Application of Lean Manufacturing Principles to DARHT-II Induction Cell Refurbishment

The induction cells of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrotest (DARHT) second axis facility are scheduled to be refurbished with performance and reliability upgrades. The refurbishment process involves extracting each cell from the accelerator hall, performing a complete teardown of the cell, reassembling with new or modified components, fidulizing the magnetic axis, testing and certifying pulse power performance, and reinstalling into the accelerator hall. Each step of the refurbishment process is comprised of many complex steps, necessitating attention to details and following strict assembly protocol to ensure that high quality cell assemblies are attained. All this must be accomplished at an accelerated production rate to meet the commissioning milestones of the DARHT second-axis accelerator. To this end, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has adopted the principles of lean manufacturing and applied them to the cell refurbishment effort. These principles emphasize streamline thinking and methodologies for manufacturing environments that promote the most effective use of resources. After workshops and application of these methodologies, the cell manufacturing facility at LANL has been transformed to support lean manufacturing. This paper presents and discusses the processes and facility configuration developed to apply lean manufacturing for cell refurbishment.