Continuous Improvement Management SEA Quick Change-Over NTS Tool Crib: Process Improvement Execution May 21, 2012 Michael McCouch NTS Boxborough Operations Planning Manager
Company Overview NTS (NasdaqNM: NTSC) is an engineering services company providing engineering solutions and services ranging from a complete array of testing to product support Founded in 1961, we just celebrated our 50 th anniversary. 1100+ Employees 20+ North American testing locations plus locations in Japan, Germany, and Vietnam Revenues approximately $150M 2
www.nts.com Capabilities Vibration Thermal Vacuum Chamber Acceleration 3
Capabilities Shock Testing Thermal Testing EMC/EMI Testing 4
NTS and SEA Engaged with SEA for 5+ years. SEA Certified in Fullerton, CA and Boxborough, MA locations, with more planned. (SEA Site Visits / Open Houses at both locations later this year) Winner of SEA s 2011 Leadership and Culture Award. Our CEO/COO sit on SEA s Supplier Advisory Council (SAC). 5
PIPELine NTS PIPELine: Process ImProvement Execution PIPELine ensures NTS follows a structured and standard process to achieve mature best enterprise practices and sustained effectiveness as a result of investing in process improvement. PIPELine is based on the SEA Lean Process Improvement methodology, Process Maturity Model and tools customized to NTS business strategy. 6
Continuous Process Improvement How does your organization select improvement priorities and review progress on improvement initiatives? Executive Team members champion initiatives which are reviewed quarterly at strategic planning meetings. How are process owners, master trainers, and strategic champions included in this process? Executive Champions charter initiatives and nominate Process Owners and Master Trainers. What criteria are used to select priorities for improvement? Alignment to 5 Year Plan, Core Values, Company Strategy Map, ROI, resource utilization. 7
Continuous Process Improvement How are improvement projects and teams selected and given direction? Process Champion defines Team Charter. Director of Quality provides training and facilitation resources where needed. How is a standard problem-solving model deployed throughout the organization? The PIPELine process provides a path to process maturity. Many problem solving tools can be employed along this path, including the Corrective/Preventive Action process. How are recognition and sharing of mistakes and successes accomplished? These are typically accomplished via meetings including Operational Excellence Meetings, All Hand Meetings, Executive Road Shows, Holiday Parties, etc. 8
Process Maturity Model 5 4 3 2 1 Process continuously shows positive trends and benchmarks world class Process under control, analyzed, and improved using data Process has certified trainers and is standardized across NTS Process documented to work instruction (Process Map or SOP) level Process identified, defined, and has an owner 9
PIPELine Fundamentals All NTS Processes shall have Process Owners and Master Trainers assigned. Process Owners are empowered and authorized to define processes company-wide. Improvement initiatives are undertaken by Process Owners in alignment with Corporate Strategy. 10
PIPELine Fundamentals Improvement Team Members (including Process Owners) are responsible for informing and soliciting feedback from all NTS employees impacted by process improvements/changes. Standard Work or a mature standard process is a prerequisite for successfully deploying enterprise tools an systems associated with the process. Formal reviews are used to evaluate each level of Process Maturity (PM) and ensure all of these fundamentals are achieved. 11
Understanding the Issues 12
Defining Goals 13
SEA Management Team Clayton Forbes- Operations Manager and 6S Team Lead Donald MacMillan- Sr. Technician and Safety Officer Ronald Kelly- Quality Manager Gerry Boivin- Facilities and Maintenance Michael McCouch- Ops. Planning & Execution Manager/DBA and Quick Change Over Team Lead Jeff Viel- EMI/EMC Engineering Business Manager Mark Sherman- Dynamics Lab & Machine Shop Manager Jeffrey Henn- Climatics Lab Manager 14
Process Flow 15
Tools and Communication 16
Tools and Communication 17
Tools and Communication 18
Tools and Communication 19
Tools and Communication 20
Tools and Communication 21
Results and Metrics 22
Results and Metrics 23
Results and Metrics 24
In Step with 6S! 25
Lessons Learned Planning is essential, and Inventory Control is key to the plan. Cross functional interaction is the key to success. Both the Tool Crib and the Lab must share the same goals. As part of the Quick Change Over effort, we ve begun to develop a Most Popular Asset listing. This will be an important factor in capital planning for the next fiscal year. 26
Lessons Learned External motivators help! A2LA audits, SEA certification, customer visibility and scheduled management walk-throughs. A team improving to a quantifiable metric, especially one visible to clients creates it s own momentum and achieves faster results. 27
Questions? Michael McCouch michael.mccouch@nts.com 978-264-4216 www.nts.com THANK YOU!