This is in reverse chronological order (oldest to newest)…
Delta systems
Streetsboro, Ohio
I always think fondly of my time and experiences at Delta Systems, because they provided me with my first opportunity to create new systems from scratch. When I first started, the production lines were set up with one worker at each workstation for each task. I found this to be extremely inefficient. Therefore, I taught myself lean manufacturing and continuous flow processes.
After implementing and managing the overhaul, Delta promoted me to Production Manager because the results were dramatic. We drove plant efficiency from 44% to 97% and created more machine capacity. We grew sales from $5MM/year to $17MM/year within five years, and were able to invest in NPI’s and an 80,000 square foot expansion.
rockwell automation
Twinsburg, Ohio
At Rockwell, I discovered their Six Sigma program was challenged, so I knew a new team was needed to upgrade talent and improve the plant metrics. I taught Green Belt methodologies to the engineering staff and front-line leaders. I interviewed everyone on the shop floor and captured “where the rubber meets the road” ideas for improvements. I then taught them White Belt methodologies to facilitate the project action items.
We achieved annual, continuous improvements in excess of $1M, and took top quality issues to world-class levels of DPMU.
us cotton
Cleveland, Ohio
U.S. Cotton provided the exact challenges what I was looking for! They had a 30-year old plant that was split into two divisions attempting to operate under one roof: private label and branded products. Each had more than 300 employees working four shifts. I took over private label and it was quite the project. Production and efficiencies were decades out-of-date and customer’s demands for cost reductions were killing what little profitability we were generating.
We dissected low-performance days and then worked directly with supervisors to find meaningful connections between schedules, quantities and particular products being run. We discovered work cells were improperly staffed, scheduling quantities not being batched, and added scheduling rules for B/C runners. Cotton (the largest cost driver of direct material) was correlated with machine performance. Trial-and-error testing allowed us to substitute lower cost cotton with relatively little degradation of machine performance.
Labor and scheduling adjustments produced an increase from 74% to 92% in just one year. This drove up profits from less than 0.1% to just over 12%. Substituting the cotton allowed us to maintain our profit margins in spite of the fact that our largest buyer demanded a 5% price reduction.
MasterBrand provided me with a whole new experience of increasing production levels while we acquired another business unit. I was responsible for moving equipment between two buildings, while maintaining (and increasing) output. Our plant was highly vertically integrated and included high volume production and JIT lines. A sudden, unforeseen demand required us to ramp up to maximum capacities.
We instituted ramp plans as well as increased staffing and employee raises to reduce attrition. We recreated safety plans from scratch to keep everyone safe during the transition period. Our plant was able to triple production while only doubling the staff required to do so. Turnover was slashed from 90% to less than 40%. The plant consolidation was completed on time and on budget. The first half of the year had eight recordables, but after the new program was installed, we enjoyed zero during the second half.
Master Brand
Lexington, NC