TXM Team to Attend ATCO Perth Grand Opening – Lean Plant Layout
The ATCO team debating the details of the Lean Product Flow during the Initial Lean Plant Layout Workshop in January 2012

TXM Team to Attend ATCO Perth Grand Opening – Lean Plant Layout

October 24th is an exciting day for the TXM team because it marks the official opening of the new ATCO Structures and Logistics relocatable buildings plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. Western Australian Attorney General and Minister for Commerce, Michael Mischin, will officially open the plant. This $20 million world leading facility will manufacture custom built relocatable buildings for the mining and construction industries using an end to end lean production system developed with TXM.

TXM’s involvement in the project began in January 2012, when TXM Senior Consultant, Ron Spiteri, and TXM Lean Master Sensei, Tony McNaughton worked together with the ATCO team to develop a lean plant layout for the ATCO Perth facility using our proven Plant Layout Development Process (PLDP). The TXM layout offered a 20% building cost saving by enablng the size and height of the building to be reduced. It also enabled the unit costs of production to be significantly reduced. However to make this new layout work, ATCO needed to develop a Lean Production System to manage the flow of products through the new plant and the supply of materials and subassemblies to the line. TXM Senior Consultants Ron Spiteri have therefore worked with the ATCO team over the past year to develop these systems and coach the ATCO teams on how to make the lean plant layout work. With the plant startup all this is being put to the test. The new plant will hit the ground running with some major contracts to fulfil and TXM is looking forward to ATCO being able to deliver high quality buildings on time and on budget from what might be the most advanced operation of its type in the world.

Timothy McLean

Author: Timothy McLean

Timothy McLean is the Managing Director of TXM Lean Solutions and is an author of Lean books.