MFG DAY addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t.
On October 4, manufacturers, educational institutions, and others will host events to highlight the importance of manufacturing to the nation’s economy and draw attention to the many rewarding high-skill jobs in manufacturing fields.
In its first year 2012, more than 240 events were held in manufacturing facilities in 37 states and more than 7,000 people participated. This year’s celebration will feature open houses, public tours, career workshops and other activities to increase public awareness of modern manufacturing.
Supported by a group of industry sponsors and co-producers, MFG DAY is designed to amplify the voice of individual manufacturers and coordinate a collective chorus of manufacturers with common concerns and challenges.
Find out more and learn how your company can plan a MFG DAY event at www.mfgday.com.
If you decide to host an event this year, it’s important that you register your event at
www.mfgday.com. Registration will enable you to access a variety of tools to help promote the event and your company.
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/2713/7572/0531/2013-08.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
Monday, August 5, 2013
Improve Your Business by Implementing ISO 9001
How can implementing a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001 improve your business, organization, or department?
Frequently the ISO 9001 Standard is perceived to be complicated and heavy on documentation requirements. These perceptions are not necessarily accurate. The ISO 9001 Standard is actually very straightforward with simple requirements for procedures and records. The ultimate goal, however, of implementing ISO 9001 should be to create an organization that continually improves.
Why Implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System?
Why should your organization use the ISO 9001 Standard? An honest reply can say a lot about how effectively the standard can improve your business. If you are using the standard as a gimmick (a plaque on the wall), then the standard will be a burden, not a benefit. If the honest reason for implementing the standard is improvement in your overall business, then it can truly help your organization become better, and it will allow you to compete in a global marketplace.
Using ISO 9001 Makes Your Organization More Competitive.
Implementing the ISO 9001 Standard as a Quality Management System can improve your business. In fact, that is why it was created. It is broadly recognized as a proven method of using a systems and process approach to make your business better. It can make your organization more effective, and therefore more competitive.
Improving Organizational Culture by Implementing ISO 9001.
Another important advantage of implementing the ISO 9001 Standard is improved organizational culture. Faithfully employing the standard can actually change how people feel and behave in the organization, and how its members interact with peers, subordinates, superiors and customers.
Aligning and integrating your ISO Quality System with your Business Management System will reap many tangible benefits.
Frequently the ISO 9001 Standard is perceived to be complicated and heavy on documentation requirements. These perceptions are not necessarily accurate. The ISO 9001 Standard is actually very straightforward with simple requirements for procedures and records. The ultimate goal, however, of implementing ISO 9001 should be to create an organization that continually improves.
Why Implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System?
Why should your organization use the ISO 9001 Standard? An honest reply can say a lot about how effectively the standard can improve your business. If you are using the standard as a gimmick (a plaque on the wall), then the standard will be a burden, not a benefit. If the honest reason for implementing the standard is improvement in your overall business, then it can truly help your organization become better, and it will allow you to compete in a global marketplace.
Using ISO 9001 Makes Your Organization More Competitive.
Implementing the ISO 9001 Standard as a Quality Management System can improve your business. In fact, that is why it was created. It is broadly recognized as a proven method of using a systems and process approach to make your business better. It can make your organization more effective, and therefore more competitive.
Improving Organizational Culture by Implementing ISO 9001.
Another important advantage of implementing the ISO 9001 Standard is improved organizational culture. Faithfully employing the standard can actually change how people feel and behave in the organization, and how its members interact with peers, subordinates, superiors and customers.
Aligning and integrating your ISO Quality System with your Business Management System will reap many tangible benefits.
Basic Project Management Workshop - Sep 12, 2013
A “train and do” workshop introducing the basics of Project Management, including classroom presentation and exercises on how to organize and manage projects and bring them to a close – on time and on budget.
A Project is a temporary collection of related tasks to achieve a desired and usually unique result.
What do you think? Do you find yourself managing a collection of related tasks to achieve a desired result? If so, you qualify as a project manager. Businesses today are evolving, downsizing, and pushing more work down the organization chart. You may be a project manager and not know it. But what if you haven’t been trained as a Project Manager with the necessary skill and tool sets?
(Course materials are based on methods described in the Program Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), published by the Program Management Institute)
Date: September 12, 2013
Time: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Location: Treadway Inn, Owego, NY
Cost: $250 ($200 for AM&T Associates)
Meet your Instructor: Lloyd Johnson is a graduate of Syracuse University where he earned a B.S.E.E. and an MBA. Lloyd has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, quality and program management. Lloyd is a Professional Business Advisor (PBA), a certified Project Management Professional-certified by the Project Management Institute, and is certified to teach Training Within Industry (TWI) and Lean Enterprise Subjects.
Are You a Project Manager?
Today, everything is a project with more and more people finding themselves in a project management role of some type. You don’t have to have the title of Project Manager to manage projects.A Project is a temporary collection of related tasks to achieve a desired and usually unique result.
What do you think? Do you find yourself managing a collection of related tasks to achieve a desired result? If so, you qualify as a project manager. Businesses today are evolving, downsizing, and pushing more work down the organization chart. You may be a project manager and not know it. But what if you haven’t been trained as a Project Manager with the necessary skill and tool sets?
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This training is for manufacturing, engineering, and installation personnel with project leadership responsibilities, whether in a new role or just in need of a refresher.COURSE OUTLINE:
- Introduction to Project Management
- Individual Roles and Responsibilities
- Defining the Mission & Approach
- Methodology Overview
- Work Plan Review and Sign-off
- Project Tracking (Working the Schedule)
- Action and Contingency Plans
- Project Status Reporting
- Book shelving Project Management Data
(Course materials are based on methods described in the Program Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), published by the Program Management Institute)
Date: September 12, 2013
Time: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Location: Treadway Inn, Owego, NY
Cost: $250 ($200 for AM&T Associates)
Register your interest on-line at www.amt-mep.org or
contact Kathy Peacock at 607-774-0022 x308
Meet your Instructor: Lloyd Johnson is a graduate of Syracuse University where he earned a B.S.E.E. and an MBA. Lloyd has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, quality and program management. Lloyd is a Professional Business Advisor (PBA), a certified Project Management Professional-certified by the Project Management Institute, and is certified to teach Training Within Industry (TWI) and Lean Enterprise Subjects.
The Difference Between Finishers and 70-Percenters
By Art Petty
As an individual contributor, adopt the behaviors above. They need to be part of your professional DNA.
There’s a class of professionals in the world one of my former bosses labeled as “70-Percenters.” They’re the people who are great at making noise, and even getting things started, but they don’t know how to close. They’re not finishers.
Are you a Finisher or a 70-Percenter? Are you cultivating Finishers on your team?
5 Key Behaviors of Finishers:
- Finishers walk into the heat. The 70-Percenter runs away from messy situations, while the Finisher understands that she owns a problem or difficult team situation until it’s solved. She recognizes that one of her jobs is to lead the cleanup on organizational spills, and she relishes the opportunity to help a team move from disaster to success.
- Finishers understand that commitment IS commitment. The 70-Percenters are masters of excuses. Finishers eat accountability for breakfast, exude responsibility all day long and display fortitude in the most difficult of circumstances. Projects are completed, issues are resolved, problems are fixed and opportunities are pursued with a vengeance.
- Finishers want the ball with time running out. 70-Percenters fear the implications of blowing the final shot. They look to pass the ball. Finishers are the sales representatives who engineer game-winning drives to bring home the orders at the end of the quarter and the engineers and developers who understand what it takes to go from whiteboard to finished product.
- Finishers aren’t glory hounds, they are results fiends. 70-Percenters love the limelight, and live to find it. Finishers value the results and lessons learned. They climb mountains because they’re there and they complete their work, because anything else is tantamount to giving up. Finishers don’t know the words, “I give up.”
- Finishers look around corners for answers. 70-Percenters run from vexing dilemmas and situations where the answers might involve a blend of experimentation and hard work. Finishers understand the iterative nature of most solution development activities and live to experiment and to gain insights from non-traditional sources in untraditional ways.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Finishers make the world go. 70-Percenters are along for a fun ride, but they don’t provide much locomotive power. As a leader, strive to cultivate Finishers on your team. Reinforce accountability and importantly display the behaviors that teach by example.
While a team filled with Finishers offers its own challenges, it certainly beats the painful monotony of coping with the chronic under-performance of 70-Percenters.
AS 9100 Quality Certification for Dyco Electronics
Dyco Electronics is a profitable manufacturing company with 58 employees working in a 25,000 sq. ft. company-owned facility in Hornell. They serve government and commercial customers who demand top quality and who have been happy with what Dyco delivers; sales are growing and the company is hiring. Yet the owner decided last year to invest in preparing the company for certification to the aerospace industry’s standardized quality management system, AS 9100.
To understand that decision, some background on the company is helpful. Dyco manufactures a wide range of custom magnetics, including transformers, reactors, inductors, chokes, coils, planar transformers, surface mount transformers and just about anything that involves copper foil, magnet wire, laminations, ferrites, toroids, and any other type of transformer materials. With relatively small runs of ever-changing products, profitability and customer satisfaction are heavily dependent on tight quality controls.
Originally, Dyco’s quality procedures were driven by MIL-SPEC, which are requirements related to standards established by the US Department of Defense. When ISO standards and requirements gained international visibility a couple decades ago, some of Dyco’s larger customers exerted pressure on the company to follow that path but then backed off, choosing instead to use their own auditors to insure that Dyco’s quality control procedures met those customers’ requirements.
Company president and CEO, Gregory Georgek, explained, "We always had a high level of quality and good systems in place, but not a lot of formal documentation of our processes. We have a goal of continually improving, and we recognized that the quality consistency that we wanted just wasn’t there."
Georgek has a long-term perspective on the company, which has been in Hornell for 53 years, and he believes that continually re-investing in the business and pushing it to change and evolve is essential. "I saw everybody here as working at full capacity, so the hard thing for me as the owner was to understand how we could find the time to take on this project. But I realized that getting these systems in place was necessary to achieve the vision of where I want the company to be five years from now -- which is to grow and achieve a higher level of professionalism -- so we just made it a priority."
The first step came shortly after Jeff Wilkins was hired as Program Manager three years ago. One of his first assignments was to create work instructions for everything that was happening in the plant and the front office. Georgek explained that this occurred prior to a decision to pursue AS 9100 certification; it was simply another step in the process of continuous improvement. With the work instructions solidified, the management team tackled the question of what the next most valuable initiative would be.
Georgek said, "We had worked with AM&T before, so we contacted them for advice -- AS vs. ISO, understanding the resources required, how long it would take, and what kind of end result we could expect. In other words, we wanted to know in advance what this would do for the company." Staff also solicited opinions from their larger customers about what would be best for the company; those customers were encouraging but also said that Dyco’s not having certification would not negatively impact those relationships.
"Many years ago, we felt like other people were trying to force us to become certified so we resisted," explained Georgek. "But we try to always be working on things that will position the company for growth and sustainability on into the future, so we decided to look at the AS 9100 certification decision from one perspective: what’s good for Dyco and our internal operations. And that’s what drove our decision."
The company engaged AM&T assistance in the person of Bob Mann. "Bob recognized that we had lots of elements -- the systems and the procedures -- already in place and explained that we just had to formalize and document them," said Wilkins. "He met with us weekly and kept us on track."
Georgek said, "I can’t see a company doing this without a consultant group. If you just read a standard and then implement it for your company, the tendency is to do much more than is really required. Using AM&T and Bob Mann has helped us implement a much more reasonable system."
Wilkins explained, "There was a tipping point where those employees slow to respond wanted to get on board and not miss the boat. And that’s when real culture change became evident inside the company."
"Having everyone involved in creating the new system helped create a new mindset," said Wilkins. "We wanted everyone to gain an across-the-board understanding of how the company does business, and for everyone to have a better grasp of each others’ jobs. When this happens, things run more smoothly and problems get solved faster."
"Right, but having the strong quality systems in place doesn’t mean that everything is magically fixed," noted Georgek. "Of course we still run into quality issues, but how we handle them is different, and the way we resolve them and prevent re-occurrence is different."
Wilkins said that going through the process of earning AS 9100 certification also gave everyone a better understanding of what their customers’ quality auditors want to see and why it’s important. "And that also means we can now do a better job of explaining what we do and how we do it to our customers."
Asked about the future, Georgek said that Dyco’s upcoming initiatives will focus on marketing, improving the company’s online presence, increased sales outreach, and adding some new equipment. "It’s good for the company for me to be less involved in day-to-day decision-making and to have people and systems in place that allow me to spend more time on sales and future-oriented projects. One goal is to build a company that is successful in my absence, and our improved quality system is an important step in that direction."
To understand that decision, some background on the company is helpful. Dyco manufactures a wide range of custom magnetics, including transformers, reactors, inductors, chokes, coils, planar transformers, surface mount transformers and just about anything that involves copper foil, magnet wire, laminations, ferrites, toroids, and any other type of transformer materials. With relatively small runs of ever-changing products, profitability and customer satisfaction are heavily dependent on tight quality controls.
Originally, Dyco’s quality procedures were driven by MIL-SPEC, which are requirements related to standards established by the US Department of Defense. When ISO standards and requirements gained international visibility a couple decades ago, some of Dyco’s larger customers exerted pressure on the company to follow that path but then backed off, choosing instead to use their own auditors to insure that Dyco’s quality control procedures met those customers’ requirements.
Company president and CEO, Gregory Georgek, explained, "We always had a high level of quality and good systems in place, but not a lot of formal documentation of our processes. We have a goal of continually improving, and we recognized that the quality consistency that we wanted just wasn’t there."
Georgek has a long-term perspective on the company, which has been in Hornell for 53 years, and he believes that continually re-investing in the business and pushing it to change and evolve is essential. "I saw everybody here as working at full capacity, so the hard thing for me as the owner was to understand how we could find the time to take on this project. But I realized that getting these systems in place was necessary to achieve the vision of where I want the company to be five years from now -- which is to grow and achieve a higher level of professionalism -- so we just made it a priority."
The first step came shortly after Jeff Wilkins was hired as Program Manager three years ago. One of his first assignments was to create work instructions for everything that was happening in the plant and the front office. Georgek explained that this occurred prior to a decision to pursue AS 9100 certification; it was simply another step in the process of continuous improvement. With the work instructions solidified, the management team tackled the question of what the next most valuable initiative would be.
Georgek said, "We had worked with AM&T before, so we contacted them for advice -- AS vs. ISO, understanding the resources required, how long it would take, and what kind of end result we could expect. In other words, we wanted to know in advance what this would do for the company." Staff also solicited opinions from their larger customers about what would be best for the company; those customers were encouraging but also said that Dyco’s not having certification would not negatively impact those relationships.
"Many years ago, we felt like other people were trying to force us to become certified so we resisted," explained Georgek. "But we try to always be working on things that will position the company for growth and sustainability on into the future, so we decided to look at the AS 9100 certification decision from one perspective: what’s good for Dyco and our internal operations. And that’s what drove our decision."
The company engaged AM&T assistance in the person of Bob Mann. "Bob recognized that we had lots of elements -- the systems and the procedures -- already in place and explained that we just had to formalize and document them," said Wilkins. "He met with us weekly and kept us on track."
Georgek said, "I can’t see a company doing this without a consultant group. If you just read a standard and then implement it for your company, the tendency is to do much more than is really required. Using AM&T and Bob Mann has helped us implement a much more reasonable system."
Wilkins explained, "There was a tipping point where those employees slow to respond wanted to get on board and not miss the boat. And that’s when real culture change became evident inside the company."
"Having everyone involved in creating the new system helped create a new mindset," said Wilkins. "We wanted everyone to gain an across-the-board understanding of how the company does business, and for everyone to have a better grasp of each others’ jobs. When this happens, things run more smoothly and problems get solved faster."
"Right, but having the strong quality systems in place doesn’t mean that everything is magically fixed," noted Georgek. "Of course we still run into quality issues, but how we handle them is different, and the way we resolve them and prevent re-occurrence is different."
Wilkins said that going through the process of earning AS 9100 certification also gave everyone a better understanding of what their customers’ quality auditors want to see and why it’s important. "And that also means we can now do a better job of explaining what we do and how we do it to our customers."
Asked about the future, Georgek said that Dyco’s upcoming initiatives will focus on marketing, improving the company’s online presence, increased sales outreach, and adding some new equipment. "It’s good for the company for me to be less involved in day-to-day decision-making and to have people and systems in place that allow me to spend more time on sales and future-oriented projects. One goal is to build a company that is successful in my absence, and our improved quality system is an important step in that direction."
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Associates’ Corner - Sarnicola
Sarnicola Simulation Systems (SSS) is a full service motion simulation company specializing in custom testing and building of motion platforms. Since its inception in 1991, Sarnicola Simulation Systems has grown considerably. Within 9 months the first patented motion platform was designed, fabricated, tested, and completed for sale.
The expanding business required more space and SSS moved to its new and present headquarters at 970 Conklin Ave, Conklin, NY. The state-of-the- art facility is now the home to one of the most experienced motion simulation teams in the world. The space allows for a more suitable working environment and has room for expansion as the business continues to grow.
The services and product lines have continued to expand as customer requests and market demands have dictated. SSS has provided motion systems for entertainment, advertisement, defense and special effects. The market for SSS products and services has come from Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Sarnicola caters to both small and large businesses. Larger companies have included Lockheed Martin, Hughes-Link Training, General Motors, Chrysler Motors, and the United States Government. The strength of SSS continues to be the ability and willingness to meet the custom requirements of the customer at a fair price.
SSS looks forward to building upon the knowledge and experience of their dedicated employees, helping you create your next custom motion system. They will custom fabricate motion systems to your requirements and specifications. Success is often attributed to a few individuals. In this case, it is achieved through the efforts of many individuals working together. SSS, assisting the World in Motion.
For more information, contact: Dr. John F. Sarnicola at 607-724-4021 or visit www.sarnicola.com
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4613/7286/1307/2013-07.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
The expanding business required more space and SSS moved to its new and present headquarters at 970 Conklin Ave, Conklin, NY. The state-of-the- art facility is now the home to one of the most experienced motion simulation teams in the world. The space allows for a more suitable working environment and has room for expansion as the business continues to grow.
The services and product lines have continued to expand as customer requests and market demands have dictated. SSS has provided motion systems for entertainment, advertisement, defense and special effects. The market for SSS products and services has come from Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Sarnicola caters to both small and large businesses. Larger companies have included Lockheed Martin, Hughes-Link Training, General Motors, Chrysler Motors, and the United States Government. The strength of SSS continues to be the ability and willingness to meet the custom requirements of the customer at a fair price.
SSS looks forward to building upon the knowledge and experience of their dedicated employees, helping you create your next custom motion system. They will custom fabricate motion systems to your requirements and specifications. Success is often attributed to a few individuals. In this case, it is achieved through the efforts of many individuals working together. SSS, assisting the World in Motion.
For more information, contact: Dr. John F. Sarnicola at 607-724-4021 or visit www.sarnicola.com
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4613/7286/1307/2013-07.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
U.S. Manufacturing Jobs on the Rise
By: Mark Koba, CNBC
Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. appear to be coming back—if ever so slightly.
Several large American firms, have announced they’re shifting some manufacturing operations back to the United States, mainly because of increasing production and energy costs overseas.
And since January of 2010, the United States has added 520,000 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are currently 12 million manufacturing jobs on record in the United States.
However, analysts say that catch-up mode is the new normal; that we’ll never go back to the glory days but there is hope for the future of US manufacturing.
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4613/7286/1307/2013-07.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. appear to be coming back—if ever so slightly.
Several large American firms, have announced they’re shifting some manufacturing operations back to the United States, mainly because of increasing production and energy costs overseas.
And since January of 2010, the United States has added 520,000 manufacturing jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are currently 12 million manufacturing jobs on record in the United States.
However, analysts say that catch-up mode is the new normal; that we’ll never go back to the glory days but there is hope for the future of US manufacturing.
See this and other newsletter articles at http://amt-mep.org/files/4613/7286/1307/2013-07.pdf
Visit our website at http://www.amt-mep.org
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