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Upcoming Events
February 14th 2012 01:00 pm
- Optimizing Your Product Development Process
February 15th 2012 08:30 am
- Engaging Your Employees
February 16th 2012 12:30 pm
- Design for Manufacturability & Tour Pentair
February 21st 2012 01:00 pm
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
February 22nd 2012 01:00 pm
- Benefiting from Product Modularity
February 23rd 2012 08:00 am
- Maximizing Throughput Velocity with TOC
February 29th 2012 08:30 am
- Leading Down New Paths
February 29th 2012 08:30 am
- Persuasive Coaching & Influencing
March 1st 2012 01:00 pm
- Measuring the Right Things
March 7th 2012 08:30 am
- Overcoming Resistance to Change
Article Index
Legal Corner: Will We Have Labor Law Reform in 2009?Article by: Gregory Peters When President Obama took office, many thought the Employee Free Choice Act ("EFCA"), would quickly become law. EFCA as written would eliminate secret ballot elections in choosing for or against a union, force arbitrator-created union contracts on employers after 120 days of failed bargaining as well as significantly increase employer penalties for unfair labor practices. |
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Book Review: The Birth of LeanArticle by: John Hehre The Toyota Production System was not the result of a big program or even a big idea. In fact, it took more than twenty years of trial and error to reach the point where the managers at Toyota even developed a formal program to train supervisors in the methodology. |
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Featured Lean Leader - Ron HallidayArticle by: Kirby Sneen In the last 10 years Ron has led continuous improvement activities in a number of different industries, including Aluminum & Magnesium foundry, Machine Shop, Financial Services, Document Management, and Manufacturing. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Lean Master with experience in Demand Flow Technology and Demand Flow Fulfillment. |
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MN Economic OutlookArticle by: Dr. Ernest Goss For the month of April 2009, reported May 1, 2009. For the ninth straight month, Minnesota's Business Conditions Index fell below growth neutral. |
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Legal Corner: Will We Have Labor Law Reform in 2009? |
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When President Obama took office, many thought the Employee Free Choice Act ("EFCA"), would quickly become law. EFCA as written would eliminate secret ballot elections in choosing for or against a union, force arbitrator-created union contracts on employers after 120 days of failed bargaining as well as significantly increase employer penalties for unfair labor practices. The timing of the bill's introduction in the 111th Congress, in conjunction with recent political developments, has instead made EFCA's future uncertain. EFCA's Pre-Emptive Strike On February 25, House and Senate Republicans introduced the Secret Ballot Protection Act as a pre-emptive strike to EFCA. Under the Act, employees could only designate a union as the exclusive bargaining representative through a secret ballot election. Less than two weeks later, EFCA was introduced in the House and Senate. A few days before EFCA was introduced, the National Labor Relations Modernization Act ("NLRMA") was introduced. Some saw this bill as the first compromise to EFCA because, although it contained EFCA's interest arbitration and increased employer penalty provisions, it preserved secret ballot elections. In addition, the NLRMA added new "equal access" requirements for labor organizations prior to elections taking place. Political Developments & Impact on EFCA The first important political EFCA development came when Senator Specter announced he no longer supported EFCA in its current form noting, "the elimination of the secret ballot . . . is the cornerstone of how contests are decided in a democratic society." In the days following Specters' new opposition to EFCA, a handful of other Democratic Senators voiced their "serious concerns" with EFCA, making the 60-vote cloture requirement (end debate and essentially force a vote) difficult, if not impossible. These Senators were mostly from swing states and up for re-election in 2010. Minnesota's open Senator seat and Senator Kennedy's health status could further complicate a successful cloture vote. What Lies Ahead Although a variety of compromises to EFCA are being considered, no new bills have been introduced. Based on the public's opposition to the elimination of the secret ballot election (including 73% of Obama voters), there is a good chance the secret ballot election will be preserved in some form. However, there remains a good chance that EFCA's two other main provisions (mandatory binding interest arbitration and increased employer penalties) will survive. Some other compromises that are currently being debated include: shortened election periods (such as Ontario's "quickie" election period of only seven days), making a union visit to an employee at home an unfair labor practice, and additional enforcement mechanisms for violations of the duty to bargain in good faith. With EFCA seemingly stalled, the author believes a watered-down version of EFCA (without completely eliminating the secret ballet election) or similar labor law "reform" will pass this year. The final bill may very well include: enhanced employer penalties; a shortened election period; equal access for union to employees and/or employer's premises; and, mandatory binding arbitration for initial contracts. Any such labor reform will energize the union movement and manufacturers should start planning now for increased union activity.
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Book Review: The Birth of Lean |
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The Toyota Production System was not the result of a big program or even a big idea. In fact, it took more than twenty years of trial and error to reach the point where the managers at Toyota even developed a formal program to train supervisors in the methodology. The evolution featured as many or more missteps as it did successes. The Birth of Lean gives us an opportunity to hear firsthand from the actual creators about what they did and why. Several important aspects of Lean become evident throughout the book. These programs take time to develop. Concepts we now take for granted literally took years to figure out. Weve become accustomed to Kaizen blitzes where we expect to create dramatic improvements in a matter of hours or days. In reality, Lean doesnt truly take root without a change in the mindset and culture of the organization, and that transformation takes time. The key players made a lot of mistakes along the way and were open to learning from those mistakes. The most interesting aspect, however, is the emphasis on the worker. Pushing people hard is acceptable up to the point where they become discouraged or defeated. One of the key points stressed over and over is that Lean provides the opportunity for the worker to realize his or her full potential. Speeding up the line, for example, may get more work in the short run but stress and fatigue may ultimately cause any benefits to decline and remove the potential for improvement. The book is divided into six chapters. The first two are more history from the perspective of the key players and provide interesting insight into the mindset and approach of people like Taiichi Ohno. The middle three chapters present the development of three areas in particular: the Pull System, Buffering, and Total Quality Control. The final chapter includes two interviews with Eiji Toyoda, the former chairman of Toyota, and provides unique insight into the management of the company during the evolution of the Toyota Production System. The blend of interviews with the key players and history of Lean provides valuable management insight into the development and leadership of our own Lean evolution. Probably most useful for management, the book is an excellent choice for anyone who considers themselves a student of the subject.
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Featured Lean Leader - Ron Halliday |
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In the last 10 years Ron has led continuous improvement activities in a number of different industries, including Aluminum & Magnesium foundry, Machine Shop, Financial Services, Document Management, and Manufacturing. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Lean Master with experience in Demand Flow Technology and Demand Flow Fulfillment. Why did you decide to enroll in the Lean Leader Certification program? I received my initial lean training at Hamilton-Sundstrand and Boeing while working for a supplier to the aircraft industry. I wanted to pursue Lean Leader Certification to further enhance my knowledge of specific Lean tools and 'sharpen the sword' as they say. Also, Certifications from the Manufacturers Alliance are well recognized in our area and demonstrate to my peers that I have attained a certain level of expertise in the area. What were the lessons learned from leading or training a team on a Lean manufacturing project? The main lessons for me were:
Perseverance: I led a major project to implement Lean in our shipping department. This was an area with no previous experience in Lean and significant resistance to change. "This is the way we have always shipped our products, why should we change now?" Over the course of 6 months we held three separate Kaizen events in the area. With each event we were able to increase the level of Lean understanding, further break down the resistance to change, and move the operation much closer to our goals. By the end of the third event we had converted shipping from batch to one piece flow and exceeded our initial improvement goals by a wide margin. We decreased direct labor by 33% (6 FTE's to 4), reduced the footprint by 25%, improved quality (66% fewer CQAR's), and eliminated the need for overtime in the area (from 8% to none). Lesson Learned: Often it takes more than one iteration for a team to fully understand the need for change. Being persistent and allowing the area leader to learn and grow at his own pace changed him from an opponent of change to one of the strongest supporters of Lean in the organization. Don't feel like you have to hit a home run on the first try. Multiple singles are often a better winning strategy. Keep your eyes open for unexpected opportunity: In the process of Leaning out the shipping process, I discovered that we were ordering corrugated boxes multiple times per week and paying expedited shipping for same day delivery. This occurred because the packing materials were not part of the BOM and shipping personnel had no visibility that a particular box was needed until the product was sitting in front of them ready to ship. After some investigation and brainstorming the team set up min/max levels with red/green visual indicators for each box type. We then put the 'high runners' on a set weekly delivery from the vendor and added 'low runners' as required. The day before the scheduled delivery, a visual inventory was performed and any necessary adjustments were transmitted to the vendor by e-mail. This change in ordering patterns, combined with price negotiations, decreased our annual expenditure for corrugated by over 33%, or about $100,000 annually. Lesson Learned: There are significant improvement opportunities where you least expect them. Keep poking around and asking the 'dumb' questions. You never know what you will turn up. What would you say to describe training the Manufacturers Alliance offers? I highly recommend the training offered by the Manufacturers Alliance. The peer-to-peer format allows you to learn skills from real working professionals who are practicing experts in their field. You not only get the theory, which all training programs offer, but you also get the inside scoop on what has and hasn't worked in actual practice. This allows you to learn from other's mistakes instead of having to make them all yourself.
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MN Economic Outlook |
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For the month of April 2009, reported May 1, 2009. For the ninth straight month, Minnesota's Business Conditions Index fell below growth neutral.  The leading economic indicator based on a survey of supply managers, climbed to 42.6 from March's 31.0 and February's 28.4. Components of the overall index for April were new orders at 47.9, production at 45.3, delivery lead time at 45.9, inventories at 33.3, and employment at 40.5. "Durable goods producers, especially those dependent on international sales, continue to struggle economically. I expect Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to match the U.S.'s before the end of the second quarter. This will likely mean an increase in the state's unemployment rate of 0.6 percentage points," said Goss.
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