AME Manufacturing Excellence Award

Sur-Seal (Cincinnati, OH) - Watch Company Video

Sur-Seal is a leader for high-quality, die-cut gaskets selling to the HVAC, lighting, food and medical products markets. Two specific areas impressed the assessment team. First, the 20-point assessment system used to rate performance using elements such as leadership, customers, vendors, etc. Every year the entire organization rates each element using a spider chart for year-to-year comparisons. Overall trends were favorable. Second, a unique use of Legos to create a 3D image of Sur-Seal’s value stream map. It was kept up-to-date as the actual facility layout transformed from the current state to the future state. Value added per associate increased from $62 per employee in 2008 to $96 per employee in 2011.

Silfex-A division of LAM Research (Eaton, OH) - Watch Company Video

Silfex grows silicon crystals to manufacture customized silicon ingots and blanks, turning them into gas distribution plates and rings bonded to other materials (graphite, aluminum, copper, etc.). Several areas impressed the assessment team. First, the company’s work to go outside of its walls to better understand the needs of external customers and then using that information as a key component of its Hoshin Planning process. Second, there were many strengths in the manufacturing environment; Silfex was doing some outstanding work with visual controls for the customer service group and for design engineers to use a simple visual communication board to keep up to date on ‘wins’ for two week windows. Customer-reported defects have decreased by a factor of 20x over the last six years. Costs have shown significant decreases over the last seven years.

Carson Valley Roasting Plant-Starbucks (Minden, NV) - Watch Company Video

Carson Valley Roasting Plant produces and distributes 12 different sizes of coffee bags packed with ground or whole bean coffees. It ships directly to Starbucks stores and food service locations. The assessment team was impressed with how much had been accomplished in a relatively short period of time as the Carson Valley facility is still early in its lean journey. The team noted extensive use of leader’s standard work practices, effective protocol for deploying key company goals down to the associate level, and a regular practice of sending people from the plant to visit stores, growers and suppliers. Changing the theme for weekly leadership team meetings to cover safety, action items, operational excellence and business partner performance was very effective.

Empi Division of DJO Global (Clear Lake, SD) - Watch Company Video

Empi produces transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators, neuromuscular stimulators, iontophoretic drug delivery systems, incontinence systems and range-of-motion orthopedic devices. The assessment team observed effective ‘quick and easy’ kaizen activities where the hallways are lined with employee ideas, a cross-functional team that regularly audits internal quality systems, a robust Employee Ambassador program, good efforts towards right-sizing equipment and minimal finished goods with inventory turns over 17x. Also impressive was the fact that management cooks a pancake breakfast when employees need to work on Saturday.

Acumed (Hillsboro, OR) - Watch Company Video
Acumed LLC is a global leader of innovative orthopedic and medical solutions developed to improve patient care. Based upon the emphasis on continuous improvement, the cost of goods sold has been reduced from 35 percent to 23 percent, an excellent level of improvement. Leadership is committed to Lean continuous improvement. They have implemented measures and metrics that drive the business to the shop floor and  the front office. The Cornelius Pass manufacturing team has shown extraordinary improvement over the past three years in increasing production output and on-time delivery, while dramatically reducing throughput  and quality defects.

Aera Energy LLC is one of California’s largest oil and gas producers, accounting for approximately 25 percent of the state’s production. Aera has developed a world-class and unique development process that is utilized in an oil and gas exploration and production company with unconventional oilfield resources. Aera has also pioneered the use of Lean principles and tools to achieve manufacturing excellence in oil field operations.  This expertise is sought after by other companies interested in developing high-density oil fields. Aera has also been benchmarked by many industries, including mining, ship-building, steel forging and aerospace. In 2010, Aera’s revenue exceeded $4 billion.

Autoliv (Brigham City, UT) - Watch Company Video

Autoliv’s Inflators Brigham City (IBC) facility is the largest inflator facility in the world. This facility serves customers in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. The number of inflators produced in 2010 was  just under 40 million with 2011 projections expected to exceed 46 million. Autoliv’s method of applying  Lean manufacturing is the Autoliv Production System (APS), a method that reduces cost by eliminating  waste. This Lean manufacturing culture focuses everyone to continually improve. Through implementation  of APS principles, this facility is able to achieve three outputs: satisfied customers, satisfied employees  and satisfied shareholders.

Medtronics (Warsaw, IN) - Watch Company Video

Medtronic is a global leader in medical technology, redefining how technology is used in the management of chronic disease. The journey for the Warsaw facility of Medtronic Spinal and Biologics has focused on continuous improvement and process excellence in the manufacturability of their products. To gain this,  they have not only needed the involvement of all employees but also the ownership of those employees to create the mindset of what the company strives to be. Medtronic was named one of the 2011 Best Places  to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Though Milliken & Company is a 145-year-old firm, during the last 20 years it has become an established premier American company that has maintained highly viable operations despite many great odds. The company’s success over such an incredible span of time can be related back to three of the company’s core strategies, which include diversifying its product mix, maintaining a strict adherence to its operational excellence system, and approaching all obstacles not as problems but as opportunities to elevate the company’s innovative spirit. Its Johnstown Plant has grown its SKUs by 142 percent over the past five years, increased the plant’s profitability by 49 percent and become a benchmarking model plant for its other operations.

Raytheon (Dallas, TX) - Watch Company Video

Raytheon’s commitment to the Lean journey began in 2001 with the introduction of an innovative line of electronic modules that was to significantly change the landscape of the military radar market. Customer applications for this product line required an increase throughput from 10,000 modules per year to more than 250,000 modules per year in just five years. To achieve the goal, Raytheon had to fully embrace Lean tools and principles. A companywide initiative enabled them to eliminate waste in the entire value stream, from innovation to full-rate production from front office through shop floor processes. Lean principles and practices were applied to all three plants, across all functions, and achieved extraordinary performance while exceeding customer demands.