The Oregon firm improved its oversight, production, and sales process with support from OMEP.
EUGENE, Ore.—Precision Machine & Manufacturing (PMM) was established in 1997. Based in Eugene, Oregon, the manufacturer has been setting industry standards for designing, manufacturing, rebuilding, and repairing extreme-duty rotary valves and feeders. Industries served include cement, pulp, paper, wood products, coal/biomass, and oil and gas industries.
The company recently made leadership changes to improve oversight, production, and sales processes. It established a corporate strategy, bolstered by new leadership, and identified significant top-line growth opportunities. To take advantage of these growth opportunities, it sought Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (OMEP) support to elevate its manufacturing operation strategy.
The PMM team hoped to encourage employees to engage in continuous improvement by establishing a lean manufacturing structure. This would foster employee engagement and problem solving, eliminating the suboptimization of individual work cells.
To establish a lean continuous improvement manufacturing structure, OMEP, part of the MEP National Network™, evaluated the current facility layout using value stream mapping. Current equipment viability, future equipment needs, and integration were considered as part of this evaluation. The OMEP team relied on industry best practice tools for manufacturing improvement. These tools included line balancing, application of takt time (paced line), in-process inspection, and point-of-use inventory. Kanban (replenishment) systems, inventory control limiters, 5S (workplace organization), and set-up reduction were also used as part of the process.
The team established visual controls of the production process and facility. To support workforce engagement, training efficiency, and employee retention, the team created and deployed standard work documentation and revision control protocols.
Precision Machine & Manufacturing CEO Don Lindsey focused primarily on growing and fostering a culture of collaboration among all team members, including sales, engineering, and production staff. He worked alongside his staff in all departments for extended periods to demonstrate his commitment to the team and to understand their daily challenges. All production employees participated in OMEP’s lean fundamentals cohort to gain a thorough understanding of continuous improvement principles. Manufacturing data input and output requirements were collected for future enterprise resource planning migration.
According to PMM, its new manufacturing operation strategy resulted in $7,000,000 in new sales. Thirteen jobs were created, and 25 were retained. Its culture has blossomed into one founded on continuous improvement, and the company has also experienced lower turnover.
“I have been working with OMEP for 25-plus years and there is no finer organization to help with the implementation of lean manufacturing principles, improve throughput, decrease waste/cost, and improve our overall operation,” said Lindsey. “I anticipate OMEP’s involvement in Precision Machine & Manufacturing to increase over the next 12 to 24 months, and I welcome the significant improvements and discoveries that will be realized as we look to the future.”