Alpena-Based Panel Processing Gets Lean Training Thanks To STTF Award
Panel Processing, headquartered in Alpena, MI, is 100% employee owned and has been a fixture in both the Coldwater and Holland communities for many years. They are a wood processing company which offers a variety of custom-manufactured, wood store fixture products. In recent years with the addition and expansion of online stores, the retail environment has become a very tight industry. Panel Processing has realized the need to do more with less in order to survive the recent economic downturn. The key to their success has been their loyal "employee owners", so Panel is committed to ensuring their training needs are met.
Panel Processing had often worked with Michigan Works! to post their job openings on Pure Michigan Talent Connect. When Panel sought Lean Training to help increase existing employee skills and help the company retain current employees, they came to Michigan Works! for training assistance.
Michigan Works! helped Panel Processing receive a Skilled Trades Training award of $9,000, which was to train 18 employees in 5S Lean training. The training would not only increase individual skills and potential wages, but also keep the employees and Panel Processing itself competitive in the industry, thus averting potential layoffs.
Panel Processing reports that the 5S Lean Training has helped their production workers and management staff to discover new ways of doing things, which has helped them to grow and be more competitive against much larger companies. Receiving the lean training has made the employees and the supervisors feel the work space is safer, cleaner, and more efficient. The supervisors stated they are more efficient and more productive, and that communication has also improved. They have the tools in front of them to complete the tasks at hand and can now do so in a more productive manner. The employees feel that they are more productive as well and can more easily find the tools they need.
"As the saying goes, time is money. This couldn't be truer with Panel Processing,” says Operations Manager, Jeffrey Meyers. “My employees need the tools in front of them to complete their jobs in a timely manner. Having them trained with the 5S Lean Principles gives them these tools. From tooling, to production paperwork to knowing where the nearest broom is will only cut down their indirect time and increase their production. The biggest improvement I've personally seen is how organized and clean our shop and machines have been since we implemented these principles. If you're not changing and finding ways to constantly improve, you're going to sink as a company."
Allen J. VanCamp, 2nd Shift Foreman agrees, "Lean manufacturing has had a positive impact on the shop. The biggest difference that doing the lean steps has brought to me is looking at machine areas differently. What I once considers a "clean" work area I no longer do. It has forced me to re-evaluate how a work space should look. It is still a concept that I am adjusting to, but just having seen what a Lean setup looks like and how it impacts a work area has forced me to change my attitude towards what is acceptable and what is not."
Heian Operator Laura Lonczkowski adds, "The lean training impacted my job by being more organized. It is easier to keep track of all your supplies used daily. Also, it helps us work efficiently; keeping the area clean and organized leaves more time to work on orders for customers."