Page 33 - MetalForming February 2013

Eclipse Manufacturing Co.\Workforce Development
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/February 2013
class zeros in on use of more complex devices such as optical comparators, hardness testers and CMMs. “We spend a lot of time working through the various error messages and how to get out of them,” says Robinson. “And we provide PowerPoint hand- outs with a lot of photographs and illustrations to try to make the process failsafe.”
Lean = Reduced Process Variability
To understand how lean and qual- ity training have supported manage- ment’s goals and initiatives, we spoke with plant manager Dick Reese. Reese took the plant’s reins late in 2010 and brought with him expertise in lean manufacturing gleaned from several years leading a large residen- tial and commercial water-filtration manufacturing plant. At a relatively small plant such as Eclipse, lean, for Reese, means focusing on shortening lead times to improve reaction time —emphasizing continuous improve- ment on longer-term activities rather than on short-term kaizen events. It also means reducing process vari- ability. “As we accomplish this,” he says, “we develop more consistent and predictable processes, which leads to efficiency gains and direct financial benefits to the company.
“We’ve sent three groups, of about 10 employees each, through a six- course training program at LTC,” con- tinues Reese, “and intend to train others as they express interest. As these cross-functional teams of trained employees bring back what they’ve learned to the plant, they take on projects identified by our steering committee as offering the best opportunities to impact quality, costs, delivery and safety. We’ll have as many as four active lean teams at any one time, and we track each proj- ect for generated savings.”
In 2011, the Eclipse steering com- mittee captured 26 opportunities for cost improvement, and weighted them based on impact vs. ease of
implementation.
The firm’s three lean
teams then went to
work. One project
had a lean team
focus on a critical
press and new coat-
ing line serving a
few of Eclipse’s
newest and biggest
customers. The
team’s action items
focused on improv-
ing the line’s
throughput and
quality, and includ-
ed installing a new
PLC to the press,
adding a conveyor
to move stamped
parts to the coating
line and imple-
menting new scrap chutes. The proj- ects returned a savings of more than $2000/month.
A key participant in Eclipse’s lean teams has been labor Grade 1 press operator and setup technician Perry Dekker. “Working on that critical press, the team focused a lot of ener- gy on setup-time reduction,” he says. “Since 2010 when the team really started to make an impact on effi- ciencies here, we’re much more responsive to customers and able to minimize the downstream impact of any hiccups on the floor, ensuring we continue to meet customer expec- tations for quality and delivery.”
“For one customer, we’ve seen a 12-percent efficiency gain,” adds Reese, “and for another customer efficiency has improved 21 percent. And, overall we’ve significantly reduced scrap from that press line due to automating the parts han- dling between the press and the coat- ing line.”
Growing Leaders Who are “Fair, Friendly and Firm”
Since 2010, following the closing of its Tennessee plant and the move- ment of 160 dies and five presses
“Since 2009,” says human resources director Cindy Ellis, “we’ve promoted 20 percent of our labor pool through clas- sification posting opportunities. And at the management level, we’ve promoted another 10 percent of our associate workforce into management positions.”
north to Wisconsin, Eclipse has hired and trained 20 new employees, expanding its labor pool to 50. At the same time, under the guidance of HR director Cindy Ellis, it has flat- tened its labor grades, offering Grade 4 as entry level up to Grade 1, which includes machine-setup capabilities. To progress through the labor grades, operators must learn certain, specif- ic skills and are graded on those skills by their supervisor. Wages increase accordingly.
“Since 2009,” says Ellis, “we’ve promoted 20 percent of our labor pool through classification posting opportunities. And at the manage- ment level, we’ve promoted another 10 percent of our associate work- force into management positions. For example, a maintenance employ- ee (Dave Magritz) was promoted in 2010 to first-shift production super- visor, and a material-handling asso- ciate (Stuart Free) was promoted early in 2012 to shipping-receiving supervisor.”
First-shift supervisor Dave Magritz, who worked for 12 years in the Eclipse maintenance group before moving into management, is quick to cite the lean training, as well as