World-Class Processors: Meet Plastics' Preeminent Processors

“The single biggest initiative we have done to promote involvement in continuous improvement is education of the whole staff on the cost of process inconsistencies,” says Missy Rogers, president of custom injection molder, Noble Plastics Inc., Grand Coteau, La. “Obviously, customers need to receive quality products free from defects, but when you understand how the cost of scrap, waste, and rework don’t just affect the company, but provide a clear measure to tie cost of scrap to cost of sales, everyone sees how his or her contribution to our processes delivers the best value to customers and staff.”

James S. Khorshid, president of Mossberg Industries Inc., Garrett, Ind., a manufacturer of spools and reels with injection molding and extrusion capacity, says his World Class facility also makes a point of sharing operations data. At Mossberg, performance metrics like on-time delivery, as well as customer concerns, are posted monthly in the shop breakroom and are also reviewed in the company’s monthly plant meetings. “We share these items with everyone so they can give direct input if anyone has an idea to improve a process,” Khorshid says.

LINKING PERFORMANCE TO PAY
At injection molder CH3 Solutions, Dalton, Ga., Rodney Davenport, v.p. of manufacturing and quality, says this World Class winner not only shares performance data with its employees but it also discloses its costs and margins so they appreciate the true impact of a scrap part.

“We are completely transparent with employees,” Davenport says. “They know what parts cost us, what we sell them for, and how much it impacts when a part is thrown in scrap or when material spills.” It also impacts the employees’ compensation as well, with bonuses tied to operations performance. “If we need to buy equipment, if we had damage to something and don’t pack good product, they know that directly impacts each person’s pocket at the end of the year,” Dalton says.

Koster says Selmax has a similar linkage between operational performance and pay, deploying the “carrot” of cash to its workers through what it calls a Results Based Incentive (RBI). Selmax posts machine run time, reject rates, and production cycle times daily. RBIs can be earned for every day that the team achieves the targets established for those metrics. “Every employee who works that day earns the incentive,” Koster says, with the RBIs paid out on a quarterly basis. Besides the “carrot,” there is also one “stick”: “If we have a significant safety incident or customer complaint, part or all of the incentive is lost,” Koster says.

Incentivizing workers with cash was a theme amongst our 2016 World Class Processors. While the average compensation for shop-floor personnel was the same $15/hr for our 25 top shops and all others, fully 83% of the World Class Processors offered a bonus, while only 69% of total survey respondents did. The World Class Processors also did a better job of holding onto their employees. The average employee turnover rate for our 2016 World Class Processors was 6.3%, while it reached 9.8% for the survey group as a whole.

A FOCUS ON EQUIPMENT
The World Class Processors Plastics Technology spoke with had something else in common: a keen understanding of the role technology can play in their success. At Mossberg Industries, Khorshid notes that over the last five years, the company has added seven all-electric injection machines, replacing older hydraulic presses, while also installing robots and updating its production tracking system. “When you mix these improvements with a business that dates back more than 100 years, then you can get great results,” Khorshid says. “Product lines and customers have changed over the years, but we continue to focus on supporting our customers and having the highest product quality.”