Blog - Part 4

Own the Skills Gap: Workforce Readiness Starts with You

March 19, 2021 By

Hiring and retaining talent is a continuous concern and investment for every manufacturer, large or small, rural or multinational. It is hard to find and keep people with the right skills. It’s also expensive. According to The Society for Human Resource Management, in 2016 it cost over $4,000 and took 40 days to complete each new hire. Those 40 days spent looking for the right person impact productivity—and then there’s the time it takes to train each new employee and get them up to speed.

Even as the unemployment rate has skyrocketed during the pandemic, manufacturers continue reporting difficulty filling open positions. It’s not a problem that will go away by itself. Coming out of the pandemic, U.S. manufacturing is expected to increase at 3.6% annually. Manufacturers are smart to be planning now to meet future business needs — finding and hiring the right people and upgrading training to retain top talent once they have been hired.

Recently, the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech, part of the MEP National Network, interviewed three of their manufacturing clients, all different-sized companies, about strategies they have found successful for hiring and retaining talent.

Workforce Solution: Hire for soft skills and the right fit

Mohawk Industries is a flooring manufacturer based in Calhoun, Georgia. Founded in 1878, the company employs 10,000 people in Georgia and 40,000 worldwide. Mohawk’s leadership values technical expertise, but they also look for soft skills, which are much harder to teach.

Leadership skills, discipline and motivation can signal great potential. This was Nathan Bennett’s skill set when he applied for a job at Mohawk with no manufacturing experience. A two-time NASKA World Martial Arts Champion, he demonstrated strong discipline and leadership skills. Although he didn’t get the job he applied for, a Mohawk hiring manager saw his potential and offered him a job in chemical compounding – something Bennett had never even heard of and had to look online to understand. The hiring manager told Bennett that Mohawk wanted him for his leadership skills and they could teach him the rest.

The company’s focus on finding the right fit for their team paid off. Bennett is now the safety manager of two plants, leading more than 650 people and looking for others who are adaptable, motivated, and willing to learn new skills in order to cultivate new leaders in the organization. As a leader, Bennett feels it’s all about making personal connections with employees to cultivate their inner confidence and nurture a culture of working toward a common goal. “I’m boots-on-the-ground every day and address each person as a professional,” he said. “We are one of the biggest companies in a small town in northwest Georgia, so it’s important to have our team’s loyalty.”

Bennett is one of many leaders at Mohawk who are investing in their employees. The company fosters leadership at all levels by attracting, motivating, educating, and—just as importantly—promoting employees from within. This keeps the team loyal to each other, to the processes they’ve created, and to the company.

Mohawk runs its own internal training program, putting each person through a one-week safety course every four years. The company is also invested in their employees’ well-being. Monitors located in employee gathering places at Mohawk promote monthly health and wellness topics such as stress management that are also discussed in pre-shift employee meetings, and list training opportunities and supervisory openings. The company also encourages employee advancement through a 100% tuition reimbursement program for degree programs, certifications, and other professional development related to the employee’s field.

Workforce Solution: Create talent through apprenticeship programs

Corrugated Replacements is a 140-person, family-owned manufacturer in Blairsville, Georgia, that makes replacement parts for corrugated machinery. President Jenny Chandler spent much of her childhood observing on the shop floor of her family’s business. She knew how to run the machines by age 7 and could program them by age 11. As a child, she also observed management styles and how workers responded to them, which helped shape her management approach—leading by example.

A few years ago, Chandler worried about the company’s aging workforce—the average employee age was 53—and the institutional knowledge that could be lost as they retired. The company knew they needed to get ahead of this problem and began researching recruitment strategies to attract younger employees. Corrugated Replacements determined that an apprenticeship program would create a pipeline of skilled, younger workers and improve collaboration throughout the company — resulting in knowledge transfer through a structured, systematic training approach.

Corrugated Replacements created a 36-month apprenticeship program with the local high school. The company pays student apprentices as full-time employees and assesses them throughout the program—looking for leadership traits, initiative, assertiveness, punctuality and maturity. This program’s success led the company to create a shorter, 28-month, apprenticeship program for existing and new employees. Apprentices start in the company’s shipping department and work in each area of the plant, meeting skills requirements in each department before moving onto the next.

Chandler said, “I’ve had 25 apprenticeship program graduates and each person is still with us. When they join the team, I’m looking at how they interact with people and take initiative. That way we can groom them for supervisory and leadership positions.” A special benefit of Corrugated Replacements’ high school apprenticeship program is a fully paid college education — wherever participants want to study and whatever degree they want to pursue — as long as it’s applicable to the business. Students enrolled in nearby colleges schedule work hours into their week, and those studying farther away work during breaks. In return, the company requires a three-year commitment after graduation. In addition to the apprenticeship program participants, Corrugated Replacements pays for any employee’s higher education, as long as the degree is relevant to the business.

Workforce Solution: Invest in your employees to keep them happy

Once you find skilled employees, how do you keep them? Many manufacturers are looking for creative solutions that give their company a competitive edge in recruiting and retaining employees.

A 75-person manufacturer in central Georgia combined flexibility, performance incentives and training to help retain employees.

According to the 2018 Mercer Talent Trends Study, 51% of manufacturing employees want more flexible work options, but only 9% of manufacturers in the study report offering flexibility. While many manufacturing jobs can’t be done from home, this company found a solution that provides its employees the flexibility they desire. The location runs four 10-hour shifts per week, allowing employees to pick up shifts on the fifth day each week for overtime if available or to make up for time taken off earlier in the week for personal activities—a win for employees and for the company.

The company credits their ability to retain employees not only to their flexibility, but to their transparent, competitive pay, and their investment in employees. They offer competitive pay with team-based performance incentives. Their pay structure is transparent and employees are told exactly how they can progress in the company. Sets of requirements are tracked and tied to salary as employee’s progress through steps in their pay levels. On top of base pay, all employees receive monthly bonuses, based on the facility’s previous month’s performance—an incentive offered for more than 30 years. The team-based incentive promotes teamwork and continuous improvement, and empowers team members to impact their environment and their income.

This company uses standard work instructions at every piece of equipment and within assembly so every person who is trained on a process gains knowledge from those who have done the job in the past. They encourage their employees to cross-train in numerous jobs in order to improve team flexibility and increase individual skills. The company uses visual tools and videos for safety training and assigns a trainer in each group. The company also offers 90% tuition reimbursement for continuing education and allows employees to choose undergraduate or graduate degrees, technical college degrees, or online training as options to progress. Additionally, the company plans staffing levels to support cross-training and encourages continuous improvement in safety and quality programs as well as process improvements.

They keep their employees happy, and their employees stay and grow within the company. The average tenure of employees at this location is over 15 years. This enables the company to primarily promote from within—over 90% of the current leadership team has been promoted from within. To accomplish this, the team scouts potential leadership talent within their employees and encourages team members to get their degrees so they are ready for management positions when they open.

Find a solution that works for you

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to workforce challenges, there are many ways to proactively tackle the problem. Finding the right mix of strategies for your company and employees is key. Your efforts can result in lower turnover, higher employee morale, and a culture where employees are invested in the long-term success of your company.

This story was originally published in IndustryWeek – view it here.

By: Katie Takacs, Industry Services Marketing Manager, Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Leaders: Are they Built or Born?

March 9, 2021 By

Have you heard someone say, “He or she is a born leader”? I don’t believe leadership is a quality that one is born with but rather a learned and practiced skill that develops over time. John Maxwell, in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, supports my beliefs and says “Leadership develops daily, not in a day. Successful leaders are learners.”

Everyone has the ability to be an effective leader no matter their background or positional equity. Leaders influence, persuade, inspire, motivate, and spearhead change in an organization. Here are a few simple tips to enhance your role as a leader in your organization.

It’s important to accomplish your organizations’ goals through your team
With three generations represented in the workforce, you must be emotionally self-aware of your behavior and the behaviors of those you lead. According to Daniel Goleman (2002), Co-Author of the book Primal Leadership, emotional self-awareness involves a leader’s ability to be in tune with their inner signals, as well as their respective counterparts. Various personality/behavioral style assessments are readily available to assist with this. Identifying your own personal style will help you to identify with others, thus, assess an individuals’ “fit” on the team or within the organization. Through this approach, (Bolman and Deal, 2008) your team will recognize how feelings, emotions, and behaviors affect their reactions and job performance.
To be a successful leader, you must lead by example
You cannot separate character from leadership. Character communicates consistency, potential, and
respect. People buy into a leader before they buy into a vision. Trust is the foundation for success. Who you are is who you attract. One must be transparent in his or her actions and intentions. This can be demonstrated through open lines of communication and displayed through emotion, passion, and enthusiasm towards individual and group success.
A leader touches a heart before he or she asks for a hand
You can’t move your team to action unless you first move them with emotion. Get out on the floor and walk around and talk to your associates. Be empathetic towards what is going on in their lives. Practice open and frequent communication so they are aware of what’s going on in the organization. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. To lead yourself use your head…to lead others it’s important to use your heart.

Remember…“you can compete through technology but you win with people.” As a leader, everything you do sends a message to all those around you. I challenge you to ask yourself this question, “If I no longer had my title/position, would people still want to follow me?” Make an effort to identify your own individual strengths, your own behavioral style as well those around you, and develop an action plan to improve your effectiveness as a leader – by doing so you make great strides in your organization.

By: Hank Hobbs, Project Manager, Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Key Ingredients to Growing Your Business through Technology

February 10, 2021 By

Manufacturers, like other organizations are constantly being faced with the challenge of developing a growth strategy. When developing this strategy, it’s important to consider technology options. Two ways technology implementation can be successful are: 1. Bringing new technology into your company to increase your offerings to your current customer-base (they already know and trust you) or 2. Taking a technology you already have, that is proven, and introducing it to a new market.

Have you ever tried to do either of these? Maybe both? Have you ever responded to a customer’s request to develop a product with a promise of great market potential, only to be disappointed in the results?

Both of these approaches can lead to significant growth for your company, but each has risks. By taking a disciplined and orderly approach, these risks can be minimized. Here are some key points to consider before you get started:

If you plan to bring a new technology into your company:

Reach out to your customers – see if there are trends in unmet needs; then see if there is a technology to help fulfill those needs.
Research the technology – search patents, academia, and the government. Don’t forget to interview experts in the technology field.
List your options. Then use a tool (such as a SWOT analysis) to rank them against the customer criteria list, cost of capital, and competence in that new technology.

If you already have a technology that you want to bring to a new market:

List your technologies capabilities. Even though you think you know what your technology can do, you may be surprised what you discover.
Be creative in seeking new markets. Conduct numerous market scans and then rate them based on industry, size, growth, and geography.
Note the market leaders, channels to market, and major suppliers and customers.
Look for new or proposed government regulations that will cause markets to be willing to adopt products or services using your technology.

No matter which path you decide to take, it is important to take the following precautions when jumping into technology growth strategies:

Search patent literature of the market leaders. You may discover areas where there is a gap between need and solutions.
Establish your rules of confidentiality up front – agree on what to disclose and what to cover with Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).
Review all of your ideas with the possibility of protection by patent or recognizing them as trade secrets.
Use a collaborative tool like a Mind Map to collect and organize all information from your entire team in one place.
Make sure you record everything.
Hold regular, scheduled, but brief team meetings to review progress and make commitments to next steps.
Don’t jump at the first thing that sounds good – complete your research before committing to a course of action.
Walk the floors of tradeshows.
Pick your development partner (customer) very carefully.

These steps will help you avoid wasting time and valuable resources. The last you thing you want to do, as it could be detrimental to your business, is developing a product for a new market or bringing in a new technology only to find that the market is not as big as you were told or that you can’t practice what you wanted to because someone has a patent that prohibits you.

By: Ed Murphy, Project Manager, Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership

How Will Combining Safety and Lean in Process Improvement Efforts Increase Productivity?

October 27, 2020 By

The practices of safety management and Lean production have for many years been implemented separately in most industrial plants. The complexities of regulatory compliance have in large part dictated that separate specialists be dedicated to each area. Over time, in fact, these two essential functions have diverged to the point of being adversaries in many plants due mainly to their seemingly opposed agendas.

So how can workers be kept safe while maximizing production? Seldom have these issues been approached together in a concerted way, but recently some managers have discovered the common ground through a method called Value-Added Safety. Manufacturing companies that realize they need better collaboration between their safety and production people have even begun to merge the traditional roles of safety professionals and lean leaders.

To be effective in both roles, however, each group must be proficient in the practice of the other’s discipline. Designing a process or workstation from the start with good safety practice in mind can make for more robust standard work documents, as many of these documents do not now include safety procedures. Conversely, the approach to safety protection can be simplified, and sometimes eliminated, when a process improvement change does away with the hazard or reduces the frequency of dangerous tasks in the workplace.

Examples include:

Saving money on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) if the process improvement changes the procedure
Getting a production line up and running faster by simultaneously addressing both safety and production needs, both of which are essential to good manufacturing practice.

Bridging the gap between the best way and safest way to do a job is what the Value-Added Safety method seeks to do.

Recognizing the Impacts of Safety

“Safety is value-added, and hazards are waste,” says Damon Nix, Group Manager – Operational Excellence at GaMEP, one of the innovators of the method. This phrase helps us visualize the integration of safety and process improvement in the familiar language of a Lean practitioner. Consider the Eight Wastes and their impact on safety hazards:

Defects – Increased maintenance activities, hazardous material exposure, machine exposure
Overproduction – Overexertion, extra handling, unnecessary machine interaction
Waiting – Setups/Changeovers – hazardous energy exposure
Not Using Employee Ideas – The company misses out on potential safety improvements
Transportation – Extra handling, slip, trip and fall hazards, exposure to fork lift traffic
Inventory – Falling loads, traffic congestion, trip hazards, extra handling
Motion – Overexertion, poor ergonomic design
Extra Processing – Unnecessary machine interaction

In a technique similar to the way that lean production managers now conduct “waste walks,” the method equips users with the tools to expand the scope of these walks, having “eyes for hazards and waste,” and beginning to naturally identify opportunities for improvement in Lean and safety at the same time. This will lead to a culture in which the safety professional and the production manager are not adversaries, and where safety improvements come built in and are not just a regulatory measure or afterthought to your workplace layout.

Identifying Projects

In many plants, safety statistics are aggregated into facility-wide performance indicators. This practice homogenizes the data and does not provide the information needed to identify and address problems. This often leads to broad-stroke safety policies and delayed solutions to potential hazards. Using the proven tool of Value Stream Mapping (VSM), the Value-Added Safety method helps you get to the root of the activities from a process level, not just a plant level. So when improvement teams collect their initial data, they will compile statistics on each step of the process, highlighting the riskier areas of a production operation. Each process will continue to be evaluated on production measures such as cycle time, work-in-process inventory, and set-up time. In addition to these typical production measures, data will be gathered on measures of:

Productivity Impacting Safety Wastes – Lost days, lost productivity
Quality Impacting Safety Wastes – Total incidents
Cost Impacting Safety Wastes – Direct costs paid, indirect cost impacts

This will bring into focus where the hazards lie within your plant and allow you and your managers to focus attention on improving the areas found to be of most concern.

Safety by Design

One of the primary objectives of the Value-Added Safety method is to design safe processes from the start. By combining the tools of 5S/6S and the Hierarchy of Safety Controls, you can seamlessly integrate the countermeasures of Elimination, Substitution, Engineering Controls, and Administrative Controls within the context of the 5S/6S program before having to resort to PPE (personal protective equipment) for equipment operators. For instance, during the “Set-in-Order” step that dictates the process for a new workplace layout, potential safety hazards can be considered right alongside concepts such as point-of-use-storage and material presentation.

Implementing Lean principles and good safety practices together should be a gradual process for companies that have historically operated the two separately (or not at all). There are many considerations to be made in terms of production expectations, safety regulations, and existing company culture. The Safety Integrated Process Improvement method allows safety professionals and Lean production managers to speak the same language and solve problems similarly.

Contact

For more information on how to successfully account for both safety and lean while implementing process changes contact Tom Sammon, GaMEP project manager at ude.hcetag.etavonninull@nommas.mot.

By Tom Sammon, Project Manager, Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership

6S: Getting Standardize Right

October 6, 2020 By

Whether a project involves cleaning out a storeroom or organizing an office or work space, the 6S process of Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Safety, Standardize, and Sustain is typically the same. The initial effort of sorting, cleaning, and organizing yields the greatest visible results, as well as the satisfaction of seeing improvements. After the flurry of this “3S” activity, however, many organizations falter in their improvement efforts. It is after the tour or audit has come and gone, and after the boss has moved on to another priority that the real test of 6S comes.

To succeed in the long term, 6S must move beyond the project stage to become the way an organization operates, that is, to be part of the culture of the workplace. For that to happen, the users of the system must understand the reasoning behind the process and agree with its usefulness. Simply demanding compliance will yield short-term results at best, with an eventual return to the original state.

Addressing questions like these in the Standardize phase of a 6S effort should drive your team to implement lasting changes in the target environment.

Why are we changing? Discuss the benefits of the effort in practical terms of safety, inventory costs, searching time, space, etc. Making the place look nice is a great benefit, but it’s unlikely to be a strong motivator.
What is the new standard? A clear definition of the new expectations will be helpful, especially in the form of pictures and checklists of the ideal state.
What new procedures do we expect people to understand and follow? Think specifically about what people are expected to do differently, and make sure they have the necessary training and coaching to do it.
How will we communicate these procedures? Don’t assume that everyone will know what to do – think about how they will know and plan appropriate team meetings or other methods of communication and follow-up discussions.
Is the new standard condition obvious? If the proper visual controls have been installed, it should be clear to users and managers if a non-standard condition exists in the target area. Problem recognition should be immediate.
Have we made it easy to do the right thing? If the new process places a burden on employees, it is unlikely to be followed for long. The design of the work should facilitate the process, not obstruct it.

Put yourself in the position of a person who works in the 6S target area. At the end of this process, could you answer these questions: What am I supposed to do differently? How am I supposed to do these things? Why is this important?

Thinking through these people issues during the Standardize phase can make all the difference in whether the 6th S – Sustain – is successful. Considering how people understand and respond to the 5S changes establishes the foundation for further success in the organization, and that starts with people.

By Paul Todd, Project Manager, Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership