Introducing new technology on the shop floor, or throughout your company’s business processes, is easier said than done. Common roadblocks including cost, time and employee buy-in are often prohibitive to being on technology’s cutting edge.
At BizTimes Media’s annual Manufacturing Summit event Monday, leaders from four manufacturing companies shared what technological investments they’re making and how they’re ironing out any kinks in the process.
The event’s main program featured a Q&A with panelists Thomas Carney, president of Darien-based Royal Basket Trucks; Rob Ewing, president of New Berlin-based Wenthe-Davidson Engineering Co.; Sara Sina, president of Brookfield-based The Howard Company; and Todd Zakreski, president of Waukesha-based Husco Automotive. Here are some key takeaways from the panel.
Deciding where to invest
It was nearly a decade ago when Husco took a step back to examine what steps the company could take to continue to grow its business. The manufacturer was regularly hearing from potential customers who said Husco’s capital and investment costs were too high. Company leadership began looking for ways to spend less and pass those savings on to customers. Husco began creating its own automation solutions. The company started by testing its solutions with basic test stands and moved upwards to more complicated test stands and eventually assembly operations.
Husco had been spending between $3 million and $15 million on each line it put on the floor. Through introducing its own automation, Husco could save upwards of 25%.
The initial feedback Husco received from its customers proved to be invaluable for the company when considering what technology to invest in.
“It’s so important to understand how we can win programs, and that played a huge role in our initial foray into that space,” said Zakreski. “The other piece of it was just examining the place within our operation where we spend a boatload of money. Our lines are just incredibly expensive. The opportunity to do it ourselves allowed us to really put a capital preservation plan in place.”
The pros and cons of software
Technology plays a part in everything The Howard Company does as a provider of drive-through and menu board equipment and software. The business has introduced new software into its own operations to increase efficiency.
Five years ago, The Howard Company transitioned to use HubSpot as its customer relationship management system. This allowed for the automation of several tasks within the business, like creating orders and tickets or sending out emails. Switching to HubSpot has led to reduced coordination time between departments and less time spent emailing back and forth with customers.
The Howard Company has also introduced Procero, a software platform that creates a central hub for project stakeholders to collaborate throughout the entire duration of a project. Procero has allowed The Howard Company to create customer-facing web stores specific to each client and helped the business with graphic fulfillment. Customers can input their own data through the web stores to make orders.
The process of integrating new kinds of software has been challenging, and the company is continuing to work out kinks. Once an order is made, employees still manually add them to the ERP
“We have saved some time in terms of graphic fulfillment and reducing errors by having customers put in their own data, but we’ve gained some manual work,” said Sina.
She recommends companies take a more comprehensive look when mapping out their company workflows ahead of introducing any new automation. A more comprehensive plan is better than starting with a simple one.
Using your data more efficiently
When Wenthe-Davidson began introducing automation, some of the first places the company looked were its scheduling and order processing systems.
Instead of using timecard racks that need to be shuffled around, or having people run between the planning department and shop floor to expedite a job, the company now uses live data that allows it to better serve customers.
An initial $60,000 investment to update the company’s computers led to new technology being implemented across every department. Now, orders that come in are sent up to the shop floor in a matter of minutes, not hours.
“On the data entry side, who wants to run out to the floor with a purple sheet that says we need this tomorrow? Nobody, especially if it happens all day,” said Ewing. “We’re looking for ways to move more fluidly.”
Consider your turnaround time
Royal Baskets Trucks also began looking at automation to get orders out the door more efficiently. One of the first areas the company invested in was computerized sewing machines. How quickly the company would be able to introduce a new technology was key to what investments Carney made.
“When you have an idea, it’s all about how quickly you can do it,” he said. “Trying to keep the time frame short is one of the biggest things we look at.”
After introducing the new sewing machines, Carney invested in building a new mezzanine level to house Royal Basket Trucks’ sewing operations. Centralizing the work to one area and continuing to introduce new technology, like a carousel that transports fabric up to workers, has made the company more efficient.
“You can’t always bat 1,000%,” said Carney. “We’ve had some failures, but people see it and they’re more open to giving you suggestions up front.”
