As part of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a federal program of the U.S. Department of Commerce, CAMT sent its own delegation—CAMT CEO Elaine Thorndike, Belinda Popovich of Springs Fabrication, and Paul Enright of Jomy Safety Products-- to the nation’s capitol. MEP representatives and small manufacturers from across the country converged on the Capitol to meet with Congress to demonstrate their support for the federal program and request a budget allocation of $113 million in fiscal year 2008 to assist the MEP network operating out of nearly 350 locations nation-wide.

The group impressed upon Colorado’s U.S. Senators and Representatives the importance of MEP Centers such as CAMT. According to the National Research Council, “Many small [manufacturing] firms are operating far below their potential. Their use of modern manufacturing equipment, methodologies and management practices is inadequate to ensure that American manufacturing will be globally competitive.” Yet it’s organizations such as CAMT that can provide access to proven management and manufacturing methodologies, the newest technologies and capital to implement them. In 2006 alone, CAMT clients have reported an increase of $14.8 million in sales, and decreased their annual costs by $1.2 million. For every $1 received by CAMT through the federal MEP program, $30 more is circulated into Colorado’s economy.

Many of the congressmen and women expressed enthusiastic support for CAMT’s work and the importance of small manufacturers to the U.S. economy. A trip to the nation’s capitol is always an exhilarating experience and the CAMT group enjoyed meeting with U.S. Representatives and networking with other small manufacturers and MEP staff. Pictured above is Elaine Thorndike and Aleta Sherman from last year's trip to the Capitol.

Mr. Masaaki Imai, known as the “Lean Guru” and father of continuous improvement, recently spoke to Colorado audiences at two CAMT- sponsored events. CAMT partnered with CPEx to present Mr. Imai in Windsor at the Kodak facility on January 30 and in Colorado Springs at Intel on January 31. He spoke on topics covered in his books “Gemba KAIZEN: A Commonsense, Low-cost Approach to Management” and “KAIZEN: The Key to Japan’s Competitive Success”, led a tour of host facilities, and concluded with a debriefing of opportunities for improvement in the locations just toured.

Mr. Imai spoke extensively on FSL-- Flow Synchronization Leveling--, the focus of his next book. Mr. Imai said the next sophistication of lean manufacturing is to initiate an FSL mindset. FSL can be summarized as follows:

• Flow - it starts with the flow of many processes without bottlenecks in-between them. If bottlenecks exist, they are easily evidenced by lots of inventory.
• Synchronization - then the concept of synchronization via TAKT time is introduced. This is essentially the voice of the customer or the characteristics of the flow being driven by customer requirements
• Leveling – once an organization’s flow is synchronized, then and only then, can the optimal amount of assorted resources (e.g. personnel, equipment) needed to support a customers requirements (e.g. volumes, delivery dates), be determined.

In addition, he discussed his dissatisfaction with language translations and his change of interpretation to focus on Kaizen meaning continuous improvement that requires “EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE EVERYDAY”:

• Everyday – means not to rest on your laurels and periodically review what’s been accomplished, but to be looking for and implementing improvements everyday.
• Everybody – means not just those working on the shop floor or the office but must include management (those who have access to necessary resources) as well as part-time personnel.
• Everywhere – means improvement in all functions of the organization, not just those concerned with the flow of the product. This includes accounting, engineering, HR, R&D, etc. Building robust operations on the shop floor is just the beginning, it must continue through all departments.

The sessions were full to capacity, and elicited positive feedback from attendees. Please look for future events with Mr. Imai next year.

YESCO designs, engineers, manufactures, installs and maintains signs for businesses and institutions. Founded in 1920, the Young family still owns and manages the multiple-location business. Ninety-two employees work at the Denver Division of YESCO.

Other YESCO plants had implemented lean manufacturing, and as story after story of their successes reverberated across the company, the Denver Division decided it was time to get on board with Lean. Bill Brown of the Denver Division contacted CAMT for assistance in integrating lean methodology throughout their operations. Since early 2006, CAMT guided all division employees through the Principles of Lean training and simulation, worked with management to identify non-value added activity through value stream mapping of several areas of operation, and trained and assisted the staff in the implementation of 5S efforts on the YESCO shop floor.

By utilizing lean principles, YESCO has streamlined workflow in the proposal development process resulting in shorter average development time and fewer proposal revisions. The amount of time needed to determine code allowances for signs have been reduced by approximately one week through better collection and organization of the information needed at the beginning of the process. Additionally, YESCO eliminated four days from design time by identifying work that could flow concurrently, versus old linear practices. Lastly, YESCO has been successful in reducing their lead time from order to production by four days.

“In a division that is growing as fast as we are, lean methods are helping us get the most out of our facilities and allow us to meet increased demands on our resources, while we plan future additions,” states Bill Brown.

RESULTS

• Reduced lead time from order to production by four days
• Reduced design time by four days
• Reduced code research time by one week

Ken Rayment, a Six Sigma Black Belt and life-long manufacturing engineer, podcasts stories of manufacturing innovation and triumph through “Better Process Podcast.” Ken created the show in response to hearing only bad news about U.S. manufacturing even though he saw the strength and innovation of America’s small and mid-size manufacturers demonstrated industry-wide. He decided in July of 2005 to use the then brand-new medium of podcasts to provide a daily show that highlighted manufacturing success stories and spoke on behalf of the small and mid-size manufacturer.

Ken believes innovation is essential to U.S. manufacturing gains. “Better Process Podcast” stories, usually framed by an interview, feature innovations created in response to contemporary pressures faced by the industry. Story topics range from success stories of specific manufacturing companies to new products and services designed to assist manufacturers to interviews with those leading the charge for America’s manufacturers, such as the John Engler, President of NAM and Gary Mikola of SME.

You can listen to today’s or a previous “Better Process Podcast” show anytime you want at http://www.betterprocess.com/. New shows are posted nearly every business day. Ken is currently looking for innovative and interesting stories from around Colorado. If you have a manufacturing story to share, please contact Ken at podcast@betterprocess.com.