, which are impossible to obtain unless staff is sent out in the industry.
Crunching the Numbers A critical part of the acquisition
process is determining the justifica- tion, evaluation and payback for the new equipment. First, Dotson works to
The FBOX line has no bottom boards, which allows for precise positioning on the pouring turntable. The automatic pouring now saves nearly 3 lbs. of iron overfill on each mold
understand what the new equipment will do for its facility. Will it reduce scrap or grinding, improve operator ergonom- ics, reduce the number of cores required, increase molding line uptime or fully utilize future capacity expansions? Dotson evaluated four different lines
before making the decision to go with the Roberts Sinto FBOX. Payback on the product was expected and obtained in less than two years. Scrap reduc- tion, production increases and core use reduction were the main components of the justification. Te company had installed a similar Roberts Sinto FBO seven years prior to the latest installa- tion. With the comparison data gener- ated by the older line, the company was comfortable it had accurate numbers the second time around. Dotson assembles project costs at the time of an equipment install. Tis includes not only the cost from the vendor, but site preparation, electrical work, rigging and any plant changes needed. Dotson expects every project to be completed within 5% of the esti- mated costs, so the upfront research must be accurate. Te FBOX project was approved at $1,055,577. Te final project cost came in at just more than $1 million. In the past five years at Dotson, one out of 42 projects has exceeded budget. When the $10,000 Project team selects a piece of equipment, individuals in the group make a presentation to the leadership team. All opinions are valued and discussed. Final approval is given if
the project and leadership teams deter- mine it is in alignment with company strategy. (See sidebar “Evaluating ROI” for more information on Dotson’s jus- tification of the Roberts Sinto FBOX and its return on investment.) Approval for the Roberts Sinto
FBOX project was received in July 2011. Once approved, the purchase orders were issued and contracts signed. Between the approval and scheduled delivery date of Dec. 15, the company found a buyer for the old equipment, worked with vendors to prepare the site and ensured employees were trained. Nine employees visited Roberts Sinto in Michigan the first week of December while the machine was being built to gain a hands-on understanding of how it is designed and assembled. Tis group included maintenance personnel, molding machine operators and a molding department supervisor. Once the equipment was installed,
Dotson continually monitored whether it met expectations. An unex- pected benefit of the FBOX installa- tion was a more precise positioning of the molds on the pouring turntable, allowing for a more accurate pour. Tis
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April 2012 MODERN CASTING | 27
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