Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1372612
MAY 2021 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 23 needs help. is interdepartmental cross train- ing is a higher order of the responsibility cen- ters concept and is something we are continu- ally working on at Calumet. e book we are working from is titled World Class Manufacturing , e Lessons of Simplicity Applied, authored by Richard J. Schonberger and published in 1986. When I first received the book, I stuffed it in my bag for the trip home, never opening it. About a year later when the customer started talking about "Chapter 9: Partners in Profit," I became more interested, but still did not read the book cover to cover. We visited the customer, and I spent a lot of time over three days explaining to them how these concepts couldn't ap- ply to a PCB manufacturer. On the flight home I final- ly cracked the book and was horrified to discover on Page 5, "A machine shop, a sheet metal shop, a printed circuit board shop, any shop or fac- tory that makes to order is just the same." e book ap- parently did apply to a PCB manufacturer. What an em- barrassing display I put on with the customer. Johnson: Right there? Explicitly? Brassard: Yep. And I circled it in pen, thinking, "I just spent three days telling our customer the book doesn't apply to a circuit board shop." When I arrived at home, I sent an email imme- diately apologizing for my naivety, because never at any point during the visit did the cus- tomer call me out on the fact that I didn't know what I was talking about. In response they said, "Todd, this book will make you feel like an id- iot and a genius all at the same time, but it's a tough read and it takes a while to see how to apply the knowledge to your own business." And it is a tough read: dry, like reading the owner's manual for your dishwasher. But if you have problems that need solving, there are an- swers. Chapters 1, 2, and 6 contain enough to keep you busy for a year. Starting with sim- ple whiteboards to facilitate communication, identifying problems at the spot where they occur, seeing trends with hand drawn Paredo charts, red lights where everyone comes run- ning to solve a problem quickly, and responsi- bility centers as I discussed earlier. Johnson: Does this extend beyond the factory floor? Brassard: e principles of world class manufacturing can apply to many aspects of business—anywhere work in process can accumulate re- sulting in wasted time or en- ergy. At this point, we have our hands full learning and implementing the concepts on our manufacturing floor. Johnson: Obviously, Calumet is finding a lot of benefit in pursuing operational excel- lence. Not only are you run- ning more efficiently, but you're also creating career paths. And you have sales opportunities and new markets that weren't available to you before. Brassard: As operations improves, a company is better prepared to take on new opportuni- ties and grow. As the products you build be- come more complex, success requires a greater degree of operational excellence. We are for- tunate to have arrived at what we feel is a sol- id strategic plan, that we are making progress in offering our employees more career oppor- tunities, and that we are learning the ways of world class manufacturing. ese initiatives give Calumet a fighting chance to pay the bills today and invest in the future. ey are en-