Improving shade consistency in vinyl floor tile production

Abstract

A rational investigation into the manufacturing process of 'Vinylasb' PVC floor tiles has been carried out to identify causes and effects of shade variation and propose cost saving improvements. The main effects of tile colour variation were customer complaints, 6% production rejects, excessive waste material (reclaim), an intricate tile shade inspection system, a complex inventory system and difficulty in forecasting accurately production outputs. Management decisions from ordering through production planning and inspection to tile dispatch were made uncertain. A cost analysis of rejects, complaints and reclaim showed that rejects constituted the largest cost element (£15000 in 1974). The main research programme concentrated on determining the causes of shade variation from the production line...