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Upcoming Events
May 18th 2012 08:00 am
- Using the Manufacturing Compensation & Benefits Survey to Make Pay Decisions
May 23rd 2012 08:00 am
- Onboarding Best Practices
May 24th 2012 08:00 am
- Staying Competitive With Lean
May 24th 2012 08:30 am
- Design of Experiments (DOE)
May 30th 2012 08:30 am
- High Performance Leadership
May 30th 2012 08:30 am
- A3 Strategy Deployment
May 31st 2012 01:00 pm
- Working with Different Personalities
June 6th 2012 07:30 am
- Visual Management & 5S Improvements
June 6th 2012 08:30 am
- Optimized Maintenance & Inventory
June 13th 2012 01:00 am
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Article Index
Top Tool's Tremendous Tenacity Article by: Justin Dorsey Top Tool (http://www.toptool.com) is one of a disappearing breed: a local tool & die manufacturer/stamper. As everyone knows, tools & dies are two of the indispensable cogs of the manufacturing wheel. Likewise, everyone knows that China is making an aggressive attempt to corner that market. To give an example of how un-level the playing field is: Top Tool's President, Al Abraham, referenced a bid he recently gave for a $50,000 die which the client then had filled in China for $5,000 - which was less than the cost of material. To be clear, both China and the US pay the same amount for raw commodities so something was at work besides the cost of labor. |
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Book Review - The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean TurnaroundArticle by: John Hehre Balle, Freddy and Balle, Michael. Brookline, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2005. |
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Leaders Insights - Managing Conflict during Times of Change Author Unknown Today's competitive business environment requires organizations to continuously search for new and better ways of doing things. But when improvement teams come up with process changes that impact other people, conflicts can arise. "Conflict," defined as a disagreement or difference of opinion or ideas, is not all bad. If there were no conflicts, or differences of opinion, over work processes, there would be no process improvements. However, conflicts need to be managed and contained so they don't cause unnecessary barriers to the change process. |
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Top Tool's Tremendous Tenacity |
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Top Tool (http://www.toptool.com) is one of a disappearing breed: a local tool & die manufacturer/stamper. As everyone knows, tools & dies are two of the indispensable cogs of the manufacturing wheel. Likewise, everyone knows that China is making an aggressive attempt to corner that market. To give an example of how un-level the playing field is: Top Tool's President, Al Abraham, referenced a bid he recently gave for a $50,000 die which the client then had filled in China for $5,000 - which was less than the cost of material. To be clear, both China and the US pay the same amount for raw commodities so something was at work besides the cost of labor. While the foregoing dramatizes the inequity of China's subsidization practices, a closer-to-home inspection reveals that U.S. consumers of these products and services are not above reproach. For lack of a better word, passivity seems to be a substantial part of the problem. Perhaps the best way to get at what is meant by passivity is to illustrate it in the context of Top Tool. In the past, engineers came to Top Tool to discuss their needs. That interaction worked for both parties because it allowed each to learn the other's abilities and limitations. In practical terms, it presented the opportunity to begin to work out the bugs before the die was built - and to carry-on afterwards. Obviously, it also promoted the formation of interpersonal relationships built around trust and cooperation. According to Al, that doesn't happen anymore. Instead, the internet is the medium through which almost all contact is made. When overt efforts are made to invite engineers to visit Top Tool - the response is almost always: "Can you e-mail me some information?" Even offers to meet at their offices are met with rebuffs of "too busy." Tool & die work is part art and part science that depends to a great degree on being able to pass down from one generation to another the fine points of its craft. Once gone, it is incredibly difficult to re-establish. So, the rhetorical question must be: should we care? Well, if we're serious - and we seem to be - about promoting medical-device and bio-technology manufacturing in Minnesota, then we should care deeply about the health and wealth of tool & die companies like Top Tool. And a tour of Top Tool reveals the very best of Minnesota work-related creativity, commitment and respect. With respect to its creativity, Top Tool's niche is the creation of dies for stamping micro-miniature parts out of precious and non-ferrous metals usually to be used as conductive components. How small? Like, 2,000th of an inch thick and 60,000ths of an inch long. Some are so small they are, literally, indistinguishable to the human eye. A 35 mm film canister can hold one million parts. Combine this miniaturization with the ability to integrate them into progressive dies - in which parts can be stamped, folded and rolled in one die - and you have world-class innovation. With a 98% on-time delivery record, Top Tool is an irreplaceable local resource for R&D and prototyping. Commitment at Top Tool is evidenced by its ongoing investment in high-cost capital equipment. A case in point is its $1 Million EDM which allows it to etch microscopic cutting surfaces into its dies. In the manufacturing downturn of 1999, which was a wholesale depression for tool & die manufacturers, Top Tool showed its respect for its real secret-to-success (its employees) by adopting a new corporate philosophy: fun. As Elizabeth Abraham, Top Tool's CEO, puts it: "When we have fun, we tend to be more productive." Notwithstanding the travails ahead for their industry, the Abrahams remain philosophically committed to staying the course. One echoes the other when they say that, "Manufacturing is good for Minnesota. These are good paying jobs that test people's problem-solving abilities. In short, this is a good place to work." Top Tool is committed to its future. With a workforce that is the best in the industry and with innovation occurring every day, Top Tool is confident that it is staying above the curve. Top Tool is in the process of applying for a patent for a method to make micro-miniature parts. Education and creativity go hand in hand in beating the foreign competition. The Abrahams are strongly involved in keeping their workforce well educated and beyond the reach of foreign triumph. The Abrahams aggressively give back to the manufacturing community through their very-active political involvement and through their participation in numerous trade associations. They recently initiated a workforce training program with Anoka County Community College and the MN Job Sills Program to enhance their employees' skills and become leaner in their manufacturing techniques. In light of all of this, it is not surprising that this year, Top Tool was named the MetroNorth Chamber Business of the Year winner. Like so many of its Manufacturers Alliance profile member predecessors, Top Tool is a terrific example of what's good about manufacturing. Losing a company of its caliber because of foreign-competition would be tragic. Losing it because of indifference or ignorance would be unforgivable.
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Book Review - The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround |
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Balle, Freddy and Balle, Michael. Brookline, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2005. Generally, we read novels for enjoyment and textbooks for their educational value, but once in a while a book comes out that is both. The classic example in manufacturing is The Goal, the book about theory of constraints, by Goldratt. This book, however, has a common complaint: it provides more concept than direction. Even after rereading it, many people are still unsure about how to apply the concepts. An alternative book that is enjoyable to read and provides a much better treatment of the practical aspects of lean manufacturing is The Gold Mine, by Balle and Balle. The Gold Mine's main story line is predictable, but illustrative. Despite demand for its product, a company is on the verge of. collapse. The company is trying to manage with traditional methods using forecasts, MRP, and lots of inventory in an attempt to smooth out deliveries. Naturally, costs are too high, delivery performance is poor, and although average inventory turns aren't too high, they represent lots of the wrong products and none of the ones they need. Enter the grizzled, old, lean veteran who shows them a better way. This book excels at several things. It provides some detailed examples of the various implementation tools. It provides a brief, but almost realistic, indication of the time required to implement the changes. Finally, it illustrates well the people issues that always arise in lean implementations. In particular, it describes a difference between those that "get it" and those that don't. The Gold Mine is easy and enjoyable to read. A few theoretical explanations may slow down your reading but are worth the effort. It would be an excellent book for a team to read and discuss.
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Leaders Insights - Managing Conflict during Times of Change |
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Today's competitive business environment requires organizations to continuously search for new and better ways of doing things. But when improvement teams come up with process changes that impact other people, conflicts can arise. "Conflict," defined as a disagreement or difference of opinion or ideas, is not all bad. If there were no conflicts, or differences of opinion, over work processes, there would be no process improvements. However, conflicts need to be managed and contained so they don't cause unnecessary barriers to the change process. To contain and manage conflicts associated with change, you need to recognize the many reasons people may resist or resent change. Common reasons include perceived personal loss, fear of the unknown, inadequate or second-hand information about the change, and lack of involvement in the change process. You can minimize the conflict associated with these reasons by doing the following: Identify all stakeholders and demonstrate empathy towards them.
Therefore, as you sell your ideas regarding process change and improvements, be sure to:
To learn from three local manufacturers how they are managing conflict in their organizations, attend the August 11 monthly MA program "Containing the Conflicts of Change."
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