Ryder EMS Plant Implements 5S and Invests in Expanded Tooling Capabilities

Ryder Industries, an Electronics Manufacturing Service provider, has recently added substantial capabilities to its inland plant, in Jiangxi province, China. The company, which has always prided itself on high quality engineering, has invested 5 million RMB, approximately $700,000 US, in the renovation of their tooling department and the updating of twelve machines. The site now has advanced capabilities, including product testing, mould modification, mould making and repairing.

MJ Choong, Ryder’s Vice President of Quality & Operation Experience, explains, “The tooling department started as a small service to provide basic repair work to support production, but we are now able to build new moulds for end-customers. As we continue to grow, we have adopted advanced production techniques and philosophies.

Through the hard work of the tooling department, we have transformed the tooling workshop from an ordinary shop to a world-class environment. We accomplished this mainly by implementing the lean manufacturing methodology of 5S. The benefits of using 5S, with its famous ‘sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain’, have been proven since the 1980’s in Japan, and especially by Toyota Motor Company. 5S not only creates a pleasant workplace that enhances a company’s image, it also improves the efficiency, quality and safety of the onsite manufacturing environment.”

With 30 employees on the tooling team, including a mould testing engineer, mould design engineer and many other professional engineers, the site now has the capacity to make 10 sets of new moulds, and to repair 130 sets of moulds per month. Tools include a Hexagon dimensional imager, CNC machines, low-speed wire cutting EDMs, milling machines, and grinders, among others.