Bobby Nguyen has what some might consider an unusual hobby; he is a serial radio contest entrant. And he’s good at it too. Over the years he’s won some pretty cool prizes, including his most recent wins: the grand prize at Bourbon and Beyond (a Kentucky food and music festival), and tickets to the hottest concert in town…Garth Brooks!
By day, Bobby is the Director of Reliability and Safety at Engineered Profiles in Columbus, Ohio and host to many, many of our Lean Manager Certification Program (LMAC) application days. That’s where we first learned of his hobby, since Ellis New, LMAC instructor, asks each program participant what they like to do outside of work. In each class there’s at least one surprising hobby. Who knew there was more to life than bowling?
The group has come to Engineered Profiles for LMAC’s Week 3 application day where attendees use the Lean principles they’re learning in a target area at the host plant. On this day, Bobby shares his update and outlines the project he’d like this class to tackle.
During the introduction, Bobby provides a snapshot of 2 projects that previous LMAC teams have studied:
1) Pellet Mill Roller Reset
The team found
- Washers were mushroomed from overtightening
- Roller direction not uniform and not torqued to any particular setting
- Too many adjustments points
Improvements
- Torque settings were identified for all bolts
- Reorganized toolbox layout
- Outlined a good method to set the high points that reduces the amount of effort and time it takes to set them
Outcome
- 230 hours saved per year
2) Extruder Oil Manifold Maintenance
The team found
- Immediate need for rework once unit had been cleaned/reassembled due to leaks
- Inventory not standardized
- No validation process upon completion
Improvements
- Applied changeover technique, separated internal from external activities
- Dirty manifolds replaced with pre-cleaned units that are removed and cleaned off-line.
- Spare inventory is stored in vending machines near point of use (searchable through the vending machine)
- Rings and seals are packaged and stored together
Outcome
- Cut 40% off manifold repair time
Not bad for one day’s work! Bobby appreciates the fresh eyes an outside team brings to the facility, and the opportunity to have two of his associates participate in the weeks’ classroom activities. The combination of internal process knowledge and outside perspective make for some great discoveries/improvements.
We look forward to seeing how the team does with today’s challenge, and to learning what more Bobby has won when we return to Engineered Profiles for a future application day. Until then, we wish him the best of luck and send many, many thanks to him and the entire Engineering Profiles team, for their continued hospitality.
In the Ohio area and interested in hosting?…
Do you have a unique hobby or even just a common one? We’d love to hear about it at a future application day. If your facility is in the Columbus, Ohio area, why not learn more about becoming an application host? There is no charge to you, and the benefits include immediate improvements, the opportunity to gain valuable perspective from outside participants, and the chance to have two of your associates participate in the LMAC classroom activities for the week that you host.
To learn more about the benefits of becoming LMAC certified and/or becoming an LMAC host facility, give us a call at 800.966.5423. To learn more about the next LMAC session, Fall 2022, click here.