Precision machining and industrial components
Findings

Precision machining subcontractor · 1 site, 42 CNC machines · 140 employeesThis War Map shows how we turn an operational review into an implementation plan. The dates show a possible sequence; the scope and schedule of a real engagement are agreed with you.

Findings

Where work gets held up, who has to step in, and what it costs in this example.

Quotes that arrive after the decision

About 25 RFQs a week. A new-part quote takes 6.2 days on average, and 41% are declined or sent after the buyer's deadline. Quotes sent within 3 days win about 30% of the time, against 18% overall.

One estimator for every drawing

Patrick Meunier estimates cycle times from 27 years of memory of similar parts. Every new-part quote waits in his queue.

Dates nobody trusts

Silog load dates are ignored and the real schedule is an Excel board rebuilt each morning. Delivery dates go to customers before material or machine time is confirmed.

Inspection paperwork holds parts

First-article reports are copied by hand from CMM output into forms. Parts wait for the report, and the report waits for the quality manager's time.

Illustrative time allocation for 10 interview roles

Estimating, programming and engineering
23%
Searching for drawings, history and records
22%
Chasing suppliers, customers and the shop
21%
Re-keying between systems and portals
18%
Inspection and sign-offs
16%

These scenario percentages total 100%. They describe task categories for the 10 interview roles and are not extrapolated to all 140 employees.

Searching, chasing and re-keying take 61% of the observed time. Engineering work takes 23%, and inspection and sign-offs 16%.

Key Insight: The scarce resource is engineering time. Every hour Patrick spends looking for an old order is an hour taken from estimating the next RFQ.

SOP vs. Reality

RFQ to quote (new part)SOP: 5 steps → The Reality: 12 steps, 4 handoffs
The SOP
RFQ received
Drawing reviewed
Cost estimated
Price approved
Quote sent
5 steps, linear
The Reality
12
Steps
4
Handoffs
6.2 days average
Cycle time
~25 RFQs/week
Volume

The estimate itself, operation by operation, is skilled work and takes Patrick about an hour. The six days come from everything around it: the queue in front of him, the search for similar parts, and material and treatment prices requested one email at a time.

The Gap
60 quotes traced: 6.2 days on average from RFQ to sent quote.
Hit rate 18% overall, about 30% on quotes sent within 3 days. Speed weighs as much as price.
41% of RFQs in the last quarter were declined for lack of time or sent after the deadline. That is lost opportunity, and only part of it would convert.
Similar past parts are found from memory. Their actual hours sit in Silog but are rarely checked.
Material and treatment prices are requested by email for each quote, with no reuse of last month's prices.
Order to scheduled jobSOP: 4 steps → The Reality: 10 steps, 4 handoffs
The SOP
Order confirmed
Routing released
Job scheduled
Material ordered
4 steps, linear
The Reality
10
Steps
4
Handoffs
Date re-promised on 1 order in 4
Cycle time
~60 order lines/week
Volume

Silog holds routings and orders, but its load view is out of date because actual times and machine stops are entered late. Guillaume plans in Excel after a morning walk round the shop. Dates go to customers before material has arrived, and about one order in four gets a second date.

The Gap
The Excel board is rebuilt every morning: about 1.5 hours a day.
About 25% of orders receive a revised delivery date, mostly because of late material or an urgent order pushed in front.
On-time delivery is 78% over 6 months, against a 95% target on two OEM scorecards.
Each date change is typed into Silog, sent by email and entered again on the customer's portal.
First article inspectionSOP: 4 steps → The Reality: 9 steps, 3 handoffs
The SOP
First part machined
Measured on CMM
FAI report completed
Part released
4 steps, linear
The Reality
9
Steps
3
Handoffs
~4.5 h of paperwork per FAI
Cycle time
~10 FAIs/month
Volume

The CMM measures in minutes. The paperwork takes half a day: ballooning the drawing, copying each result into the AS9102 form and attaching the certificates. On an aerospace bracket with 112 characteristics, the copying alone took Antoine most of a morning.

The Gap
About 10 FAIs a month at 4.5 hours of transcription each: 45 × 12 ÷ 52 = 10.4 hours a week.
Ballooning is redone by hand for each new revision of a drawing.
Transcription errors are caught at review, so Élodie reads every line before she signs.
Antoine is the only person who writes CMM programs. When he is away, FAIs queue.
Non-conformitySOP: 3 steps → The Reality: 7 steps, 3 handoffs
The SOP
NC raised
Disposition decided
NC closed
3 steps, linear
The Reality
7
Steps
3
Handoffs
8D late on 3 in 5 customer NCs
Cycle time
~7 NCs/week
Volume

Non-conformities are handled well on the day: parts are quarantined and a disposition is agreed. What gets lost is the record. NCs reach the Excel log days later, costs are rarely captured, and customer 8D reports are often late, which weighs on supplier scorecards.

The Gap
About 7 NCs a week, each taking about 50 minutes of chasing and record keeping.
Scrap and rework costs are recorded for fewer than 1 NC in 5, so the cost of poor quality is unknown.
3 in 5 customer 8D reports in the sample were sent after the customer's deadline.
The NC log has no link to part numbers, so a repeat issue on the same part goes unnoticed at the next quote.
Key Insight: The four sample comparisons show 140%, 150%, 125% and 133.3% more steps, respectively: (actual ÷ documented − 1) × 100. In each case the added steps sit around the skilled work: estimating, machining and measuring take less time than finding, copying and chasing.

Work that needs attention

MethodsSimilar past parts and their actual hours searched for each quote; 25 RFQs/week × 40 min16.7h
QualityFAI reports transcribed from CMM output: 45 h/month; 45 × 12 ÷ 52 = 10.4 h/week10.4h
Customer serviceDelivery commitments and date changes entered on 4 OEM portals and chased by email9h
PurchasingMaterial and treatment prices requested by email for quotes; 60 requests/week × 8 min8h
ProductionExcel schedule board rebuilt each morning from Silog and a shop walk; 1.5 h/day7.5h
ProductionSetters confirm drawing revision, program, tools and material at job start; 30 starts/week × 15 min7.5h
QualityNC records and 8D chasing; 7 NCs/week × 50 min5.8h
MethodsCustomer drawing revisions arrive by email, with no check that the shop runs the current oneongoing
64.9 person-hours/week across 7 quantified rows; 1 unquantified risk64.9 h
Key Insight: The FAI row converts monthly hours to a weekly figure. The methods row counts only the search for history, not the estimating itself, which is skilled work that stays with Patrick. Lost RFQs are an opportunity cost, valued separately in the plan. Time spent is not automatically recoverable.

Risk Register

Single point of failureCritical
Patrick Meunier, methods
27 years of estimating memory and every new routing. He plans to retire within three years, and today no one else can price a complex 5-axis part.
Product conformityCritical
Drawing revisions by email
Customer revisions reach the machine through a forwarded email and a swapped paper drawing. Two jobs this year started on an old revision; both were caught at FAI. Part release stays with quality.
Customer standingHigh
Two OEM scorecards at 78%
On-time delivery is 78% against a 95% target. One aerospace customer has placed the company under supplier surveillance, which limits new part awards.
Lost opportunityHigh
RFQs declined or answered late
About 470 RFQs a year are declined or sent late. Scenario: answering half of them on time at a 25% hit rate would bring about €880K of annual work. This is lost opportunity, not booked revenue.
MarginHigh
Quoted hours never checked against actual
22% of repeat part numbers ran more than 25% over the quoted time. Without the comparison, the same parts are quoted again at the same price.
Single point of failureHigh
Antoine Picard, metrology
The only person who writes CMM programs. When he is away, first-article inspections queue and new parts wait.
TraceabilityMedium
Material certificates on paper
Aerospace material certificates are filed in paper folders by order. An audit request for one batch takes hours to answer.
Data integrityMedium
One schedule file, three editors
The Excel board is the only real schedule and three people edit it. Overwrites lost changes twice in the last quarter.
Next Chapter
Implementation plan

Strategy Session · 30 min

A real engagement is scoped in the Strategy Session and may begin with a War Map or a bounded Feasibility Sprint.

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