Electrical Contacts Ltd. (ECL) hosted the Continuous Improvement Strategic Interest Group session for the Owen Sound & Area consortium on June 22nd.

Electrical Contacts Ltd. makes contact assemblies, contact tapes, button contacts, discrete contacts, and contact rivets.

The folks at ElCL gave presentations on the changes that have been introduced over the last 18 months and how they have adapted to and adopted the changes and what these changes have meant.

Here is a summary of some of the changes and their results;

From a production standpoint:

• Attitude is about personality and perceptions and it affects how we work and everyone around us.  Strides have been taken to ensure everyone is treated with respect and dignity.  There are every day communications meetings and every Tuesday management joins in to communicate corporate objectives and to update folks.
• Attendance is the best it has been in 12 years!
• The volume of work has greatly increased but not the staffing - this is because of the focus on the people.  The folks are trained and encouraged and treated as individuals vs. as a group.
• Feedback is encouraged from the shop floor and response is swift.
• The focus of everyone's attention and energy is on everyone's strengths.

From a materials and planning standpoint:

• Implemented changes to get "stuff" to the floor quicker
• Created one-on-one relationships with all customers
• Have a great materials team that compliments each other re: strengths and weaknesses
• MRP spreadsheets for planning, inventory, purchasing, etc.

From a maintenance department standpoint:

• Introduced a Preventative Maintenance Program in November (purchased program)
• 3 months later started building the predictive aspects
• Brought in 3 apprentices
• Significant improvement iun unscheduled downtimes

From a lead hand perspective:

• Has been with the company for 20 years - at first, didn't like the changes being introduced and didn't like the idea of change
• Now - loves the changes and has a great respect for management - recognized the benefits of the changes and made suggestions and most were acted upon!
• Cross training is happening and is proving invaluable

From a senior management point of view:

• Added the bottom up aspect of the lean journey to the top down aspect in order to be successful
• The idea is to create the environment where folks accept the changes
• Top management has to give trust and support  - Nobody can lead alone!

These presentations were followed by a plant tour to highlight the recent changes and the concentration on what ECL makes and the flow on the shop floor.

Topic:

ECL is looking at selecting a new ERP system.  Their old system is not supported by the manufacturer anymore and they need MRP for efficiency and planning.

Issues and concerns:

• Unique challenges in their ERP implementation
• Faced with introducing mass culture change to implement a new ERP
• It is necessary to bring everyone together to implement
• ERP is a game changer and breaker all in one
• Need input from everyone
• Approach - gather input from all corners of the operation to make the best decision
• Train 2 "gurus" moving forward
• Use the "gurus" to implement Lean initiatives as they implement new ERP system

The discussion that ensued was a comparison of ERP/MRP systems that other members have - the issues, challenges and benefits.  Also, how were the systems implemented?  The recommendations from the group included:

• Implement the new system modularly if at all possible
• Find something that fits out of the box with as little to no customizing as possible.