Aerospace Manufacturer Reduces Backlogs With Flexible Hazard Containment

Situation

For aerospace manufacturers with a large mix of assemblies that involve various stages of surface prep and finishing work, designated workstations aren’t practical for the industry’s cellular workflows. Yet hazard containment is essential for safeguarding both workers and products from potentially hazardous airborne contaminants released during metal finishing, coating, and painting processes.

So how do you contain airborne hazards without interrupting other assembly workflows? The answer: flexible containment.

In this case study, we’ll look at how one aerospace manufacturer partnered with Duroair for a one-of-a-kind containment solution that not only eliminated airborne hazards, but also reduced productivity roadblocks for assembly workflows.

The Need for Containment Flexibility

An aerospace manufacturer came to Duroair for ideas on how to reduce backlogs in their assembly processes. They had an unusually large number of projects underway in the same facility, each of which required prep work, sanding, and painting.

With so many functions to perform, the manufacturer struggled to balance the space needed at the same time for sanding and painting, and the time required to get work done, with the movement of work pieces during assembly processes. Performing this type of work often caused a backlog of other production functions.

The client needed a flexible containment solution to safely paint and sand in the same area of the facility, and they needed more flexibility within that space.

Solution

3-in-1 Containment

Duroair designed a flexible containment solution that housed up to three clean-air chambers, each with a patented, six-stage industrial air filtration system. The three chambers can be used as 3, 2, or 1 work cells, depending upon the size of the project or production workflow needs.

The custom-built DuroRoom™ enclosure mitigates airborne hazards from MRO and surface prep work without disrupting other adjacent manufacturing and assembly operations. And thanks to its small footprint, it doesn’t require additional facility space. The aerospace manufacturer can now perform up to three separate clean-air operations in the same area at the same time, which reduces interruptions, saves material handling costs, and improves the bottom line.

Benefits for the manufacturer include:

• Addresses cellular workflow challenges.
• Enhances overall production standards.
• Protects the manufacturer’s employees and processes.

The Duroair solution also helps the manufacturer meet their industrial air quality (IAQ) compliance requirements. This solution is compliant to OSHA, EPA, and NESHAP industrial air quality standards for work involving hazardous air pollutants such as hexavalent chromium, isocyanates, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Results

Reduced Backlogs, Increased Productivity

The aerospace manufacturer now has the in-house capability to triple its productivity while reducing material handling. The flexible containment solution provides opportunities to eliminate or reduce backlogs, especially with some functions requiring more time than others. The time saved quickly adds up to a better bottom line.

This flexibility allows the manufacturer to:

• Place an aircraft engine in each of the three chambers — one for prepping, one for sanding, and one for painting — in the same space, even if the adjacent chambers are being used for a different function at the same time.
• Dedicate each chamber to a specific function, where the workpiece is moved the shortest possible distance for the next function.
• Easily remove one or both of the interior walls to create a larger space to be used for a single function on a larger workpiece, such as an aircraft wing.

Let Duroair Design a Containment Solution to Increase Your Productivity

How do you balance a large mix of assembly workflows, such as sanding, painting, and other surface prep, without sacrificing facility space and resources? Containment flexibility is the answer.

Contact our industrial clean air experts today for a free consultation on how we can create the most flexible solution possible to increase your operational productivity and improve your bottom line while staying within your floor plan and space limitations.