Skill-Building + Team Involvement = Dramatic Improvement

We’re all on the lookout for ways to improve performance, costs and bottom line.

One program, successfully in-use by many of our customers, is LEAN. Of course, there are cases where lean manufacturing efforts don’t stick, even when there is initial success. Part of the issue is that we sometimes don’t do a good enough job of training supervisors and getting the shop floor people involved.

In this month’s WMEP (Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) Newsletter, Senior Manufacturing Specialist, Jerry Thiltgen writes an incredible piece on “TWI.” TWI is not just another system or acronym, but is widely considered to be the genesis of modern manufacturing philosophies, such as lean manufacturing and kaizen. The success of TWI is in the fact that it not only changes process, but also impacts a company’s culture.

If you, like most companies, want to find ways to boost productivityy, team morale and bottom line outcome, then this is a ‘must read,’ and can be found here

It's a Plane...It's a Toaster....It's FOREVERTRON!

Sometimes scrap metal winds up in recycling dumpsters. In Tom O. Every’s case, it winds up a work of art.

Very bizarre art.

Mr. Every, better known by his nickname “Dr. Evermor,” is a welder sand fabricator by trade in North Freedom, Wisconsin (near Baraboo). Since childhood, he has also been a ‘collector’ of sorts, scavenging all things meta. In a new article, his work is described as "...carburetors and generators, early x-ray machines, theater speakers, river barges and hamburger signs." But his 'art' is not casually thrown together. "His aim is to blend these objects while preserving their individuality and unique form."

Take a minute and take a visit to Forevertron for yourself in this month's FFJournal (Fabricating & Forming) Magazine.

Building a Strong Workplace (Generation by Generation)

The large degree of cross-generational workplaces has created need, interest and focus on the values, differences and similarities among baby boomers, “millennial” and others in today’s workplace.

This month’s Metalforming Magazine takes a look at generational differences, and how machine shops and fabricators are using it to their advantage.

Find out more about the differences among millennials, boomers and veterans, and how they’re working together more effectively here.

And for more on generational differences, click here.

Wisconsin Manufacturing Gets an “A”

A new report from Ball State University gives Wisconsin an “A” for manufacturing!

Minnesota, Illinois & Iowa, you’ve done OK, too…but we’re tops!

The “Manufacturing and Logistics National Report," published this month by the University’s Center for Business & Economic Research, gave grades to all 50 states on criteria that can affect their economic success. Criteria included quality and availability of labor force, transportation infrastructure, access to innovation and overall cost of doing business. Not everything was rosy for the Badger State, but it is headed in the right direction!

You can get a free copy of the report here

How to Stop Rust

Q: How can we stop rust from breaking out on lighter gauge steel parts?”

This is a problem that even the most well-run fabricators run into, costing them valuable time and money. It seems like a basic problem with a simple fix (and, in many cases, it is), but sometimes rust and corrosion still find their way into your inventory.

In the latest issue of Product Finishing Magazine, they put this question to their panel of experts to get some specific prevention strategies.

Check out the complete article here

Business Lessons from the Navy SEALs

If you are, or will someday be in a position of leadership, you don’t want to pass this up. Admiral Eric Olson, Retired, offers his insight on “confidently handling an uncertain and fast-changing world” in MSCI’s Forward Magazine.

His advice is for leaders and, though based on training the skills and mindsets of the Navy SEALs, will easily apply to anybody in your company who has to direct others, make decisions or be accountable for a productive outcome.

Take a look at the steps that Admiral Olson lists, and see for yourself how each one can be adapted to the purposeful and productive workplace:

• Know the purpose
• Focus on the mission
• Educate your team about the problem
• Listen carefully
• Stay calm
• Follow your instincts.

Read Admiral Olson’s article in its entirety here

Admiral Eric Olson is a retired U.S. Navy Admiral who served as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2007 to 2011. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving Navy SEAL on duty.

Laser Cutting Hitting BIG Numbers

One of the fast-growing segments in the industry is laser cutting. (More and more of our customers are demanding tighter, stretched and leveled steel.)

No surprise then that the overall market for laser cutting keeps growing. According to a new report from Dallas-based Markets and Markets, the laser cutting market (across all materials) hit 2.08 billion last year – and will top 3.7 billion by 2018 (just five years from now).

Read more about it here.

And, just a reminder, here at Dalco Metals, we’re equipped to meet your laser-ready steel needs: