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TA Instruments Rapidly Improving
With the help of: University of Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (UUMEP) Center
About
TA Instruments is the world leader in manufacturing industry-leading systems for thermal analysis, rheology, microcalorimetry, and mechanical analysis. The company offers innovative and reliable instruments that help scientists in top laboratories test the physical properties of their materials. These instruments contribute to leading discoveries in medicine, materials science, electronics, and other areas of science devoted to improving the world.
TA Instruments’ reputation for high-tech products, quality manufacturing, and unbeatable after-sales support is why customers recommend TA products. The company prides itself on the excellence of its instrumentation and its sales force's technical competence and professionalism.
TA Instruments is a subsidiary of Waters Corp headquartered in Delaware. Waters Corporation is the world’s leading specialty measurement company focused on improving human health and well-being through the application of high-value analytical technologies and industry-leading scientific expertise.
TA Instruments’ Lindon facility is an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility and has been operating for about 15 years.
The Challenge
TA Instrument contacted iMpact Utah, a Utah-MEP subrecipient and part of the MEP National Network™, for assistance with quality improvement, execution, training, supply chain constraints, and improving client lead times. The most pressing need was to better utilize the company's existing space. Shipping and receiving, as well as materials, were also particular areas of focus.
iMpact Utah and the Utah-MEP helped us make significant changes to our existing lines to accommodate a new production line. In the process, iMpact’s team helped us see things about current processes that could be more efficient while helping our team adopt a continuous improvement mindset. Our work with iMpact helped us ask better questions and become better problem solvers, which will serve us well into the future.
MEP's Role
iMpact Utah, a Utah-MEP subrecipient, addressed TA Instruments’ needs through continuous improvement and product line design. The overarching project was to support existing operations and prepare operations for a new product release in 2023. Both objectives required reconfiguring to optimize how the existing resources were used. Rapid Improvement (Kaizen) Events helped the team learn constant improvement principles and apply their new knowledge to real product needs. Rapid improvement events augment, not replace, daily continuous improvement. Participants learn a structured and scientific approach to problem-solving and see real progress in the selected focus areas. This involved a small team devoting 100% of their 3-5 days to analyzing and improving a narrowly defined targeted issue or process.