PATH - A Public Private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology
November 8, 2006
Modular Manufacturers Gets Lean with PATH
With the support of the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH), R-Anell Housing Group, a leading manufacturer of factory built housing, has taken the first step towards embracing lean home manufacturing, a method of approaching production that can dramatically reduce costs by systematically eliminating waste in all forms.
[IMAGE: An employee finishes a dormer during a recent PATH/MHRA visit to the R-Anell facility in Denver, North Carolina.] As part of a cooperative agreement with the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance (MHRA) to expand lean production analysis to manufacturing plants, PATH staff recently visited the R-Anell facility in Denver, North Carolina, to witness its Rapid Process Improvement process to identify and eliminate waste in R-Anell's onsite cabinet shop. The visit afforded PATH staff the ability to see first hand how lean manufacturing techniques are being applied in this plant, and provided a context for understanding the role of lean manufacturing methods in improving home building practices.
Lean manufacturing is a powerful tool that was first adopted by the automotive industry. Now it is being embraced by factory homebuilders. MHRA is creating a Center for Lean Home Building that will apply the system into all aspects of the home building process. In all, MHRA has been working with nine manufactured housing plants. Each plant has been visited multiple times.
This task advances the goals of PATH as set forth in the manufactured housing roadmap, "Technology Roadmapping for Manufactured Housing." The project team, lead by MHRA, includes many of the largest factory builders and the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), product suppliers and academic institutions. The project is slated for completion in mid-2007.
For more information:
Brian Sullivan
202-708-0685
MHRA
Emanuel Levy
(212) 496-0900
Content updated on 5/19/2009
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