The ACCU-FAB team has been working to drive efficiencies in our program management (PM) and new product introduction (NPI) processes.  When customers take time for collaboration, we can share best practices so that everyone in the supply chain is involved and understands potential problems as well as opportunities within the value stream.

When it comes to collaboration, ACCU-FAB’s VP of Operations, Greg Newey, has a saying; “The earlier, the better.”  By working with our customers early on,  both teams have the opportunity to evaluate cost considerations and design for manufacturability.

With an understanding of customers’ products, ACCU-FAB’s Engineering Department frequently identifies tolerancing and geometry that impact production costs, requires extra set-ups or special fixtures.  Recently, in collaboration with one company we determined that a set of specified tolerance standards weren’t critical to form-fit-function requirements; providing thousands of dollars in annual savings!  When we launch New Product programs in this collaborative manner, up-front cost savings increase dramatically.