Mascar chooses Fami’s products to implement the lean production philosophy

Born in 1998, Mascar is a manufacturer specialised in the production of agricultural machines, offering a complete range of machines for haying and seeding.

Through the years, the company constant growth has been supported by production innovation and attention to environment. The two production plants cover a total surface of 27.000 m2, where workers and engineers control not only the quality of the single product components but also of the entire production process.

The production process analysis conducted to renovate the company has underlined the need to improve material handling, that often causes a waste of time and resources. For this reason, Mascar decided to implement the Lean production philosophy, following the 5s principles (Sort; Set in order; Shine; Standardise; Sustain), together with the Kanban method on a pilot plant. In particular, the 5S were implemented together with kitting to manage the stock procurement and the one of the different assembly stations. In this way the company can have a better control on warehousing costs, on the production process and on the movement of men and materials. The Kanban and the empty for full method allow to improve the management of low value materials, like screws and small parts and to avoid waste connected to overproduction.

The project led Mascar SpA to order Fami S.r.l. the installation of a workstation for each one of the assembly stations.

After a first technical advice, the three main needs order, speed and practicality were satisfied through specific products, adapted to the Lean production strategy identified by the company.

Fami supplied Work Steel workbenches with perforated tool holder walls and Smart trolleys to organize tools, assembly instructions and small parts.

Moreover, the modular shelving SYSTEM ST was installed to function as a supermarket, where screws and small parts are stocked in hopper-front containers in different colours and with labels.

The Lean project keeps on being improved and perfected thanks to workers involvement and support. The first positive effects can already be seen: an increase of 30% in production was accompanied by a more meticulous quality control, resulting in a better customer satisfaction. In fact, production process reorganisation and the work on smaller lots led to a better service and an increase in on-time delivery. Considering the success of the first pilot plant, Mascar is studying the realisation of a second production line and then it aims to apply this system to the whole company.