Page 38 - MetalForming June 2009

Excellence in Quality...continued
Pridgeon & Clay
processes. Closer monitoring has allowed Pridgeon & Clay to react more quickly to problems as it no longer has to wait for customer calls or for end-of-the-month perform- ance reviews. Also, the firm has improved its root-cause analysis and instituted a new approval process for closure of external concerns. Since this implementation, the company has experienced no repeat incidents at its customers for closed corrective actions.
Given such progress, Pridgeon & Clay has been able to focus on internal measures and proactive items, with the commitment of its executive manage- ment. The executive staff closely mon- itors customer satisfaction and contin- uous-improvement efforts, and has developed a corporate scoreboard that offers a bird’s-eye view of performance, with supporting scoreboards for each production and support department. In addition, all levels of management participate in external and internal qual- ity audits. Data collection and analysis,
Excellence in Safety
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co.
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co., Hol- land, MI, received the 2009 Pitcher Insurance Agency Safety Award. Trans-Matic produces deep-drawn metal stampings for the automotive, hardware, plumbing, marine and appli- ance industries and employs approxi- mately 245 workers in two U.S. pro- duction centers, and one production center in China. The company applied simple, achievable, practical ideas to increase awareness, prevent injuries and save money.
In 2004, workplace injuries were on the rise at Trans-Matic. The company’s total OSHA-recordable incident rate (TCIR) was 51 percent higher than the average for the metal-stamping indus- try, and the incident rate for cases with days away, restrictions and transfer (DART) was 38 percent higher than the industry average.
“It was a troubling period for us,
a staple at Pridgeon & Clay, has been re- assessed to ensure that the most helpful information is gleaned and vetted. To that end, the company has invested in equipment such as a robotic part check- er that, when fully implemented, could eliminate individual part-attribute gauges and collect more dynamic infor- mation for analysis and die adjustments.
Quality has become part and parcel of daily employee life at Pridgeon & Clay. The company’s employee sugges- tion program realized a cost savings of more than $202,000 during the first nine months of 2008. Enabling all of
regardless of growth or any other success we were having,” says P.J. Thompson, president and COO of Trans- Matic.
In response, Thomp-
son held company-wide
meetings and began
laying out plans and
expectations for a
strong safety culture. In early 2005, Joe Hartings joined Trans-Matic as the new safety manager, and began making fun- damental changes to the safety pro- gram, beginning with emphasizing the importance of early reporting, investi- gation and corrective action.
Trans-Matic had been averaging a 16-day delay in reporting—from the date of the injury, to the date of the report to the workers’ compensation carrier, with near misses not routinely
this is the company’s commitment to employee training and educa- tion. All employees attend Back to Basics classes that cover business, quality, press, steel and process- planning fundamentals. Beyond that, the company offers numerous elective classes in its onsite learn- ing center, and press operators undergo an extensive training pro- gram that includes 20 classes as well as on-the-floor demonstra-
tions. Other employee-education efforts include tuition reimbursement and a recently held onsite Education Fair where representatives from local col- leges explained their offerings.
The Parkview Metal Products Excel- lence in Quality Award, sponsored by Parkview Metal Products, Lake Zurich, IL, recognizes outstanding achievement by a PMA manufacturing member in the development and implementation of a company-wide quality system that effec- tively uses continuous improvement. Prid- geon & Clay will receive a $1500 cash prize.
36 METALFORMING / JUNE 2009
www.metalformingmagazine.com
reported nor addressed. To correct this problem, the company changed its entire reporting process to same-day reporting, with an emphasis on report- ing near misses with the same urgency as injuries. Incidents were discussed and corrective action addressed daily with production managers and team leaders. These efforts caused a dramat- ic increase in the number of incident reports, but the number of OSHA- recordable injuries began to drop.