Trane

Trane

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Trane indoor comfort systems achieves high quality and cool savings with WinSPC


Background
The Trane Company, a subsidiary of American Standard Companies, Inc. [NYSE: ASD] is a $4B worldwide
leading supplier of indoor comfort systems. Trane’s products include heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for residential and commercial applications. Trane has gained significant benefits using WinSPC.

“WinSPC has the Six Sigma tools that I need to make breakthrough improvements. It also ensures that our improvements simply won’t fade away in a couple months. WinSPC keeps out processes under Control and reduces scrap by 50% annually.”

Stan Crockett
Black Belt Engineer
Trane


Challenge
For Trane, manufacturing leak-free refrigerant coils without generating an unacceptable amount of scrap is imperative to producing world-class indoor comfort systems. Trane was experiencing an unacceptable scrap rate in the process of fabricating these coils. Trane, therefore, set a goal to reduce scrapped coils and the copper and aluminum components that make up a refrigerant coils.
Using Six Sigma, Trane pinpointed the critical process inputs that have the most impact on improving quality and reducing that variation that causes coil slab and copper scrap. But significant challenges still remained.
  • Since Trane’s operators rotate frequently among various processes and machines. Trane recognized the need to keep operators continually up-to-date on a host of process issues, machines and specifications.

  • Trane also wanted to ensure that all the benefits achieved through the Six Sigma process would be sustained through reliable control methodologies.

Implementation
Trane chose WinSPC for the following reasons:
  • WinSPC supports Trane’s Six Sigma programs with essential data collection, analysis, measurement and control tools

  • With WinSPC, Trane was able to display setup and operating instruction as well as blueprints and digital pictures to quickly train operators on the job; automatic mapped updates via WinSPC, provides optimum process control to ensure continued success of the Six Sigma project.

  • WinSPC offers a plant-wide monitor option that enable viewing of any process from anywhere in the plant at any time for optimum supervisory control.

Results
WinSPC supports Trane’s Six Sigma program by providing essential tools and ensuring success in the final control stage of the DMAIC cycle. Trane’s operators also have adopted WinSPC as mission critical to their success.

Benefits
Trane specifically cited the following benefits achieved with WinSPC:
  • Reduced annual scrap cost by 50%

  • Attained ROI in 4 months

  • Significantly improved first-pass yields

  • Instilled greater operator prode

  • Sustained Six Sigma improvements through ongoing control

 

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