Page 29 - MetalForming December 2011

E.J. Ajax and Sons\Workforce Development
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/December 2011
often exceed that goal, with reduc- tions of 10 to 15 percent. We accom- plish this through innovation and value engineering, and often those innovations derive from our skilled workers on the shop floor.”
Full Participation in Lean
During the last 10 yr., Ajax employees have submitted more than 1000 documented continuous- improvement (CI) suggestions, an average of more than 100 sugges- tions/yr. Ajax describes a particular- ly rewarding suggestion from a front- line worker regarding fabrication of an assembly for a key customer. The suggestion: fabricate the assembly from prepainted steel, rather than sending the work out for powder coating after fabrication. The new process, in place since early 2010, has saved the customer more than $500,000 to date.
While most manufacturing com- panies tout employee-led continu- ous-improvement efforts, few can boast of achievements similarly to E.J. Ajax, which just recently achieved 100-percent participation in its lean training and participation in lean proj- ects. Says first-shift production super- visor Rob Duvall: “Our lean projects are designed so that our colleagues on the shop floor learn from each other, not from me. They create their own
value-stream maps, and contact ven- dors if new equipment might be need- ed to complete a project. We’re certain that the level of involvement and excitement we get from our frontline workers is born from the amount of time and money we invest in their education and development.”
Asked to describe a fresh lean project that paid immediate returns, Duvall describes an ambitious proj- ect to eliminate paper from the press- room. “The assigned lean team deter- mined what we were spending on the paperwork throughout the plant (for job travelers, data collection, etc.) and investigated technology options to eliminate it, such as com- puter hardware and software and bar-code scanners. Team members contacted vendors, gauged purchase price vs. projected savings, solicited (and received) front-office support and wound up investing around $20,000 for the project, with an expected return on investment of less than one year. We now have per- sonal computers throughout the plant where operators can input and collect data using (Unisystem) recordkeeping software.
More CI from the Shop Floor
Duvall also notes a recent CI proj- ect involving purchase of new capital equipment, spearheaded by Class A journey worker and tool and die maker Brad McKnight. Hired as an apprentice tool and die maker in 2005 following his service in the Marine Corps, McKnight used the GI Bill dur- ing a 4-yr. tool-making apprentice- ship, and graduated with honors earning an Associate’s degree from Hennepin Technical College. While in school, he gained experience on a CNC milling machine, and recom- mended that the E.J. Ajax manage- ment team invest in the technology.
“Brad was instrumental in con- vincing me and others on our man- agement team to make the capital investment in a new CNC mill,” says Erick Ajax. “We acquired the machine in 2009 and it’s already paid for itself.
Class A journey worker and tool and die maker Brad McKnight was hired as an apprentice tool and die maker in 2005 following his service in the Marine Corps. He used the GI Bill during a 4-yr. tool-making apprenticeship, and gradu- ated with honors earning an Associate’s degree from Hennepin Technical College.
Asked how working for E.J. Ajax has benefitted his family of a wife and two young children, McKnight is quick to point to opportunities to continue his education, announcing his plans to earn a degree in business management, get more involved in engineering and to eventually take on more of a supervisory role at the com- pany, “thanks to the company’s gen- erous 100-percent tuition-reimburse- ment policy” says McKnight. “In addition, the safety culture here obvi- ously means a lot to my wife, reas- suring her that I will come home every day safe and sound. And, last but not least, my wages have nearly doubled since I started working here 6 yr. ago.”
Class A journey worker Dan McGee also has doubled his hourly earnings since joining E.J. Ajax in 2004, as a student intern. McGee quickly moved into the toolroom, then into the firm’s fabrication department where ne now serves as team leader. He earned his Class A journey worker’s certificate in sheetmetal fabrication early in 2011, and is more than half way through earning a 4-yr. degree in business management at Augsburg College—all paid for through the E.J. Ajax tuition- reimbursement program.
Most recently, Ajax named McGee a key account manager for the com- pany’s oldest and best customers. “I do quoting for them, and manage all
“Our lean projects are designed so that our colleagues on the shop floor learn from each other, not from me,” says first-shift production supervisor Rob Duvall. “They create their own value- stream maps, and contact vendors if new equipment might be needed to complete a project.”