Finding a Better Way
At Worthington Steel, Transformation often starts with a simple question: Is there a better way to do this?
At our Monroe, Ohio, facility, a cross-functional team saw an opportunity to rethink how certain automotive products moved through an operation.
The opportunity centered on automotive blanks running on some of the facility’s largest presses. By shifting that work to a smaller press, production speeds increased by more than 50% while opening additional capacity on the larger equipment.
Understanding the Opportunity
Coil-fed steel moves through blanking presses at the facility, where specialized tooling cuts the material into flat shapes, or blanks. Those blanks then move downstream for additional manufacturing or forming into automotive and other components.
Certain blanks, including those used in the production of an automotive oil pan, had been running on Monroe’s larger 1,000- and 1,500-ton presses.
Using Worthington Steel’s Transformation playbook and a structured kaizen event, the team challenged the existing process by asking whether these products needed to run on the larger presses.
The answer pointed to another way to use equipment already in place at Monroe.
Pictured: Much like a cookie cutter, specialized tooling in a blanking press cuts flat-rolled steel into precise shapes, or blanks, like those shown here, for further manufacturing.
Putting the Right Work on the Right Equipment
The team determined that the products didn’t require all the capabilities of the larger equipment. Their lighter-gauge material, smaller dies and other production requirements made them a good fit for an underutilized 300-ton press.
Moving the work would make better use of the smaller press while creating additional capacity on the 1,000- and 1,500-ton presses for products that require greater tonnage, a larger bed size and additional material-handling capabilities.
Making that shift, however, required more than simply moving the tooling.
Pictured right: Monroe's 1,000-ton press in action.
A Cross-Functional Team Effort
Worthington Machine Technology (WMT), Worthington Steel’s internal machine and tooling group, worked with the Monroe team to modify the production dies and feeder system to accommodate the work. Once production was moved to the 300-ton press, they also optimized the press and damper settings to increase production speed.
Pictured left: Worthington Machine Technology (WMT) provides internal machining and tooling capabilities that support operations across Worthington Steel.
Andy Reich, vice president of transformation at Worthington Steel
Transformation isn’t always about adding new equipment or introducing the latest technology. Sometimes the biggest opportunity comes from looking differently at what we already have. This team challenged an existing process and brought together operational and engineering expertise to find a better way to use the equipment already there.
Faster Production, More Capacity
The changes delivered significant results.
Production speed increased 63% for one group of automotive blanks and 56% for another. At the same time, shifting the work created additional capacity on Monroe’s larger presses.
The project also created a path to evaluate other products that may be better suited for the 300-ton press, opening the door to further improvements in productivity and equipment utilization.
“This was really a team effort,” said Justin Gray, area manager, Monroe blanking. “It took people who understand the products, the tooling and the equipment working together to make the move successful. That collaboration helped us turn an idea into an improvement we can build on.”
Pictured right: Members of the Monroe, Ohio, team who helped move production to the 300-ton press and optimize the process.
Transformation in Practice
The Monroe, Ohio, project is one example of Transformation in action at Worthington Steel, demonstrating how our teams continuously improve the way work gets done.
Across the company, our employees combine disciplined problem-solving and expertise in engineering, automation, data and artificial intelligence to identify opportunities and improve operations. The tools may differ from project to project, but the work begins with understanding the problem, challenging assumptions and finding a better way.
At Monroe, that meant taking a fresh look at existing equipment. The result was faster production, better use of resources and additional capacity for future customer needs without significant capital investment.