Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1221561
MARCH 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 13 Williams: One of the first things I do is have them tell me what they think the culture of the company is, and that usually opens up quite a bit of discussion. Do they think that they're ready to make a big change? Are they able to make a big change? Do they think their em- ployees will be able to make a change? If any of those answers were, "No," then that told me that the top management created a culture is- sue. I've had a couple of customers tell me in the very beginning of discussions, "We want to do this, but it's going to require a culture change, and we're going to support it no matter what the employees say. If some of them don't want to make the change, then we'll find new work- ers." If you look at any organization, the cul- ture is typically defined by the folks at the top, even the tendency to hire people who fit the culture in that organization. If you don't get that buy-in from top employees, it's not going to work. Johnson: You start by looking at the executive staff to get an idea of their attitude. If they're not ready to go, then the company isn't ready to go. Williams: Correct. If we're talking about if they want to get some type of certification, I ask Matties: Maybe there's an opportunity for new manufacturing facilities to be built and to drive yields way up. GreenSource is a shiny model. Their yields are as high as anybody, and their labor cost is probably the lowest domestically in the industry. The technology is capable and setting records. Holden: They don't have any inspection. Matties: When you start looking at that model, is this the blueprint for people to come in and start building new factories? Williams: Absolutely. Johnson: It becomes a question about how to fund that. Could this be where we start seeing a fundamental change and return back to cap- tive facilities? Because the right OEM wanting to be in control of their manufacturing process can fund this better than somebody who's 40 years in the industry and ready to retire. Holden: The brand new GreenSource facil- ity paid back in less than two years. For their owner, PCBs are the most profitable product, even though Whelen also does aircraft and emergency vehicle electronics as an OEM. Matties: And it's also a zero-waste facility. Holden: It produces a profit. Matties: That liability and labor risks are gone. The blueprints are there. Maybe we're on the tip of a wave here. Johnson: Steve, in your work consulting on qual- ity, I'm sure there are some parallels. Getting a company to transition to better quality manage- ment must be like getting them to transition to better operating processes for profitability. How do you qualify a potential client? There must be times when you meet a client and conclude that they're closed-minded, stuck in their ways, and aren't going to change. Meanwhile, there may be other clients who are on-point and ready. How do you tease that out? Steve Williams