Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/415707
18 | /INSIGHT ON MANUFACTURING • November 2014 w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g . c o m SOMEONE ONCE SAID TO ME, "Get all the toes of your employees pointed in the same direction and you will be successful." rough my years of running operations, I've been exposed to lean strategies, Six Sigma quality and improvement philosophies of business greats including Jack Welch. All have shaped my management style and operational culture, but the most impactful has been getting everyone looking, moving and thinking in the same direction. It's such a simple task, but integrating it into the day-to- day culture of an organization is far from easy. At Wisconsin Plastics, Inc., we continually strive to take this alignment from our customer to the end user of the product. Owner Jim Christensen and WPI's board of directors set in motion a strategic direction several years ago to penetrate a number of new markets and increase overall sales, while still providing best-in-class service to our existing customer base. I was hired in 2010 to champion upgrades to the manufacturing operations, and in 2012, we implemented the process of training future leaders in team skills, communications skills and lean thinking. It's working: Scrap, on-time delivery and inventory reduction charts show sustained and significant gains. In the past 12 months, WPI has been visited, audited and approved for business by an additional 10-plus new accounts. At the very beginning of this chain is our customer. We encourage our customers to tap into our culture by routinely hosting them and encouraging participation, including seeing how the product is made and being trained in our assembly operations. Some customers hold sales meetings at our facilities and others conduct training sessions. e more they understand the manufacturing process, the better prepared they are to sell their product to their end customers. What better way to begin the alignment process? e next crucial step is keeping the organization focused on the task. With a heavily engineering-based company such as WPI, it can be easy to overlook the expertise of our day-to-day workforce. It's important for our technical staff, focused on leaning production lines, to incorporate ideas from our team of employees, who oen have excellent input. With this in mind, WPI is devoted to keeping our employees focused on dedication to continuous improvement. To accomplish this, WPI regularly schedules informational meetings in a town-hall atmosphere. Company leaders present their thoughts and plans, then solicit questions, comments and general debate to determine the best way to improve our processes. We rotate through different functional areas of the business, giving all employees exposure to manufacturing, engineering, quality and management. B A C K O F F I C E Strategic culture Wisconsin Plastics partners to align people, processes and technology BY BRUCE WENDT Bruce Wendt, WPI's vice president of operations, has been actively involved with injection molding since 1981, with roots in engineering and design. During a 28-year tenure at Kaysun Corporation in Manitowoc, Wendt led many of the quality, productivity and cultural changes that became the hallmark of Kaysun. In 2010, Wendt joined the WPI team, actively defining and implementing its culture and operational excellence. It's important for our technical staff, focused on leaning production lines, to incorporate ideas from our team of employees, who often have excellent input.