P ARTS CONSOLIDA TION After two weeks of being cross trained on a new assembly line an assembler identifed seven opportunities to consolidate parts This reduced our overall part numbers while reducing inventor y by over 2000 and reducing material costs by over 3800 SYSTEM UPGRADE A powder coat painter identifed that the vacuum system to reclaim waste powder for reuse was not working nor designed for optimal per formance Maintenance redesigned and upgraded the system improving the reclaim rate and reducing wasted powder by more than 15 EMPOWERMENT A material handler identifed that if the location of two materials in the warehouse could be switched it would improve both ergonomics and material fow Instead of waiting for an engineer to make the change he was empowered to not only suggest the improvement but take action and implement it himself WE ARE AL W A y S LOO k ING FOR NEW W A y S T O I mp ROVE OUR p RODUCTIVIT y AND REDUCE OUR ENVIRON m ENT AL I mp ACT The continuous improvement boards are power ful visual reminders of the potential for improvement that exists in our workplace They also create accountabilityinstead of ideas being shared for example in a meeting or an email and then quietly being forgotten the boards clearly display areas for improvement and potential solutions Ever y idea is investigated and considered and we are committed to following up on each idea even if implementing the solution isn t an immediate possibility The 8 W astes program has already seen considerable success with high employee engagement In 2012 there were 1311 improvement ideas and closures with 63 of plant employees participating Moving for ward our goal for 2013 is to identify or close 350 ideas ever y quarter and improve the participation rate for our workfor ce In fact were already exceeding these goals with 847 ideas identifed in the frst quarter of 2013 and 87 participation Although the 8 W astes program is still in its infancy it has already made a strong impression on our employees and contributed to positive changes in our production process The program is unique because its purpose is to ensure that we are fully engaging our employees in problem solving and process optimization This is an important part of our efforts to create a sustainable culture that is focused on respecting our employees and embracing continuous improvement PROGRAM RESUL TS 15