For us, here at Mid-West Screw Products, it seems that the weather that wreaked havoc on many industries is directly contributing to an increase in our business. Since we are a job shop and do not have much dealing in produce or shipping, we were not effected in the same way as many other businesses. Because so many companies are who have to play catch up due to reduction in inventory, they are reaching out to us to make new components for them. We have increased not only our hours and material purchases, but also our machinery to help keep up with the orders.
One of the machines that we have recently welcomed to the shop is a HAAS Turning machine, which will help to facilitate additional increase in our turning capabilities. We also picked up a second induction machine which will help to increase our capacity for assembling components that are needed in the electrical industry to help the demand of switches that are needed throughout the world.
Looking back at the thoughts we presented to you back in March, it is interesting to see our prediction coming true. While of course, we would love if all industries were operating at a high volume, we are very happy to see that our orders have increased.
ISO qualifications are something that we here at Mid-West Screw Products have always taken very seriously.
Even when ISO was first introduced to general manufacturing to small businesses, we decided that we needed to beISOLOGO a part of it. Just around 20 years ago, we took part in classes from Northern Illinois University where they would come to our factory twice a week for 3 years. We became very knowledgeable and have been ISO qualified for all of these years. Since very few people knew about ISO back then, it wasn’t necessary to be certified, however we wanted to be in front of the game and be sure that we knew all there was to know.
Now a days, the role in foreign customer shipping has become such that it is becoming more and more important for suppliers to be certified and not just qualified. With that being said, we are excited to say that we have passed the ISO qualifications with flying colors and are now ISO 9001-2008 certified!
Beyond being extremely proud of our ISO certification, we also want to announce that we have been a practicing energy efficient, GREEN and LEAN manufacturing qualified company as well.
Quality is something that has always has been and will always continue to be top of mind for us here at Mid-West Screw Products, and we hope that our new certification will help you to see that.
With all the talk regarding American manufacturing in 2014 and the possible renaissance poised to strike, we here at Mid-West Screw Products wanted to take a moment to think about how we feel the year may progress.
Due to the slow flow of components to certain industries here in the U.S., manufacturers are going back to their original U.S. suppliers. Why? Because these manufactured products have to be replaced into their inventories due to the demands placed on them. No one can foresee having their inventories depleted in such a short period of time. No one manufacturer can predict a year filled with unusual disasters and destructive severe weather on such a large scale. This weather has caused the need for all kinds of repairs due to flooding, snow damage and more. By supplying that increased demand, those industries will stimulate the need to replace, to repair the simplest of issues, to power lines, transformers, etc., throughout the country. All of these issues will create a large boost to the economy in 2014.
Other industries that may see a very different path are those who deal in plant life, farming, animals and grain. Because of the cold, importing a lot of these items may be necessary to continue to do business. Apparently, Mother Nature whom we have no control over, will help some industries show a gain, while others will suffer.
Additionally, manufacturers are having real problems with on time deliveries and figuring out how parts or products are going to get to their final destinations. Because of the weather, fuel cost, and other restrictions being put on the delivery of freight, things will continue to be tough in this area.
2014 looks to us like there may be a good amount of highs and lows. For every natural disaster (for example, Hurricane Sandy last year) some manufacturing will go up and some others else will go down. We are keeping our eyes open here for anything that may affect the machining industry, but let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
As the holidays are officially upon us, and 2013 comes to a close, we’d like to wish all of our customers a very happy and healthy season, and a wonderful new year. We realize that 2013 was a challenge for many, and we hope 2014 sees an economic upturn.
Looking back on 2013, it was a bit of a rollercoaster for many manufacturers, with many unable, at the time, to look ahead and know what to predict. Each state, and the country as a whole, faced some economic challenges, which often put the burden on customers and manufacturers alike, no matter what function a vendor or company served. However, it could have been a lot worse, and we all held our own and came out stronger—which is definitely a positive.
For us, 2013 brought new customers, whom we are very pleased and grateful to have. While ironically, companies gaining new clients often meant others losing them or going out of business, the upside is that less business is going offshore, and more business is staying in this country.
Some challenges included fuel prices rising, and in turn, freight and shipping costs hitting all time highs, but that meant many started looking locally for their needs. Costs rose and delivery times lengthened in China, making more people look closer to home. So this actually worked in favor of U.S. manufacturing, showing that with every negative action, there can be a positive reaction. Therefore, the U.S. could continue to see stronger and better local manufacturing and a continued industry revival. Now we are seeing that there is more work and business, but not always enough people to fill the positions, and this is something the industry must work on in the near future.
Other changes being seen are in the fluctuation of oil, steel, and additive prices—as well as foreign trade and transportation—, which affects local businesses. Associated surcharges and price variations affect us all, and influence the final costs of products. But we can try our best to look ahead and make accurate cost projections.
In the end, we can say that everyone in the U.S. who produces, assembles, and creates products has been affected by the same issues, and therefore, we all understand and empathize with each other’s challenges. It is survival of the fittest—but American manufacturing is, indeed, strong, and we can look forward to rebuilding and growing together in the New Year.
There is nothing better than having a well-trained team. No matter what field you are in, if you have confidence in your employee’s skills, they will consistently reward you with outstanding results. At Mid-West Screw, we put a great deal of effort, time, and money into making sure all of our employees get the training they need to keep up with our ever-changing industry. It doesn’t happen overnight of course, and it takes a great deal of hard work, but we think our training practices are some of the best in the industry.
When a new employee first comes to us, we try to get a feel for their skill level right away. We do this by watching them to see how quickly they can pick up what we are showing them. This gives us an idea what they can handle and what training they will need. If they show promise we do train internally, but we will also pay for outside classes including those in CNC, programing, and machining skills.
Another important marker for success is how eager and motivated they are for the job and for learning. If it seems like this is just a stop along the way towards another career, we generally won’t waste anyone’s time. At Mid-West Screw if you are willing to commit to our future, we are willing to commit to yours.
Because Mid-West Screw is an ISO rated facility, we must constantly keep up with all the latest technology and methods. If you have employees who are open to training, it will always make it easier to maintain the rigorous standards imposed by the ISO. In addition, because our workers are motivated and well trained, we often learn new techniques and production methods directly from them. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved.
In the end, if you invest time and money to train both your new hires and your more experienced workers, you will reap benefits from the day they arrive to the day they leave or retire.
If you want to learn more about our training methods, or think you might be interested in committing to the Mid-West Screw team, visit our website or give us a call today!
Happy Manufacturing Month! Each October, starting with MFG Day on the fourth, companies and communities around the U.S. come together to celebrate all that is fantastic about manufacturing. This year’s MFG Month could not come at a better time, because in many ways we are in the middle of a manufacturing renaissance. According to N.A.M, manufacturers contributed $1.87 TRILLION to the U.S economy in 2012. It is also important to point out that 8.workers in the manufacturing sector make $77,060 annually, compared to average workers who earn $60,168.
Despite these positive numbers, many people still have the wrong idea about manufacturing. Some buy into the false notion that manufacturing is all about dirty factory floors, hours of mindless/repetitive tasks, and little to no intellectual stimulation. In reality, modern manufacturing is incredibly rewarding. For many Americans, sitting behind a desk and wearing a suit just does not make sense to those who are creative and love hands on, mechanical challenges. These individuals want to be creative; they want to be involved in resolving issues at work that rewards their mechanical abilities. Whether it is programming a machine, creating and implementing an improved process or designing and sharpening a tool, they thrive on completing tasks and seeing the results. Someone who works behind a desk cannot experience the thrill of walking through a store and seeing a something that, either has a component, or is even a finished product that they helped take from concept to completion.
At Mid-West Screw, we try to celebrate MFG Day, everyday. We believe that if you can make the overall work experience positive and fulfilling for your workers, more of our young people will enter the manufacturing world. Offering benefits that desk jobs cannot, like alternative shifts and overtime also helps in both attracting and retaining workers. In the end, it is up to manufactures, with the help of events like MFG Day and Month, to change America’s perception of manufacturing. If we can accomplish this critical task, then it will only make this already amazing country, stronger and more prepared for the future.
To learn more about MFG Day and Month, please visit their website, or contact Mid-West Screw today!
No matter what type of equipment you have in place to ensure quality in your manufacturing—be it gauges, micrometers, vision equipment or laser equipment—there’s no substitute for common sense and Basic Inspection by Observation. Say for example that a tap breaks on your machine and a part comes through without a thread. You don’t need a thorough inspection to tell you that that piece is defective. And by not keeping an eye on the parts coming out, you could let a whole run of parts come through without any threads.
Vision inspection equipment is great, but that doesn’t mean the human eye is an outmoded means of quality inspection. And keep this in mind: your manufacturing equipment breaks down from time to time, so what’s stopping your vision equipment from doing the same?
To help make Basic Inspection a part of the culture here at Mid-West Screw Products, we instituted our own game of BINGO. Each employee had a BINGO sheet, and each day at noon we’d pick a number. Each game would start with a pot of 50 dollars. The pot would go up by 5 dollars every day that we didn’t have a rejected part end up in an order. If we got a rejection from a customer, we would drop the pot down to 25 dollars and start again, all the while keeping the BINGO cards going. So if someone won the day after the pot reset, they only got 25 or 30 dollars, as opposed to the 100+ they could have won.
It was a fun game that our team really got into. Before long, employees were checking each others’ work, and the daily number drawing became something to look forward to. In general, people tend to be better motivated by incentive rather than yelling. And in addition to being fun, our BINGO game did a lot of good for our company and for our customers. After we started playing our rejection numbers dropped from around 8 per month to 1 every 6 months.
If you pay attention and catch a bad part as it comes through, BINGO! You’ve saved time and money for yourself and your customer. No matter how high tech manufacturing gets, there will always be a place for Basic Inspection that Needs Good Observation.
A few months ago we told you about TITAN, the proprietary manufacturing software that we’re developing. It’s almost ready to roll, and so we want to begin to get you acquainted with its features. The first of those is the TITAN Time Clock.
Regardless of what industry they work in and what machines they use, an employee’s day begins and ends the same way—by punching in and punching out. That term—“punching”—comes from the old style time clocks, many of which are still in use today. These basic mechanical systems simply log time, leaving the actual calculations of payroll to a third party. TITAN, however, keeps and processes all data in house. A company using the TITAN Time Clock has access to up-to-the-minute payroll data at all times.
In addition to providing valuable data to the company, the TITAN Time Clock also puts employees in control of their personal payroll concerns. Whether an employee is salaried or paid hourly, they need to be able to submit a request for time off, and to keep track of their vacation days and sick days. With TITAN, they can do this quickly and easily.
Lastly, the TITAN Time Clock puts this data in the foreman’s pocket. By looking up who’s punched in and who hasn’t on his or her phone, the foreman can make sure that everyone is accounted for in case of emergency.
Before a manufacturer can get down to the nuts and bolts of manufacturing, they have to take care of the basics, and that starts with managing employee time and payroll. The TITAN Time Clock provides this capability, while granting employees freedom and responsibility.
The beginning of the year is always a challenging time for suppliers, as it follows the end of the previous fiscal year. Typically, companies will hold off on placing orders at the end of the year. Once new budgets are approved, January sees a large influx of orders, as companies look to “catch-up,” and rebuild their inventories. The end of 2012 was marred by anxieties about the fiscal cliff, prompting companies to cut orders back even further, creating a need to place even larger orders in January. And the rebounding economy has created even more added orders as companies who’ve tightened their belts year after year are finally getting the chance to breathe a little. Needless to say, suppliers were busy in January.
It’s always great when business is booming, but when all of your customers are playing catch-up, a sense of panic can set in. You’re faced with a seemingly overwhelming amount of orders, all from customers who needed things yesterday. This is a crucial point for suppliers. It’s easy to get caught up in the panic and let quality slip. Suddenly ISO procedures aren’t followed, as suppliers accept rushed orders placed over the phone, rather than insisting on a written PO. When traceability goes out the window, it’s easy to mistakenly fill an order using an older design that doesn’t reflect the most recent updates. Detailed quality inspection can also go out the window in the rush to fill orders.
The irony of course, is that in rushing, errors are made that increase both cost and production time. And that cost increase is exponential. If an order has to be scrapped, the initial material cost of that order is lost. Then, more money has to be spent to buy those materials again. Once you have new materials, you have to tie up your machines manufacturing the part a second time. That, in turn, pushes back the customer whose order should’ve been in the machine, delaying your production schedule even further.
As the economy continues to rebound, and companies move production back to the U.S., it’s important for suppliers to remember the cost of a mistake. Insisting on proper ISO procedures and maintaining stringent quality inspection may seem like time you can’t afford, but it’s essential to staying on top of orders. In the end, you can’t underestimate the value of qualit
In our last blog we talked about the importance of grooming the right horse for the race—and having a backup contender ready just in case. But what happens when it’s not the horse that changes, but the race track? In manufacturing, the environment is always shifting. Some industries grow while others shrink, and unforeseen events like Hurricane Sandy can literally change the landscape.
This is a position many of our customers have found themselves in recently. Many of their own customers are involved in the post Hurricane Sandy reconstruction efforts. That means that orders have been pouring in at volumes they simply weren’t expecting. In times like these the same principle that we discussed last time applies: You get the job done. Those plans you had for 2013? The ones that involved shutting down and revamping part of your production process? They need to be put on the back burner. Because benefits that will take effect later are no use to customers who need products now.
And while in our last scenario you had to put in your backup horse because your champion stallion was benched, in this scenario it’s not a matter of simply picking the only horse you have, but rather choosing the right horse for the race. If your prime contender is no good on a wet track and it pours the day of the race, you put in your mudder instead. If your specialty is stamping, but your customer needs molded parts, you turn on your injection molding machine and get to work.
At the end of the day it comes down to getting a horse on the line, and coming through for your customer. Every good business plans for the foreseeable future. But a great business can adapt those plans to the challenges of the present.
