Page 41 - MetalForming May 2012

GR Spring & Stamping\Workforce Development
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/May 2012
“I’ve been here 19 years, starting in the shipping department on second shift,” says Dale Dulyea. “The company reim- bursed tuition so that I could train and become a quality inspector, and now I’m the safety director and the continu- ous improvement manager.”
Technology Pushes Training
The change in part focus also brought the need for new equipment. In the past four years alone, GRS&S has spent $16 million on new equip- ment and technology. That includes $6.8 million invested in the first six months of FY2012. Since the late- 1990s GRS&S has added 10 large presses, and in the last two years funded transfer systems to the tune of $2.5 million. Other new technolo- gies brought in to support the para- digm shift toward larger parts and assemblies include robotic-welding cells, in-die welding and assembly capabilities, a new Plex ERP system, and software for tooling design and stamping simulation.
To keep pace with its new equip- ment and personnel additions, GRS&S has developed robust educa- tion and training programs. These programs, including GRS&S Univer- sity, Life Long Education, internships and apprenticeships, have increased employees’ skill sets and the size of their paychecks. The company devel- oped GRS&S University, for exam- ple, to help press-department asso- ciates learn correct techniques surrounding all aspects of press oper- ation and safety.
careers in the classroom. During their first week, each press-department associate receives 12 hr. of classroom instruction combined with 28 hr. of on-the-job training. All GRS&S asso- ciates complete at least 16 hr. of initial training, including general orienta- tion and quality, followed by at least 10 hr. of annual recurring training.
Successful completion of GRS&S University raises the associates’ skill levels, resulting in a 4- to 6-percent pay increase within the first 180 days of employment. In 2011, the compa- ny hired 15 press operators who have completed GRS&S University and have earned the pay increase, accord- ing to company officials.
In addition, GRS&S numbers show that the university training has sig- nificantly reduced the amount of unplanned maintenance occurring in the plant, and helped reduce the number of injuries in the press department. Injury rates are well
below the industry average, and the company has not had a lost-time injury in more than 2 yr.
“The University, providing instruc- tion half-a-day, four days per week, helps a lot in training new employ- ees,” says training manager Rose Jon- aitis. “We bring in a lot of employees without experience in their field, so we can teach them with a fresh start. They are not bringing any bad habits from a prior press manufacturing job.”
Though turnover at GRS&S is extremely low as compared to other metalformers, turnover does in fact occur. When the company does hire replacements or to fill new positions, “we are more concerned about the person’s attitude then his or her cur- rent abilities,” explains Dale Dulyea, safety manager and continuous- improvement manager. “GRS&S University allows us to increase the skill level of our new hires faster than
GRS&S Meets Toyota Challenge
In the late-1980s, GRS&S reached out to Japanese automotive transplants, and in the late-1990s it was able to transition to supplying large value-added parts to that growing customer base. Japanese automotive customers represent 60 percent of the company’s sales. The tale of the Toyota recall speaks to the close relation- ships GRS&S shares with its Japanese OEM customers, as well as to its technical savvy, quick-turnaround capability and high level of teamwork among associates. The GRS&S response to the Toyota recall ultimately landed the Grand Rapids stamper, already a four-time certificate of achievement award winner, the 2012 “Celebration of Innovation: Automotive Supplier of the Year” award at the Michigan International Auto Show.
By the fall of 2009, Toyota was under the gun, needing a solution for accelera- tor-pedal mechanisms that could stick. Toyota researched the problem, which ran across a variety of models, and determined that insertion of small, precision rein- forcement bars offered the fix. With a workable part-family design, the automaker needed to quickly move parts to dealerships across North America.
Within three days of receiving part prints from Toyota, GRS&S designed the tooling, began producing parts and had deliveries on the way to Toyota dealer- ships. Initially, Toyota planned to have the parts shipped to its distribution centers and then forwarded to dealerships, but GRS&S compressed the process by pack- aging the parts and direct-shipping them to the dealerships.
A major key to project success was rapid tool design, build and tryout. “We built 11 fourslide tools to produce various precision reinforcement bars,” explains Brad Meulenberg, GRS&S tooling build department lead, “made possible through our team concept and continuous-improvement program.”
Three days from part print to production is extraordinary, as is shipment within a week to dealerships. Making that happen requires expertise in scheduling and buy-in from associates. GRS&S juggled its schedule to open up slideforming capacity and make engineers and tool builders available, and even had employees otherwise not associated with the project help out with packaging and shipping.
Ultimately, GRSS produced and shipped 9 million parts in seven different sizes for Toyota.
New GRS&S associates begin their