RIT Senior Design Project – P10711 Wegman’s Meat Tumbler Process Improvement

1. RIT Senior Design Project – P10711Wegman’s Meat Tumbler Process Improvement Eric Albanese – Project Manager, Industrial Engineer Theresa Ambrose – Mechanical Engineer Okechikere Ekeada – Industrial Engineer Jeremy Gray – Industrial Engineer Jesse Wykstra – Mechanical Engineer

2. The aim of this project is to improve the meat marinade tumbler transport in the Wegman’s Culinary Innovation Center. Our primary goals were to: • Fix ergonomic issues • Address safety concerns • Reorganize layout • Reduce waste Project Purpose

3. Translating Needs to Metrics

4. Project Metrics and Goals

5. PROJECT 1 - Kaizen Used lean implementation tool, Kaizen to identify and eliminate waste. Used process signals to establish a pull system. • Goals • Reduce # of VEMAG vat usage on the floor. • Reduce dumptable inventory in front of Multivac station. • Problems addressed • Excessive # of VEMAG vats • Too much full dumptable inventory

6. Reduced amount of space taken up by vemag vats • From 85 ft2 to 56 ft2 • Reduced amount of space taken up by dump tables. • From 190 ft2 to 82 ft2 • Established a pull system by implementing process limits between stations, reducing inventory. KAIZen Results

7. Goal of the project is reduce the space taken up the meat flattening progress PROJECT 2 – Meat conveyor • With the possibility of other tumbler process being moved into this room (estimated at least additional 32 sqft), better space utilization is a necessity • Wegman’s had smaller conveyor in Brockport, NY facility that was transported to the CIC • New conveyor is 18’ long, old one was 26’ long • Worked to optimize the space use of the new machine • Reworked layout to minimize amount of ‘dead space’. • Completed ergonomicstudy to ensure safety

8. Process converted successfully to smaller sized conveyor Space taken reduced Production capacity determined to CONVEYOR – Results

9. Results: A spring loaded UHMW plastic insert greatly reduced the amount of bending/twisting that the employees have to perform while unloading the dump table at the multivac station. The maneuverability of the dump table will be improved by adding a new caster design. The cleaning process will be improved by adding a removable drain bucket. PROJECT 3 - DUMP TABLE • Project Goals: • Reduce the amount of bending/twisting required to unload the dump table at the multivac station. • Improve the overall maneuverability of • the dump tables. • Simplify the dump table cleaning process.

10. Spring-Loaded dump table prototype Total Cost: ~$1,708

11. The spring-loaded grate mechanism was completed in the RIT machine shop. The removable drain bucket will have to be completed by Wegmans. The new casters will also have to be installed by Wegmans. All of the new dump table features will have to be tested. These new features will improve the ergonomics involved with unloading, transporting, and cleaning the dump table. DUMP TABLE Results

12. Goals • Make column dumper require less force to move • Reduce the number of workers required to load column dumper with VEMAG Vat and secure it • Problems addressed • Ergonomic concerns workers have (complaints of a stressed and strained body after a busy day) • Reduce waste involved with using two workers to properly secure VEMAG Vats Project 4 – COLUMN dumper

13. COLUMN DUMPER – Suggested Mods Secondary Securing Mechanism: • Upside – out of the way • Downside – install on every vat • Carabiner • Test the purchased casters • Force Gauge • Worker survey • Purchase suggested casters • Modify Column Dumper for 6” casters

14. 3 Injuries: • Shoulder pain while working in the tumbling area • “A shooting pain” in hamstring from pushing a small empty vat out of the way • While pushing a full vat into the power lifter, shooting pain in shoulder • Loading into dumper: • Very large push required for vat to “click” securely in place Project 5 – VEMAG Vats

15. VEMAG Handle

16. VEMAG results • Vat handle was constructed and attached successfully • Used round stainless steel tubing for easier bending and welding • 1/8” thick, 1” OD, same lengths • Ergonomic risk rating was reduced from 3 to 1 • Still not a large risk, but the injuries related to bending are going to practically disappear • Initial feedback from team members and machine shop staff is very positive • Waiting on feedback from floor employees

17. Results of all projects

18. Successes: Issues: • Process inventory controlled and reduced • Opportunities for other process additions to marinade room • Discovered and reinforced existing issues • Carried designs from concept to completion • Created working prototypes for mass production • Got experience working as consultants in a multidisciplinary team • Issues with parts tracking and ordering • Discovered some overlap with existing Wegmans projects and had to modify plans • Could have used more test time with prototypes • Email communication could be better • Miscommunications between involved parties Project Wrap-up

19. Suggestions for Future MSD Projects: Collaborate with other MSD groups for parts ordering/receiving Have large formal introduction meeting at start where we meet everyone involved (management, parts ordering, operations, etc) Less time should be spent on deliverables in MSD1 and more time spent on ordering, building, testing in MSD2 Keep standing meeting every week and cancel as needed Moving Forward

20. Thank you! Questions?