Carlisle Brake and Friction is 101-year-old company that manufactures braking products for construction, aerospace, agriculture, military, racing, mining and highway uses. In recent years, Carlisle has seen an increase in competition from off-shore competitors in low-wage regions. To be more competitive, the company looked to increase manufacturing efficiency.
One of Carlisle’s biggest inefficiencies was the physical footprint of the manufacturing process. Parts were manufactured at their plant in Tulsa, OK, then transported to another plant in Medina, OH, for finishing. This travel time increased work-in-progress (WIP) inventories. Another was the overall process flow. Some items require careful coordination to ensure matched sets of components. Products manufactured on multiple lines and limited machine capacity also increased WIP inventories and made scheduling difficult.