The Number One F-16 Wiring Harness and Electrical Panel Company in the World!

Founded in 1993 InterConnect Wiring continues to be a worldleader in supplying military aerospace electrical products. Over its history, InterConnect Wiring has supplied a wide variety of electrical products including electrical wiring harnesses, power distribution panels, and ground support equipment. Some of InterConnect Wiring’s most noteworthy accomplishments include complete and partial rewiring of military aircraft. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, InterConnect Wiring specializes in fast turnaround and developmental programs.

InterConnect Wiring has positioned their company successfully in the market, continuously delivering high quality services to their customers. However, there is always an opportunity to be better! The improvement initiative focused on the aircraft kit assembly – one of their main production lines. The process consists of a single operator retrieving all necessary components (some of which are manufactured in house) and assembling them. Although the company had a 99% on-time delivery rate, they often needed to be ahead of schedule because the time for getting kits assembled was longer than expected. Issues identified in the process were unbalanced workload, waiting for components, high levels of work in process, multiple 100% inspections, transportation between buildings and rework.

InterConnect Wiring’s management team identified, analyzed and designed a new production model for the aircraft kit assembly line with the objective of achieving one-piece flow and reducing the processing time (and thus reducing  the cost.) Management contacted TMAC,  part of the MEP National Network™, for advice on applying lean best practices. Management also wanted employees involved in the initiative and to hold them accountable for controlling and continuously improving their processes. TMAC's approach to lean focuses on equipping customers with the knowledge, skills and abilities to become self-sufficient in improving performance typically follows 4 phases- introduce, practice, apply and reinforce. In addition, TMAC focuses on lean as an organization-wide initiative to achieve sustainable results. The first step at InterConnect Wiring was for the workforce to learn basic principles of lean manufacturing. InterConnect Wiring then formed a team with key members to analyze the process with a waste walk and a detailed value stream map to identify the bottleneck and areas of opportunities. A future state map was created and responsibilities and tasks for the one-piece flow line were defined. The new assembly tables were piloted and, as expected, some adjustments were needed and communication between “suppliers” (internal activities) was a key element for feeding the line and avoid delays.