Rapid Response Manufacturing On the Move at Thermadyne

Thermadyne Industries, St. Louis, MO, reports it has seen much success with its Rapid Response Manufacturing program, instituted in early 2007 in response to the growing market expectation for delivery of non-standard equipment — also known as 'specials'.
“In the past, a customer was willing to wait four weeks or more to get delivery of special equipment. Today, the market demands shipment of special orders in 48 hours or less across a broad spectrum of products,” says Matt Blake, Thermadyne general manager, Denton/Roanoke Manufacturing.
“Our new customer service program for quick response on special orders titled Thermadyne Specialty Products is designed to streamline the process.”
In January 2007, Thermadyne's Texas-Mexico (TexMex) Division became the first Thermadyne business unit to implement the TSP model. The team selected special MIG welding guns as the first product line. TSP today follows several months of data collection and analysis, and involves cross-functional teams representing every segment of the value chain: customer care, manufacturing, distribution, product line management, sales marketing, engineering and others.
Thermadyne says its objective was to meet the customer need for shipping orders in 48 hours or less.
The TSP implementation plan has two phases: Phase I addresses special MIG guns that are made from standard components - in a non-standard configuration (nearly 90% of all special MIG gun orders). Phase II addresses special MIG guns that use non-standard components (i.e. require special machining).
According to the company, following implementation of TSP for Phase I special MIG guns, the results have been outstanding. In January, TexMex shipped 95.1% of special MIG gun orders in 48 hours or less. In February, that number improved to 100%. Currently, the TexMex team is in the process of expanding the TSP model to include orders for Phase II special MIG guns, Victor HPI products, manifolds, and Tweco automation/robotics.
Visit www.Thermadyne.com for more information.