Reduction of Bubble Defect and Production Leveling: Case Study of a Hard Disk Drive Company

Abstract

This research aimed to reduce the quantity waste from bubbles in the hard disk drive labeling process and to smooth production in the process of labeling and packing products according to the 7 Wastes. One waste problem is from bubbles on product labels being not smooth resulting in employee movement and time wastes. This study sought to improve this problem by collecting data and analyzing the root causes using a fishbone diagram. It was found that the waste bubble problem was caused by the weight not being able to diffuse all of the label. The researcher designed the Rubbing Tool Cover for pressing on the labels. Then the work process was improved by 1) studying the time spent at each station and reducing the cycle times using the ECRS technique, and 2) improving the barcode scanning equipment and process, dividing and reducing the time of work for each employee. The results of the research showed that the Rubbing Tool Cover reduced the waste bubble percentage defect on products from 18% to 2% (-88.88%), the percentage defect on packaging from 30% to 12% (-83.33%), and increased production capacity from 1,324 to 1,381 or 57 pieces/day, (+4.30%). As a result, the production process could run more smoothly.