An old friend of mine once challenged me to simplify a product he had already simplified. It was a small 24"x48" illuminated sign.

The volume was important, so I got:

1. The inside frame supplier to spot weld the parts of the frame for free instead of using 12 rivets to do it.

2. The bolts to attach the ballast were also used to attach the hanging chains.

3. Instead of electric tape we used collapsible PVC spaghetti.

4. The aluminum supplier agreed at no extra cost, to deliver the frame extrussion at the exact size that was needed

5. To form the aluminum frame, we created a simple template equipped with stops and 2 fast clamps. 

6. Finally, we got the acrylic supplier to bring the covers at exact size, so 2 to 4 unnecessary cuts (and the scrap) per unit were saved.

The whole assembly cycle was brought from over 47 minutes to just 3 minutes 48 seconds. The cost of all the improvements and tools, including my fee was paid off in the first week after  total implementation. The contract of 2,300 signs was finished 6 weeks in advance of schedule. Customer happiness was a Side Effect.

As in many of the products manufactured still today, simplification is about to eliminate all the operations that do not add any value to the product. It is amazing how a trained set of eyes can start seeing simplification opportunities where they have been overlooked for years. We have the method to bring a team of your workforce to that level of analysis and cooperation. They will start finding the opportunities and motivation to improve the processes over and over again.