CAMT is developing a new for-credit curriculum for the Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) Industrial Maintenance program. The development of the course, as part of the Metro Denver WIRED Initiative, will focus on Lean Manufacturing principles.

The nine counties of the Metro Denver region have been funded by the WIRED grant through the U.S. Dept of Labor to collectively address the growing paradox of Colorado's economy--an expanding economy with high industry growth, coupled with a decrease in skilled workers stemming from low high school and college completion rates. Red Rocks Community College is a primary partner in the WIRED Initiative and has enlisted CAMT's help in addressing its objective of increasing the competitiveness of the energy and advanced manufacturing sectors by advancing the skills of the workforce and improving workplace efficiencies.

The development of the RRCC Industrial Maintenance and Industrial Science & Operations programs began in 2005 in response to energy and advanced manufacturing employer concerns of an impending workforce crisis. With 60% of their workforce slated for retirement within the next five years and the rapid development of new technologies being used in these sectors, it has become increasingly imperative to train new workers, specifically process operators and electro-mechanical maintenance technicians. As part of these new programs, CAMT is developing a two-credit course in Lean Manufacturing principles to produce new workers already familiar with Lean knowledge essential for success in manufacturing. RRCC course instructors will be trained on this curriculum this summer in order to offer the course in Spring 2008.

CAMT has partnered with Managing Automation to provide Colorado manufacturers an invitation to participate in the premier event for senior-level manufacturing executives, featuring speakers from DuPont, Lockheed Martin and Motorola. The Progressive Manufacturing Summit will show you how to build a newly competitive, 21st century manufacturing enterprise that will deliver profitable growth today- and tomorrow. These are two days of ideas & insight that you canīt afford to miss.

Attend this event and learn how to:

• Develop a roadmap and supportive organizational culture for creating and extending transformative business processes
• Identify technologies and leadership techniques that underpin manufacturing excellence
• Build breakthrough business models that generate sustainable competitive advantage
• Apply concepts such as "Lean", Six Sigma, and demand-driven manufacturing to your business

Use Code "CAMT" when registering, and save $400 off the $1,295 rate.

"Soon after implementing the tools CAMT shared with us, Harloff set an all-time record in sales. The return on investment was enormous." -- Joe Pentlicki, VP of Operations

Harloff Manufacturing Company, Inc. manufactures medical carts in Colorado Springs. Started in 1954 as a hospitality cart manufacturer, the company began producing medical carts in the late 1980's, and by 2001 decided to focus primarily on medical carts. Approximately half of Harloff's revenue had previously stemmed from the hospitality carts division of the business, and this new strategic decision posed great challenges ahead.

After shifting to only medical carts, Harloff immediately experienced steady growth in their sales of medical carts-- an average annual growth of 19%. Despite their growing success, Harloff was struggling with long lead times, low on-time delivery rates, and consequently, some customer dissatisfaction. Joe Pentlicki, Vice President of Operations, approached CAMT about conducting on-site trainings at Harloff.

In 2005, Harloff embarked on a lean journey including staff trainings in Set Up Reduction, Total Production Maintenance and mini Kaizen events in multiple departments. Additionally, a Lean Performance Measure evaluation was conducted that assisted the executive management in their strategic planning process. These trainings facilitated a complete reorganization of departments that allowed the work to flow naturally and efficiently, cut set-up times in half, and reduced unnecessary motion. The results were impressive: Harloff saw an increase in productivity of approximately 40% in just a few short months; between first quarter and fourth quarter of 2006 throughput was increased by 35%; and, average lead times were reduced from five to six weeks to three weeks--a reduction of approximately 25%.

Results:

• 35% throughput improvement from Quarter 1 2006 to Quarter 4 2006
• 25% reduction in lead time
• 20% reduction in inventory
• 24% sales increase from 2005 to 2006

Would your company's natural gas budget benefit from stable year-round energy prices? The volatility of energy prices can leave a company reeling from unexpected price spikes. Spark Energy Gas, an approved alternate supplier of Xcel Energy, offers natural gas fixed price options based on previous and forecasted usage so you can accurately predict and manage your energy expenses. To learn more, please contact Pete D'Amico, Spark Energy Gas Manager at 303.838.6600 or pdamico@sparkenergy.com.