Page 42 - MetalForming-Aug-2018-issue

Fabrication: Lean
Cambridge Engineering associate Justin Meade shares improve- ment experiences with tour visitors.
Finding frequent opportunities to cel- ebrate employees and their ideas for improvement also contributes greatly to the company cul- ture. All-company, 15-min. meetings led by employee volunteers occur daily at 8:30 a.m. “The morning meeting provides an enormous opportu- nity for growth
Learning Through Exposure
Mike Taylor, who works in pre-paint, is a volunteer member of the Cam- bridge external lean exposure team. “About 10 of us are in charge of finding other companies doing lean, so that we can learn from them,” says Taylor of the team’s efforts, adding that the goal is to have every Cambridge employee visit at least one other lean facility. “We try to take one nugget from each place we visit to use in our lean projects. For example, one of the main things we focus on is visual cues throughout the plant—labeled parts, visual cues for replacing parts so that you can go ahead and order parts while you keep working. We have the freedom to make our lives easier.”
Taylor adds, “When I first joined the company, I did not want to take part in lean. Now it has become sec- ond nature. I haven’t always been an outgoing person, now I run meetings in front of the whole company. It’s our job as line workers to teach others.”
The company culture at Cambridge has resulted in a high employee reten- tion rate, says Brown. “People like the freedom to change things that bug them, and to be supported in their work environment.” Brown adds that training and development investment will con- tinue to evolve as Cambridge leadership continues to strive for organizational health and alignment in all areas.
across the company,” says Bruce Kisslinger Jr., director of manufacturing. The meetings start with stretching and leaders sharing anything they would like. Employees then share gratitude for each other and for what brings them joy before watching employee videos. Finally, company announcements and company metrics for safety, quality,
delivery and revenue are covered.

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40 MetalForming/August 2018
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