Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1406534
74 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 "Yes, yes!" Maggie thought, "I know something that she doesn't know." So, Maggie explained that the Bortle scale was a metric that described the darkness of the night sky and that the area in New England where Ivy U was located had quite good night skies for viewing. Maggie then explained that the Milky Way was visible on some clear nights. "Maggie, that's really neat," Patty said. "May- be sometime my husband Rob, I, and our twin boys can join you to see the Milky Way. I didn't really think it was possible to see it here." Maggie was beaming. ree days before… Let's look in on Maggie, John, and Frank Em- ory's meeting with Chuck "e Tower" Tower. "Maggie, John, and Frank, it was an enlight- ening experience to measure the uptime and develop an improvement plan," Chuck began. Maggie and John could sense that it was hard for Chuck to use their first names. "Fill us in," Maggie said. "Well, the uptime is actually 19%, a little better than originally thought. But during the time we measured it, the team was working on the improvement plan, and I think they started paying attention to what they did that caused lost time," Chuck said. "A big surprise to all of us at the improvement plan meeting was that we didn't have the sense that if the lines are not running, BE is not making money. In a way, the lines being up pay our salary and secure our fu- ture. Tanya Brooks said it best, 'How can I be such a big dummy? is is so obvious.' When she said it, the whole group burst into laugh- ter and one person said, 'Tanya, we are all big dummies.'" "Chuck, tell us about the results of the im- provement plan meeting," John said. "Here was what the three of us discussed as a starting point," Chuck said. 1. Feeder racks, though available, were not used. ey were in storage and there was never time to learn how to use them. 2. Even with the white boards, there was usually "shopping time" required to locate a needed component or a stencil. 3. ere was not a sense of urgency to replenishing solder paste or components on feeders. Oen when these actions were needed, the operators would use this time to take a break, hence stopping the line. 4. e lines were shut down for the 30-minute lunch hour, but the line was down much more than 30 minutes. Chuck continued, "As a result of our meeting, we are now using the feeder racks; they are up and running. What a blessing as they save sev- eral hours on a new job. We fill the feeder racks with components for the next job. When it is time to start the next job, we just roll the feeder racks in. For each new job, we assign a 'feeder rack person' to assure that this happens." "Chuck, that is terrific," Maggie told him. "Tell us about the white boards and 'shopping time.'" "e white boards were one of our bright spots," Chuck said. "ey list what is needed for the next job and who is responsible. Un- fortunately, there has not been a sense of ur- gency, which almost always caused a lack of a few components, a stencil, etc., to start the job. is situation resulted in 'shopping time' to find the needed items. So, a sense of urgen- "Chuck Tower and Tanya Brooks. Chuck is known for his height and boyish good looks." Maggie Benson