Situation
Prior to working with the UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC), Ardisam was not running as efficiently as possible. In an effort to improve operations, management pursued Training Within Industry (TWI) with the MOC. According to Process Improvement Manager, Brian Nelson, “It [TWI] offered us practical and proven business practices while at the same time allowing us to customize it to fit our organization best.”
Solutions
For Ardisam, TWI was a cultural change. The company had some quick wins that saved them money, and in addition, allowed them to grow in different categories. These wins showed everyone in the company that the concepts of Training Within Industry are effective. In 2025, Ardisam will be requiring all employees to participate in continuous improvement events. Their focus is to make this an employee-driven initiative. By making operations more efficient, and providing better working conditions for the employees, great things will follow. These skills increase participating employees professional development as well as teach them valuable problem solving skills they can use outside of the organization.
Results
• Production lines were redone for a specific product with great success. The end result was a 40% capacity gain with a 25% reduction in labor adding to the margin.
• A heat map of the warehouse layout was created to analyze pick patterns and identify the hottest SKUs. The warehouse was reoorganized as a result of that data. The end result was 1000 hrs of saved forklift travel time and 400 hrs of saved electric lift time throughout the year.
• Steering Committee was formed to ensure that company goals align with employee-driven initiatives.
Testimonial
“The MOC was great to work with. Nick and Matt did a great job teaching the material and relating to their students. Their real-world experience resonated with everyone. The stories they were able to tell and the examples they were able to show us really drove the training concepts home to everyone that attended the trainings.” - Ben Fauske, Ardisam Continuous Improvement Engineer