GA Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) Georgia Tech

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Menu
  • Who We Are
    • About the GaMEP IconAbout Us
      Learn more about GaMEP
    • GaMEP Purpose IconGaMEP Purpose
      Discover how GaMEP can help you advance your manufacturing goals
    • Multiple-people-3Meet the GaMEP Team
      Get to know the team that helps more than 1,000 manufacturers succeed each year
    • Close
  • What We Do
    • Southeast Energy Management Program IconLeadership Development
      Give your new and existing leaders the tools to succeed
    • Business Growth IconStrategic Growth
      Identify and develop new business opportunities
    • Technology Services by GaMEP IconTechnology
      Integrate technology to grow your competitiveness and gain new business
    • Lean and Process Improvement Services by GaMEP IconLean and Process Improvement
      Reduce waste and improve productivity, allowing you to take on new business
    • Quality Services by GaMEP IconQuality
      Enhance the quality of your products and increase customer satisfaction
    • Energy Services by GaMEP IconEnergy
      Generate energy cost savings at your facility
    • Environmental Services by GaMEP IconEnvironmental
      Improve your environmental footprint and increase profitability
    • Close
  • How We Work
    • Onsite Implementation Services by GaMEP IconOnsite & Virtual Implementation
      Implement cost savings and business growth solutions throughout your plant
    • Training Services by GaMEP IconTraining
      Learn about GaMEP's open-enrollment courses
    • Magnifying Glass IconIndustry Focus Areas
      GaMEP's offers industry-specific initiatives and expertise for food and automotive manufacturing
    • Events by GaMEP IconEvents
      Find events throughout Georgia
    • Peer-to-peer Learning by GaMEP IconPeer-to-Peer Learning
      Join the Advanced Manufacturing Consortium or the CEO Forum and benchmark with other manufacturers
    • Connection to Georgia Tech IconConnection to Georgia Tech Resources
      Uniting manufacturers with GaMEP at Georgia Tech Connections
    • Close
  • How We Make A Difference
    • GaMEP Success Stories IconSuccess Stories
      Discover the positive impact GaMEP has made on Georgia manufacturers
    • GaMEP Statewide Impact IconStatewide Impact
      Learn how GaMEP's reach extends throughout the state
    • Champion of Manufacturing IconChampion for Manufacturing
      See how GaMEP serves as a voice to and for manufacturing in Georgia
    • Economic Development IconEconomic Development
      Understand how GaMEP's close ties to the manufacturing community promote Georgia's economic growth
    • dashboardGeorgia Manufacturing Data Dashboard
      See a a snapshot of how the state's economy is performing in the manufacturing sector
    • Coronavirus IconCoronavirus Resources
      Find COVID-19 information and resources
    • Close
  • Connect with Us
    • GaMEP Regional Locations IconRegional Locations
      Contact your local region manager
    • Read the GaMEP Blog IconRead Our Blog
      Stay up-to-date on the latest information for manufacturers
    • Sign-up for the GaMEP Newsletter IconSign up for Manufacturing Connect!
      Sign-up to receive GaMEP's newsletter, "Manufacturing Connect"
    • Contact the GaMEP IconContact Us
      Get in touch with GaMEP
    • Close

Success Story- Interface

Interface Success Story

Contact Your Region Manager

When Derek Woodham, West Georgia region manager for the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) at Georgia Tech, stepped into the West Point, Georgia facility of Interface, the world’s largest carpet tile manufacturer, for the first time in a couple of years, he was stunned. Woodham said, “the transformation was unbelievable. It was the best I’d ever seen.”

Although it had been a few years since he was in the plant, Woodham and multiple other GaMEP team members spent five years in and out the facility teaching the managers continuous improvement best practices utilizing lean principles and tools. He said, “We had buy-in from the top and that made a huge difference in getting everyone across the company on board with learning how lean could be implemented successfully into a manufacturing plant.”

As part of the lean training, the team members learned how to think differently, work together to develop ideas utilizing cross-functional teams, and look for opportunities to improve their manufacturing processes.

One of those trained was Darrell Hogan, director of operations. Hogan said, “at the time Derek came into Interface to conduct training, I had recently taken on the job of plant manager. We had grown so big so fast that we had piecemealed our manufacturing together and needed a way to drastically improve our process flow.”

In 2013, Hogan was asked to lead the development of a new Interface tufting facility at the LaGrange campus. He took this task as an opportunity to utilize the blank canvas of a new plant and started implementing all he had learned through the training. With a small team, he asked an important question, “if you could do things differently, what would you do?” Through these conversations, he and his team created a mini-plant within their larger plant as a test bed. Hogan said, “At the West Point facility we had a batch process flow and we decided to test cellular production at the LaGrange plant to see if having mini-plants within the larger facility would optimize our processes.” Through several iterations and changes to the process flow and design, the team created a very efficient facility, which has been sustained through a self-directed and engaged team.

He discovered that within their plant cellular manufacturing versus batch manufacturing would make their process more efficient. Hogan said, “as a test we changed our process from moving raw materials down the production line to small complete operations, allowing us to produce more product with higher accuracy rates in less time.

So in 2015, when Hogan was reassigned back to the West Point facility, he pitched the idea of cellular design, utilizing his successes at the LaGrange plant, to the management team. Hogan said, “before I ever began, I communicated every modification to each person in the facility and started gathering champions for the change.”

Hogan and his team started designing the layout and created six different small cells that were more independently driven within the plant. It took more than a year and half to move every piece of equipment to match up with the new flow. By making these improvements, Interface:

  • Streamlined their plant by redesigning their flow, equipment, procedures, and processes
  • Reduced the changeover time of equipment
  • Cut cycle time in half by eliminating waste
  • Increased safety in the plant by reducing lift truck to pedestrian traffic

Woodham said, “to correctly implement lean transformation, it can take years. Interface utilized the Plan Do Check Act cycle numerous times – pushing forward and learning, testing their ideas on a small scale until they discovered what worked for them before rolling it out throughout the plant.”

Hogan said, “Three things really contributed to the success of this: GaMEP trained our team to think differently, early and often communication with the entire manufacturing team,  and throughout this whole process no one ever told me no. Our upper management always encouraged us to try things to see if they worked.” He continued, “One of the key principles at Interface is to ‘design a better way’, whether it’s product or process, we are always encouraging curiosity, exploration, learning and innovation.”

Copyright © 2023 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute