Page 34 - MetalForming May 2012

Workforce Development\Roll Forming Corporation
MetalForming/May 2012 www.metalformingmagazine.com
for completion. Ideas might be as simple as using a little less grease on a machine, but companywide they add up.
“The first time we conducted this exercise, in January 2009, we docu- mented more than $700,000 in sav- ings,” says Sweasy, “and we’ve repeat- ed the exercise each year since. Savings realized in 2010 exceeded $1.5 million, and in 2011 savings exceeded $1.7 million.”
Particularly rewarding to Sweasy is watching the CI teams flourish under the direction of leaders equipped with the skills learned in the Leader- ship Academy, and through team- building exercises. She’s quick to express appreciation to Leathers and other RFC managers who encour- aged her to grow beyond her original job in customer service, which she started in 1996. Likewise, she pays forward that encouragement to RFC’s rank and file, nudging them to move outside their comfort zones and take advantage of the numerous training opportunities available.
Sweasy adds that in 2011, RFC conducted 2807 employee training sessions (number of sessions mul- tiplied by the number of attendees), accounting for 6935 employee train- ing hours amongst four of the com- pany’s five plants. (A fifth plant was acquired in 2009, and did not come under her wing until this year.) Her annual training budget averages $130,000, and it’s rising as the firm adds employees. Seventy-five per- cent of that total is for budgeted and planned training, with the remaining dollars allocated to dis- cretionary training such as Leader- ship Academy courses. In addition, the firm participates in the Ken- tucky State Skills Training Grant, which allows companies to recover half of their approved costs for occupational and skills upgrade training through the reimbursement of training funds..
“We’ve received that state grant for the last 5 yr.,” says Sweasy, “to the tune of more than $150,000.” MF
Meet Pem Cornell—
from Farmhand to Master Roll Operator
Master roll operator Pem Cornell’s nearly 29-yr. journey at RFC has propelled him from the fields of Bullitt County, KY, to a critical role overseeing the company’s newly minted lean-manufacturing cell. While Cornell is quick to praise RFC’s con- tinuous-improvement (CI) initiatives and accomplishments, he says that “continu- ous-improvement projects generally result in incremental gains; our journey into lean will be a big jump forward.” Adds company president Ray Leathers: “Roll lines historically don’t run more than about 30 percent of the time. With lean, we’re hop- ing to increase operational efficiency to as high as 60 percent.”
Late in 2011, RFC management asked Cornell to help lead the company’s lean journey, by working
“After working on the lean cell for three or four months, I’ve learned techniques that have dramatically increased machine uptime,” says RFC master roll oper- ator Pem Cornell. “Now I see a lot of my coworkers coming around to get a look at what I’m doing...I am enjoying teaching them and explaining why lean is bet- ter, and they’re buying into it.”
with him to build a model lean production line that the rest of the company could emu- late. And he’s well into that journey.
“After working on the lean cell for three or four months, I’ve learned techniques— such as prestaging tooling and managing my material needs— that have dramatically increased machine uptime,” Cornell says. “Now I see a lot of my coworkers coming around to get a look at what I’m doing. If they were skeptical at first, they’re not now. I’m enjoying teaching them and explaining why lean is better, and they’re buying into it.”
Cornell clearly enjoys leading RFC’s
crew of frontline workers on their CI journey, and in particular enjoys encouraging others to become personally accountable—a mantra of company president Ray Leathers. Asked to explain what being personally accountable means to him, Cornell asks rhetorically:
“Who’s in charge of quality at my production line? I am. That’s what we believe. The operators here don’t rely on the quality department or on management. We take it upon ourselves to ensure our lines operate safely and efficiently, and pro- duce nothing but quality parts. If we need help doing that, we go find the help that’s needed.”
Cornell explains that almost immediately after he was hired as an entry-level roll operator trainee, he would work hard to hone his craft. And when the company instituted its pay-for-skills program in the 1990s, he set his sights on rising to the highest level available—master operator. Yes, by its nature the program rewards skills development with incremental pay increases (15 to 20 percent increases for each of the five levels attained). But Cornell quickly points out that his desire to reach master level was driven by much more than just money.
“I believe strongly that I work for, not at, Roll Forming Corp., and that’s a significant difference. I care about this company, and feel that if they (man- agement) invest in me by offering me training and incentives to increase my skills, then I owe it to them to find ways to make the company more money.”