28% more production without new machinery
A metalworking company from Águeda needed to meet more orders without investing in a second line. We reorganized the flow and maintenance with the teams.
production per shift
Nortemetal produces metal components for the automotive industry and had orders for 25% more than it could deliver. Management was considering a 4 million euro investment in a second production line.
During the diagnosis, we found unplanned downtime in 22% of the available time and tool changes that took, on average, 74 minutes.
Over 14 weeks, we worked with the shift supervisors to reduce changeover times (SMED method), create a preventive maintenance plan, and implement a daily indicator board next to the machines.
The maintenance team began planning interventions during low-load periods, and operators gained autonomy for minor adjustments.
- +28% more parts produced per shift
- Tool changes reduced from 74 to 19 minutes
- Unplanned downtime reduced by half
- €4M investment postponed, without loss of orders
We thought we needed another line. In the end, we just needed to look at the one we already had with different eyes.
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