Learning Tours Archives

19Mar 2024 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour: Ichor Systems – April 25th (FULL)

Host Company – Ichor Systems (website link) Ichor is the leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment. Our products include the gas and chemical delivery subsystems that are key elements in the process tools used for commercial semiconductor device manufacturing. At our Tualatin, Oregon facility, our key processes include plastic fabrication for chemical delivery systems and stainless fabrications for gas delivery systems. Tour Summary Our goal as we began re-energizing our CI program a few years ago was a strong focus on sustaining improvement and employee engagement. As we moved forward implementing 5S, visual management, and standard work, we wanted to ensure continuous improvement efforts were ongoing, recognized, and shared among all our sites. One of the key management practices…

09Nov 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmark Tour: Danner Boots – Nov 30th (FULL)

Learning Tours

Host Company - Danner Boots/LaCrosse Footwear For nearly a century, Danner has crafted boots with purpose and integrity - footwear to equip those who choose the unlikely path, those who cut fresh trails, those who pioneer. To this day, our commitment to superior craftsmanship remains unchanged. We continue to craft high quality boots, using the best possible materials we can find, to create a product built to last. In our Portland manufacturing facility, we have blended superior handcraftsmanship with innovative new technologies such as automation and real time metrics tracking to ensure we stay competitive both domestically and internationally. Tour Summary: Danner is known in the industry for their high quality, rugged footwear. To consistently deliver a top-notch product, we invest significant time and effort into establishing robust quality systems. These…

15Aug 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

Virtual Tour: Kaas Tailored – Sept 11-14th

Application~, Developing People~, Leadership~, Learning Tours

Who is “Kaas Tailored”? We are a manufacturing facility located in Mukilteo, Washington. We want our workplace to be one of joy and learning, which is why we are committed to developing people through a culture of Continuous Improvement. To fund these efforts, we produce high-quality upholstered goods and provide design services to like-minded customers. What can be learned on the virtual tour? We want to help you answer the question, "Why should I bother learning about this?" Our method includes conversations with a variety of Kaas team members, in-depth training on the 7 wastes, and an intro to the improvement tools we use. You will experience team train, team clean, visual management tools, and Kaizen problem-solving. The day ends with 30 minutes of Q & A with Kaas leadership.…

14Aug 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

CI Open House – Sept 14th

Learning Tours

A-dec is holding their 6th annual CI Open House on Sept 14th. This event was launched as an opportunity for people to share the fun things they are doing, be recognized for their hard work, and inspire others to action. Think of this as a high school science fair with a focus on process improvement. Teams/individuals will have booths set up with tri-fold displays and will share a 3-4 minute presentation about their implemented improvement. This is such a cool event and something I always look forward to attending. Kelly has graciously invited a small group of people from NWHPEC to the event on the 14th. We will start out with a brief intro about the history of the Open House and their CI Journey. We will then “tour” the…

24Apr 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour: Warne Scope Mounts – Cobots – May 10th (Full)

Application~, Developing People~, Learning Tours

Our integrated factory – utilizing cobots to stabilize our work and workforce Tour Summary While getting a view of the overall manufacturing process for Warne’s product, scope mounts, you’ll learn how they overcame the challenge of labor shortages and found a win-win solution that helped improve employee utilization and skillsets through the implementation of cobots.. Workers are now able to shift from repetitive tasks to creative, solution-oriented tasks. This created a new form of collaboration among their workforce. Join us to learn the challenge they were facing, the solutions they considered, and how they successfully integrated cobots into their manufacturing processes. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about cobots from their automation supplier, Olympus Controls (a NWHPEC member). Intended audience: Manufacturing Engineers, Manufacturing Managers, and others who are wanting to…

05Apr 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour @A-dec, April 25th (Full)

Learning Tours

Focus topic: Daily Management Systems A-dec is one of the most respected names in the dental industry. They design and manufacture dental equipment at their headquarters in Newberg, Oregon. A-dec started its lean journey in 1999 and has been working to make its processes robust and efficient ever since. Recently, they have been designing and piloting the concept of a Daily Management System (DMS) in a few manufacturing areas. On this tour, they will highlight a few areas in different stages of their DMS journey. We’ll also have an opportunity to tour parts of their integrated manufacturing facility and see how they are using 6S, Kanban, 1-pc flow, Standard Work, and Andon Boards to help make flow and problems visible. Daily management systems are essential for maintaining engagement and communication…

01Feb 2023 by Jennifer Ayers

Executive Leadership Tour: Developing a People-First Organization – March 8th (FULL)

Learning Tours

Business leaders are responsible for achieving positive results while building an environment where their people are challenged, respected, and valued. Scott Simmons, CEO of Skutt Ceramics, is opening their doors to NWHPEC members to share his philosophy and practices for creating a thriving workplace and positive company culture. Specific steps Skutt has taken to help team members achieve their potential and professional growth in a respectful environment will be shared and discussed. You'll have the opportunity to attend their leadership daily management huddle. Additionally, a shop tour to highlight steps taken to achieve his goals will demonstrate specifics to aid other executives pursuing similar results. "Our premise, when Team Members are valued through specific challenges, they achieve things they never thought possible. We intentionally develop opportunities for their input and…

Category: Learning Tours