Productivity Central features ideas, advice, technical information and more. Although geared to the printing industry, many of the concepts would be beneficial for enhancing productivity at any manufacturing firm. Production efficiency and quality go hand in hand with safety and sustainability, all natural byproducts of a well trained and motivated workforce.
This site is devoted to improving the productivity, profitability, safety and sustainability of your business. I hope you find it informational and entertaining. Please bookmark the site and come back often.
Also, be sure to check out my companion blog at http://MarComCentral.blogspot.com/ for information, ideas and tools to improve your sales and marketing efforts.
We have another terrific line-up of presentations for the next Great Lakes meeting:
Mark Keller - (Fox Valley Technical College instructor) will give a brief overview of FVTC's print programs.
Tim Reece, (All Printing Resources Director of Technical Services) will speak on plate troubleshooting.
Al Marquardt, (Kimberly ClarkProduction Manager - Packaging) will present the view from the CPC perspective.
Calvin Frost, (CEO of the Channeled Resources Group), Rolando Sanz-Guerrero (Executive Energy Specialist, Greenwood Fuels), and Dave Robinson (Specialist on Nonrecyclable Substrates, Channeled Resources Group) will present alternatives to landfilling nonrecyclables such as PSA and flexible packaging byproduct. They will emphasize the importance of renewable energy, feed stocks, and the applicability to sustainability in the print industry.
Should be another great program !
Refreshments will be provided courtesy of Octega-WIT. We will also have door prizes.
The meeting will be from 3:00-7:00PM on December 9th at the Bordini Center of Fox Valley Tech. 5 Systems Dr Appleton, WI 54914 US
$10 for FTA members / $20 for non-members / Complimentary for faculty and students with a school ID. Payment at the door in cash or checks made out to FFTA. All proceeds go to support the FFTA Scholarship Fund.
If you have any questions or to RSVP, please email david.lanska@yahoo.com.
We have some great door prizes lined up for the meeting this week ! * 2 copies of the book, "The Flexo Environment" provided by the FTA * $50 gas card provided courtesy of the Flint Group * 1 Gift Certificate for a 1 hour Linkedin Consult from Mekelburg Consulting LLC * a $50 gas card, 2 Golf Shirts and 2 leather golf bag pouches courtesy of MacDermid * Polo shirt and 1 dozen golf balls coutersy of Tesa tape * An autographed copy of the book, "Common Sense Flexography; A user's guide to improved pressroom productivity" from D. J. Lanska & Associates LLC * A Garmin Nuvi 1300 GPS provided courtesy of The Harper Corporation of America
We are looking forward to a fun and informational meeting. Hope to see you there!
On a night when a monstrous record-breaking windstorm swept the country, hurricane force winds tore trees out by their roots, ripped roofs from homes and put semi trucks onto their sides.While nature seemed out of control, the presentations at the October meeting of the FTA Great Lakes Group (GLG) focused on the importance of keeping the flexo process in control.
Fitting, then that the meeting was held at Quad Tech in Sussex, WI.Quad Tech engineers and manufactures 100 percent print inspection and defect detection systems capable of speeds up to 3500 fpm, color control and verification systems utilizing true spectrophotometer response and color-to-color registration systems that control registration laterally and in the web direction.
Attendees had the opportunity to tour Quad Tech’s facility and see demonstrations of a wide array of inspection and control solutions in action.The Quad Tech designed inspection system canvases the entire web, makes an overall template they refer to as a “golden master”, and performs delta E color monitoring for deviation through the print run using color line scan technology.This process creates a map of the roll with position data for detected defects.This information is passed on to the waste management system connected to the slitter/rewinder, which automatically rewinds to the position where defects are located.At the conclusion of the tour, the technical presentations began.
Color Control
A major objective in printing is control of color. In order to control color, you have to be able to measure it.But what is important to measure and why?Which tool(s) provide the full range of information needed to produce repeatable color?According to John Seymore, (introduced as “the Mad Scientist”), paint manufacturers have a way of identifying color.They might call it “strawberry rhubarb”.Consumers may pick out a color swatch and decide they want their front room painted in such a color. Unfortunately, there is not a “strawberry rhubarbometer” that can be used to quantify and verify that color.
For flexo printers, there needs to be a way to identify and communicate color more scientifically.As a result, several methods and measurement instruments have been developed that allow us to measure such things as RGB values, spectral data, density and CIELAB values.But which is best and why?John contends that what we should measure is CIELAB values.
CIELAB refers to a set of three numbers we can use to uniquely identify color numerically.L*A*B* values represent a position in color space.CIELAB is important because it provides a standard for representing color that the printer and print buyer can agree upon.
While RGB values can help measure deviation from a standard and assure that Delta E values are staying in tolerance, there are issues with RGB measurement technology.RGB values are measured with an RGB camera.RGB cameras produced by different manufacturers and even different cameras from the same manufacturer can have a different spectral response.In other words, they all see color differently.More importantly, they respond to color differently than the human eye.A different spectral response to the same color is known as metamorism.
When it comes to measuring density, the effect of metamorism is even worse.Densitometers measure density, but have a very different response to color than the human eye.In addition, densitometers are less sensitive or “color blind” to certain ranges of the light spectrum.As a result, ink density may be correct when the color is not.
Densitometers were designed to look at (receive a spectral response from) three channels: cyan magenta and yellow.That would not be a problem if all printers printed with was those three colors, but much of flexo printing is done with specialty colors. To print accurately with the entire range of colors represented on the pages of a Pantone book, you would need a different densitometer engineered with a channel calibrated for each color you are printing.
A colorimeter has sensors that respond similarly to color as the human eye and is capable of obtaining CIELAB values.
Spectral data is obtained from spectrophotometers.A spectrophotometer has many more channels that each provide response to a narrow range of color.By applying a mathematical formula to the data produced by these channels, you can simulate the response of any of the color quantifiers including CIELAB values.This makes spectrophotometers by far the most versatile of the color measurement instruments.
In short, for those wanting a means to control color and have a predictable, measurable, quantifiable and meaningful way to represent it, you need an instrument that “sees” color the way a human eye does.
Automatic Preprogrammed Press Control
To have precise control over the placement of color, it is critical to have proper registration and impression.While in the past, these adjustments were eyeballed on inexpensive, unsophisticated presses, precise ink placement control requires theseprocesses be automated.As a result, equipment engineers developed sophisticated software and hardware solutions to monitor and self-adjust on-the-fly to maintain precise control over the mechanical variables that affect color placement.
In his presentation, Denny McGee, President of MPS America, (Denny McGhoul for purposes of this event), talked about how automation and servo technology in particular, reduces waste, improves print quality, increases output, drastically reduces make-ready time, and reduces unnecessary wear and tear on press components.Modern label presses utilize the application of servo technology to provide stable web transport and consistent registration through the entire operating range of press speeds.
While older presses often had multiple mechanical adjustment points, the addition of servo control to the print heads at each press station insures precise control of the impression between anilox and plate.Information programmed in to the control system about various parameters for the job including printing plates, sticky-back thickness, and web thickness provides a baseline stored digitally so they can be recalled to eliminate manual operator adjustment on repeat jobs.
With automatic print control, the machine essentially sets itself up.Print sleeves reinstalled in the machine are automatically rotated into an ideal registration position. Then the machine adjusts for proper impression.As it starts to print, a camera system verifies and fine-tunes registration in the web direction either mark-to-mark or mark to cylinder.A separate servo adjusts lateral registration, while another one yet adjusts for the specific web thickness of the job.Because the impression cylinder free-idles, it matches the speed of the plate to that of the web 100%, eliminating some of the problems label printers have experienced with banding and marking, particularly with pastel tints at high plate screens.
The entire machine is control from the keypad or an “I-control” knob (a multiple adjustment dial), which lights up to indicate if the machine is in set-up or run mode. The control system monitors press functions providing real-time feedback to the operator and notifying them of any problems as they arise so they can be promptly addressed and corrected.This reduces waste and increases productivity against a wide range of market applications.
Reproduction Control
While control of the mechanical functions of the press is extremely important, where the rubber hits the road is at the tops of the plate dots.Here it is critical to control dot geometry and dot size in order to control dot gain.According to Dave Recchia, Sr. Printing Process Specialist for MacDermid Printing Solutions, the conversion from analog to digital technologies has produced tremendous results, but better yet is a plate architecture that combines the best attributes of both.
With this new process the plate dots have flat tops similar to analog, but a more column-like profile characteristic of digital plates.The flat tops provide consistent impression surface requiring less impression.The result is longer plate life and reproducible highlights at higher line screens along with an extended grayscale range.The tubular wall profile is less susceptible to impression-induced gain, and does not cause increased gain as the plates wear.
A side benefit from the flat plate tops and reduced impression is a tremendous improvement in reducing horizontal banding in fluted stock over analog or conventional digital plates.By better controlling the dot size from the peaks to valleys of the flutes, the consistency of the print is significantly enhanced.
A conventional digital plate requires a bump curve (7% in the mask translates to 1% tonal range in the plate).The bump compresses the remaining grayscale, limiting the overall tonal range available to print.A hybrid plate process results in a 1:1 mask to plate reproduction, which removes variability from the imaging process and eliminates the bump curve step from the process workflow.
FTA Great Lakes Group
As each speaker spoke something resonated throughout the building, but it was not the wind.An overriding theme emerged like a ghost ship coming out of the fog: control; controlling the dot structure on plates, controlling mechanical attributes of the press including registration and impression, and controlling color.Needless to say, the Great Lakes Group was blown away by the technical content of the meeting.
With Halloween just a few days away, the meeting room had a festive, if not spooky atmosphere provided courtesy of a variety of ghoulish figures and ghostly images.With food and refreshments sponsored by Package Printing Converting Technologies and Solutions (PPCTS) and a decorated cake from D.J. Lanska & Associates, the meeting was a combination of technical conference, networking event and holiday party.
FTA Great Lakes Group meetings are open to all printers, suppliers and consumer product companies.There is no fee to join the group, but there is a charge to attend the meetings.Typically, FTA members pay $10, non-members pay $20.Students and faculty in graphic arts programs are free.Meeting proceeds go to support the FFTA scholarship fund.
Meetings take place at host sites, which can be printers, suppliers or educational institutions roughly from Chicago to Green Bay, WI.Tours provided by the host sights enhance the educational value of the meetings.Sponsors provide food and refreshments for the meetings.Anyone interested in participating as a host site, speaker or meeting sponsor is encouraged to email david.lanska@yahoo.com.
Information about upcoming events is posted on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.The GLG also has a fan page on Facebook and a group on LinkedIn. (a subgroup of the FTA Linkedin group).
FTA's Southeast Networking Group will be holding its first meeting on Monday evening, November 15, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kennesaw, GA.
Agenda: 3:00-3:30 Registration
3:30-7:00 Presentations & Networking
Productivity Improvements Through FIRST - Basic process optimization is required for all printers to maintain quality levels and reduce downtime. Proper planning and preparations insure these things are done consistently. FIRST provides the printer with the specifications necessary to ensure that accuracy and consistency are achieved throughout the pressrun and between pressruns. Join us as industry experts discuss productivity improvements through utilization of FIRST.
I-75 South: Exit #269 (Barrett Parkway), right on Barrett, go 1/8 mile and turn right on Cobb Place Boulevard. Hotel is on the left 1/4 mile.
I-75 North: Exit #269 (Barrett Parkway), left on Barrett, go 1/8 mile and turn right on Cobb Place Boulevard. Hotel is on the left 1/4 mile.
I-20 East: Exit #51B to I-285 North, Exit #20 to I-75 North, follow I-75 North directionsI-85 South: Exit #96 to I-285 NW to I-75 North, follow I-75 North Directions
A block of rooms has been set aside at the Hilton Garden Inn for $129. Reservations must be made by October 28 by calling 678-322-1140.
Funds generated by the auction, set for Spring 2011, will be deposited directly into the FIRST Operator Certification Scholarship Program, the Foundation's newest scholarship whose sole objective is to provide financial aid to those individuals interested in pursuing a FIRST 'Press' or 'Prepress' Operator Certification.
FTA is now accepting donations for the online auction and is seeking a select number of signature items, including press equipment/accessories, ancillary supplies, idle presstime, direct mail services; and personal items, such as, but not limited to, family vacations, golf outings, roundtrip airfare, and electronics. To view a current listing of donated items visit: http://www.idonatetocharity.org/store/FFTA/
Donors will be featured on the auction website, along with their company logo, photos and descriptive copy of the donated item. Additionally, donors will receive publicity in future press releases, FLEXO Magazine, and FTA's eNewsletters. Associated tax benefits may apply to the contributions. Donors can specify specific terms and conditions, along with any additional pertinent details regarding the item(s).
Gene Martin, The Robinette Company and FTA Scholarships Committee Chair commented, This is a truly innovative way to gain industry support and raise the funds that will contribute to the FIRST Operator Certification Scholarship Program. He added, FTA's Supplier Leadership Council deserves due credit for its efforts to establish the scholarship, which will aid individuals who desire to improve their skills and pursue a FIRST Operator Certification. I encourage all members of the flexographic industry to pledge their support to this important effort, which in the end, will help to enrich and advance print outcomes.
To make a donation, visit the FIRST Operator Certification Scholarship Online Auction webpage (http://www.flexography.org/edutrain/education/online-auction.cfm). The deadline to submit a donation is March 25, 2011. Specific inquires can go directly to Doreen Monteleone, FTA's Director of Special Projects at 631-737-6020 ext. 30.
Bidding will commence on April 1, 2011 and will close on May 2 at 5:00 pm. Winners will be posted at FFTA's Annual Forum (May 1-4, 2011; Hyatt Regency, Indianapolis, IN) and will also be contacted by May 20. You do not have to be present to win.
About the FIRSTOperator Certification Program FFTA's FIRST Operator Certification Program is a curriculum composed of multi-level courses designed to deliver and assess specific flexographic skill sets and knowledge via online course study and examinations. Course curriculum closely follows the specifications espoused in the Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST) book. Currently there are three areas one may become certified in: Press, Prepress and Implementation Specialist. Regardless of which designation one chooses to pursue, trainees must complete coursework consisting of three levels before becoming officially FIRST Operator Certified.
Looking to drive efficiencies, improve customer satisfaction and gain a high return of profitability?
Do you really think you can survive the next decade without a clear strategy for process improvement? The simple fact is process improvement is one of the only ways to reduce costs without affecting the customer experience and your ability to compete. But the key is in understanding and implementing the right process improvement tools, in combination with FIRST, for your organization’s success. Once you find what works best for you, you’ll be well on your way to maximizing productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction and business survival.
“A FIRST Rate Idea: The Future of Flexo & Process Improvement” examines a wide-range of process improvement tools and methodologies for driving operational excellence and propelling your business into the future. Plan to walk away with a refreshed perspective & practical knowledge that you can apply as soon as you return to the office first thing on Thursday morning.
Session Highlights:
FREE Pre-conference: Color Success Before Getting to Press
The Great Flexo Digital Plate Debate
Sustainability from the Printer's Perspective
Impacting an Industry - The Flexo Quality Consortium
Voice of the Industry: The Best of FLEXO Magazine
Process Improvement - Best Practices FIRST
Color Consistency for Packaging - FIRST and Worldwide Standards
Who Should Attend? Anyone who is part of the flexographic workflow should make attending this conference their number one priority!
Press operators
Prepress technicians
Packaging buyers
Production personnel
Quality control staff
Graphic designers
Suppliers
Networking Opportunities This conference offers many opportunities to interact with speakers, exhibitors and your fellow flexographers. Seize the opportunity to speak with key contacts at the session breaks, the reception and at the bustling Tabletop Exhibit. This is your chance to meet face-to-face with some of the world’s most respected and innovative solution providers in the realm of flexo and process improvement. Browse the booths and create a shortlist for solutions to implement over the next 12 months.
Chair: Cayleigh Nichols, Prairie State Group Vice Chair: Richard Black, All Printing Resources, Inc.
FFTA/FVTC Achieving Consistency in Process Printing Appleton, WI United States
FOCUS OF THE PROGRAM This seminar deals with concepts and tools involved in the production of high quality repeatable process printing. The seminar includes lectures, demonstrations, a field trip, and the actual printing of a 4-color process job to Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerences (FIRST) specifications on an 8-color central impression gearless press.
Those who plan to attend should have a good understanding of the Flexographic printing Process since this is a more advanced seminar. Enrollment is limited to 15 people and will be held at the D.J. Bordini Center at Fox Valley Technical College. Casual attire is recommended.
TOPICS TO BE COVERED Process Color Theory • Image Assembly and Prepress Proofing • Densitometry and Spectrophotometry • Plate Making • Press Operations (4-color) • Press Characterization and Documentation • Process Ink Handling • Anilox Usage and Maintenance
DAY ONE8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Registration Process Color Theory Field Trip to Color Separation Company
DAY TWO8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Demo: Densitometry and Spectrophotometry Demo: Mounting and Proofing Demo: Image Assembly and Prepress Proofing Alternative Platemaking Methods Press Operation Introduction
DAY THREE8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Press Run Press Characterization Press Operation Introduction
DAY FOUR8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Process Ink Handling and Management Anilox Usage and Maintenance Wrap-up
$900.00 per person for an FTA Member location $1800.00 per person for a Non-Member location
Fee includes a copy of FIRST 4.0 (Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerences), beverages and lunch each full day, and 4 information-packed days of flexo education!
ACCOMMODATIONS FFTA does not reserve lodging for participants, but has reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Select of Appleton, 150 Nicolet Road, Appleton, WI. Reserve your room by calling the hotel directly at 920-735-9955. Please specify the seminar name/date of your FVTC seminar when booking your reservation for a discount.
Complimentary transportation is provided between the hotel, the college, and the Outagamie County Airport in Appleton, WI.
DIRECTIONS TO FOX VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE SEMINARS Take Hwy. 41 to Northland exit and follow sign to Fox Valley Technical College. Seminar held at the DJ Bordini Technical Innovation Center.
DJ Bordini Technical Innovation Center 5 Systems Lane Appleton, WI 54313-2277
CANCELLATION POLICY: All cancellations must be received by FFTA in writing and are subject to a $50.00 processing fee. Due to FVTC policy changes, no refunds will be issued for cancellations received 15 working days prior to the start of the seminar or for no-shows. Substitutions are welcome and must be received in writing by FFTA as well. You may fax to 631-737-6813 or email to customerservice@flexography.org.
The next FTA Great Lakes Group meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 27th at Quad Tech, Inc., from 3:00-7:00 PM.
QuadTech, Inc., is a worldwide leader and innovator of performance proven press control technology. Founded in 1979, QuadTech sells its automated auxiliary control systems in more than 100 countries to the web offset newspaper and commercial markets, packaging and converting markets, and publication gravure market. Headquartered in Sussex, WI, USA, QuadTech maintains a worldwide network of sales and service operations, including facilities strategically located throughout Europe, and in Japan, China, Singapore, India, and North and South America. QuadTech is proud to be registered ISO 9001:2008 DNV. QuadTech is a subsidiary of Quad/Graphics, one of the largest and most technologically advanced printers in the world. Directions follow.
Randy Freeman, Vice President and General manager of Packaging for Quad Tech, will give a brief overview of Quad Tech followed by a plant tour. John Seymour (Quad Tech R&D Engineer) will speak about color theory Denny McGee of MPS America will discuss automatic preprogrammed print control. Colleen Twomey of MacDermid will do a presentation about advancements in plate technologies.
Refreshments will be provided courtesy of Richard McDonald and PPCTS Packaging, Printing and Converting Equipment.
Admission: $10 FTA Members $20 Non-Members Complimentary Students/Educators Admission fees are used to support FFTA Scholarship Fund.
Reservations are requested, but not mandatory. Please RSVP your interest in attending to David Lanska at david.lanska@yahoo.com.
N64 W23110 Main St. • Sussex, WI 53089 • ph. 414-566-7500
From General Mitchell International Airport Take the airport spur (Hwy 119) west, and merge right to I-94 west (Milwaukee). Move to the left lane, and prepare to exit left on I-894 west (Madison/Fond du Lac exit #316). After merging, move to the right lanes and remain on I-894 as it turns north. Move again to the far left lane as you approach I-94, take exit #1B left to I-94 west (Madison). Continue west on I-94 past Waukesha. Take exit #295 (Waukesha/Sussex) right, and turn north on county trunk F toward Sussex. Traveling under Capitol Drive (Hwy 190), continue straight north as F becomes Hwy 74 East. Continue north on Hwy 74 to Sussex. Once in Sussex, you will pass through one set of stoplights at Silver Spring Drive (VV). Continue north one block to a 4-way stop at Main Street. Turn right onto Main Street and pass over the railroad tracks. QuadTech’s High Tech Centre is the building on the left (north) side of Main Street. The reception desk is located inside the doors nearest the flag poles to the east.
From Chicago Take I-94 west toward Milwaukee. Follow directions from General Mitchell International Airport (above).
From Green Bay Take I-43 south toward Milwaukee. Exit right at Silver Spring Drive (exit #78). Travel west on Silver Spring Drive (VV) approximately 15 miles to Sussex. Turn right (north) on Waukesha Avenue. At the 4-way stop, turn right onto Main Street and pass over the railroad tracks. QuadTech’s High Tech Centre is the building on the left (north) side of Main Street. The reception desk is located inside the doors nearest the flag poles to the east.
From Madison Take I-94 east toward Milwaukee. Exit right on exit #295 (Waukesha/Sussex), and turn north (left) on county trunk F toward Sussex. Traveling under Capitol Drive (Hwy 190), continue straight north as F becomes Hwy 74 East. Continue north on Hwy 74 to Sussex. Once in Sussex, you will pass through one set of stoplights at Silver Spring Drive. Continue north one block to a four-way stop at Main Street. Turn right onto Main Street and pass over the railroad tracks. QuadTech’s High Tech Centre is the building on the left (north) side of Main Street. The reception desk is located inside the doors nearest the flag poles to the east.
What does it take to achieve great results?How do you improve quality, drastically reduce inventory costs and free up valuable floor space?How do you develop a management model that provides sustainable bottom line profitability?
For Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) and the Barry Wehmiller family of companies, the focus is not on the results themselves.Rather, they choose to focus on the means to achieving great results: a leadership philosophy predicated around respect for people and continuous improvement. This was not always the case.It has been a long process of cultural transformation.On May 18th, the FTA Great Lakes Group (GLG) was privileged to go along on a Lean Journey with Craig Compton, PCMC’s VP of Operations as our tour guide.
For PCMC, as with many companies, the management philosophy had long been based on a traditional bottom line mentality.Unfortunately, bottom line management based on command and control often leads to fragmented actions, which lack alignment with organizational goals.Management mistakenly considers the bottom line result to be the goal, using metrics and status reports to control and monitor progress.In this environment, management dictates blanket solutions, which are not focused on root causes.This puts employees in a defensive mode, worrying more about justifying their actions than coming up with solutions.
A Lean environment, by contrast, is process oriented.Managers don’t view themselves as managers.They are leaders who teach and mentor their team members to become problem solvers.They engage team members by creating an environment where their ideas are valued and it is OK to fail.Ideas for improvement are not force-fed to underlings, but flow from a team atmosphere where problems are identified and solved together.Craig said his favorite saying is “what did you learn?”.
Rather than fragmented thinking, a Lean environment encourages “systems thinking”, where processes and people are aligned with organizational goals.By focusing on improving processes, people and systems, a Lean environment produces substantial bottom line results.
So what is Lean?Some would say reduced waste, improved throughput, greater value to customers and associates, process improvement or improved quality.While these are all potential benefits of Lean, Craig sees Lean as the basis of a fundamental enterprise-wide shift in expectations, measures, performance and culture.He termed the shift, a “Lean conversion”, which, in order to succeed, must become a central pillar of the company’s business strategy.By engaging, empowering and entrusting every associate, a Lean conversion provides a sustainable competitive advantage.And although it is easier to see tangible results on the plant floor, the same focus on systems, people and processes drives operational excellence throughout the organization.
People-centric “inspirational” leadership is the key to achieving and sustaining a Lean culture.Inspirational leadership begins with a vision to foster buy-in throughout the organization.Barry Wehmiller came up with a vision in 2002 called “Guiding Principles of Leadership”.Inspirational leadership grows with recognition of the daily examples of leadership at all levels within PCMC.Craig said the have celebrated and recognized more exemplary leadership in the past four years than in his previous sixteen years with the company.He then went on to describe Barry Wehmiller’s SSR program, one of the many ways the company recognizes exemplary leadership.
Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry Wehmiller, has a fleet of Chevy SSRs.SSRs are essentially Chevrolet trucks with Corvette engines.He sends around the SSRs to all of the divisions.The SSR program lasts for 10 weeks.During the program, anyone in the organization can nominate a fellow associate for exemplifying the leadership principles within the business.A committee made up of non-formal leaders and former SSR winners select a winner from the nominations submitted.They then invite everyone out to the front lawn, where a tent is set up.They have cake, ice cream and refreshments, and then talk about the great thing the person has done and award the car to them for 7 days.The winner gets a $150 gas card to go along with it and the rest of the day off.“You talk about having a profound impact on that individual?You can’t measure that… and what it does for the culture of the business.”This is one way PCMC upholds the behavior they want emulated within the business.
PCMC’s “Guiding Principles of Leadership (GPL) include a clear and compelling vision, leadership, communication, measurables, and stewardship.The GPL aspire to a leadership environment based on trust and communication that brings out the best in the individuals.It allows everyone to have a meaningful role, and in so doing inspires pride.It challenges everyone to grow personally and professionally, liberating them to realize true success.
27 members from across Barry Wehmiller participated in a dialogue on Leadership to create a vision for the convergence of Lean and the GPL.In an attempt to articulate the culture, they came up with a saying that is part of the process: “We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people.”Craig said “we believe can have a profound impact on the quality of life of every one of us. We believe as business leaders we have a profound opportunity and responsibility to those people.”
One of the most profound components of the Lean journey is the word “fulfillment”.“We want people to leave every day with a sense of fulfillment.If they do that, they will do some really great things for the business, some great things for our customers, (and for their families).Getting better operating income, higher end productivity turns, reduced inventory.That’s great stuff.Those are byproducts of this (process)”.
In a typical Lean journey, you want to focus on non-value-added activities.Machining parts adds value for the customers.The time a machinist spends looking for a program, materials, tooling and fixtures does not add value.So Lean activities typically revolve around reducing cost and lead times.As part of PCMC’s journey, they want to see empowerment and fulfillment increased.
Improvements are made through an ongoing series of “Kaizen” events.Kaizen is a Japanese term, which means “change for the good”.At the conclusion of every 1-5 day Kaizen event, the team will get up in front of a group of people from throughout the organization and talk about the great things they have done, improvements made, and how it feels to be a part of that process.During one Kaizen event, team members brought the manufacturing time for a spindle down from an average of 8 hours to 51 minutes.Those testimonials provide recognition for the participants and serve to help engage non-participants in the process.
Craig spoke to the personal impact of Lean.“It enhances how we communicate.4 ½ years into this journey, I didn’t realize how poorly we communicated in our business until we were at where we are today”.We have daily meetings today in every part of our business.The first thing we talk about is celebrating and recognizing our individuals.Then talk about the current issues in our process.”
PCMC’s Lean journey started in 2004, but began in earnest in 2005.The journey has not always been smooth, as they have suffered setbacks from early Lean 6 Sigma initiatives.They had some minor successes, but failed to engage the company’s leadership early on in the process.
After PCMC’s purchase by Barry Wihmiller, they built a foundation for their Lean journey on 7S events, where they would clean, paint and organize each target work-space to make it safer and more efficient for the people that work in that environment.Using cross-functional teams, the 7s events focused on 1) Safety, 2) Sorting, 3) Straightening, 4) Sweeping), 5) Scheduling, 6) Sustaining, and 7) Satisfaction.The 7s teams produced visible results when they set about to physically “fix” something in the plant.“You could physically see the change that you made in the business”.This began to create the culture change the company was seeking.They set up a schedule and encouraged everyone to participate.In 4 ½ years, teams completed 275 - 7s events.
Value Stream Mapping helped the company align business processes that bring value to their customers, as well as identify those activities that did not add value.Elimination of non-value-added activities greatly improves the company’s efficiency, customer service and product deliveries.
During the plant tour, one of the team members described how PCMC used to have $21 million worth of inventory on the shelf, yet still were late on “everything”.Material would be received, then physically moved to its predetermined inventory holding location in the farthest corner of the massive warehouse area.20 minutes later, the item would show up on inventory and a technician would go to the farthest corner of the massive warehouse area to retrieve the part.The repeated handling of thousands and thousands of parts represented an enormous handling expense; and that was in addition to the inventory carrying costs and tremendous amount of floor space (3 entire bays each about the size of a football field) required to accommodate such an inventory.
Despite having such an enormous inventory of stocked items, they only had the needed parts in-stock 70% of the time.Through a combination of Kaizen events, 7S events, and value stream mapping, the company modified ordering practices, receiving systems, and component staging processes.Incoming parts are now immediately identified on the computer system as available and are placed directly into the process, eliminating countless hours of material handling.In-stock inventory has been reduced to $3 million, yet they now have the required parts in-stock 98% of the time.
The company used value stream mapping to help identify the critical components customers need in the event of a breakdown.Those 500 items are part of their “spares” program and are on the shelf, ready to ship, 100% of the time.They have also developed stocking strategies for 5000 other frequently needed components, which are out of stock less than 2% of the time.
Handling vastly less inventory allowed the company to reduce material handlers from over 80 down to 14.(All of the displaced material handlers are working elsewhere in the organization, having been retrained for machining and other value-added activities.)An added bonus was an unbelievable reduction in floor space required for inventory from three monstrous bays to 3 modest shelving units occupying approximately 500 square feet.
The average lead-time on custom-machined parts used to be 41 days.That was based on only four hours of actual machining (value added work).They are now able to ship custom parts in five days and even have accommodations to ship those parts in two days when a customer’s machine is down.
What they found through these events, is a tremendous amount of wasted time.Operators would be scheduled to do a job, but would not have everything needed to accomplish the tasks, whether they be tooling, materials, CNC programs or what have you.The operators would waste valuable machine time walking around looking for the items they needed to get the job moving.In the process, product would routinely be delivered late.PCMC now has systems in place to insure every operator has everything needed to proceed with a job before the job is assigned to them.
Another paradigm shift came in their ordering practices.A purchasing agent, in an attempt to get better pricing on components, would order in bulk to get quantity discount pricing.What they found is that if they needed one piece, the PA may have ordered ten and had the remaining nine placed into inventory.Four years later, they still had nine on the shelf.Now, when they need one piece, they order one piece.The savings realized in material handling, inventory holding and elsewhere far outweighs the “savings’ from bulk ordering.
All of these efforts brought the company from a firefighting mode to what they describe as “synchronized execution”.While many companies fail in their Lean journeys by focusing on the tools rather than the profound leadership changes required,PCMC is enjoying the benefits of a pervasive yet ongoing cultural transformation.
At PCMC, they don’t view Lean as a goal.It is a journey. They are not undertaking initiatives that result in incremental changes.They are experiencing a fundamental shift in their management model, which emphasizes leading, training, mentoring, and engaging employees to become leaders that drive exponential improvements in quality, customer service and profitability.Because of the transformational nature of the process, people and systems; they don’t see it as simply a Lean journey.At Paper Converting Machine Company, it is nothing less than “a Living Legacy of Leadership” or what they refer to as their “L3 Journey”.It is a journey the FTA Great Lakes Group was privileged to experience.
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