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Manufacturing Processes/Quality Assurance Program
Manufacturing operations take place in more than 54,000 square feet of facilities, located in Chanute, Kansas. Capabilities include engineering, metal fabrication, printed circuit board assembly utilizing automatic insertion and automated test, final assembly, environmental burn-in and quality assurance. Over the years, the production facilities have been re-tooled, the layout has been enhanced and the operations streamlined to what is today — a highly efficient world class manufacturing facility.
Build it Right the First Time
We use modern lean manufacturing processes vs. traditional batch manufacturing. A lean manufacturing term known as one-piece-flow (OPF) is designed to allow production quantities ranging from one unit at a time to thousands if needed. This reduces set up times and assembly change over when adjusting production quantities; it reduces material movement and handling, and it reduces rework of errors that is inherent with traditional batch manufacturing. The OPF manufacturing process is designed to build quality into the product versus reworking defects found in the completed project. The ultimate benefit of this process is the reduction of variability in the manufacturing process which translates into the on-time delivery of a high-quality product will meet your requirements the first time.
Quality Control
When an operator has completed their step in the production process, they check for errors and give their approval of the unit before passing it on to the next step. This Point-of-Manufacture Testing process allows operators to take pride in their work and ensures they control the quality that goes into the product they build. If a defect is discovered, they can stop production until the root cause is determined and corrected. In a traditional batch-manufacturing process, if a quality problem is found, the entire batch would have to be reworked. With our point-of-manufacture testing, the defect will be discovered on the very first unit manufactured. Our customers benefit by point-of-manufacturing testing through significantly higher product quality and delivery performance.
Inventory Control
Kustom incorporates Kanban, an inventory flow control system that utilizes a "Pull Forward System" to drive production, verses the traditional "Push" method of delivering product or supplies. In a traditional batch manufacturing, production materials are pushed onto the production floor based on work orders regardless of the immediate needs of production. This type of "push" operation creates excess waste of materials and inventory and employee time. Kanban simplifies the process by providing the materials and supplies in the quantities required at exactly the time required thus keeping waste to a minimum. Kanban allows production supervisors and line workers to monitor inventory supplies and prevent product shortages which prevents unnecessary production delays. Less inventory costs, reduced production delays, and efficient use of employee’s time all result in a high-quality product delivered to you on time at the lowest possible cost.
Visual Workplace
Every area of our facilty is clean, organized and well maintained. We have four teams comprised of the Senior Vice President of Operations, Departmental Leads, Departmental Managers, Supervisors, and Manufacturing/Industrial Engineers actively working on different areas within our facility to continuously improve our processes. The results of these efforts are a workplace that is clean, organized, orderly, safe, efficient and pleasant, and a foundation for all other improvement activities.
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