So much discourse around Engineering improvement evolves around the products themselves and too often the people who drive those changes get overlooked.
Culture, which is often seen as a frivolous thing to spend time discussing, is actually the driving force to success. When it is going well, it isn’t acknowledged but as soon as a teams culture begins to crack, every aspect of a business begins to suffer.
At the time Tunley Engineering reached out to Weldlogic’s President Tim Rowntree, and their discussion around Weldlogics position and goals led Tunley Engineering to draft a detailed proposal that defined the Engineering Department assessment method, report and importantly for Tim, the Purpose and Objectives.
Tim was really impressed with the Value Guarantee terms and conditions in which Tunley Engineering guarantee a reduction of 50% in the event of Weldlogic been dissatisfied with the value delivered.
Tunley Engineering is based in the UK and Weldlogic are in California, USA. So the assessment was conducted entirely virtually, With one to one interviews with the team, audits of workload management processes all done with 5,166 miles and 8 hours separating each company.
International collaboration can be difficult, but the engagement from the Weldlogic team was excellent, it was during the engagement that the working relationship started to grow between the VP of Engineering and the Managing Director of Tunley Engineering.
The assessment highlighted several core opportunities, primarily focusing on poor workload visibility and organisational structure associated with task delegation. Tunley Engineering not only highlighted areas to improve but detailed strategies on how to implement the changes.
Weldlogic requested a “Re-Tool” which aimed to implement significant change immediately whilst supporting the team over a medium-term.
At the time of writing this Case Study, Weldlogic is at week 12 of a 6-month project to improve the Engineering Team and are already seeing the beginnings of a return on their investment.
The first dramatic change occurred in the first week through organogram work, team members now know who they are accountable to, in this case, The VP of Engineering, which has improved the team morale and increased control and visibility of workload and crucially, everyone is committed to their team and the deliverables again.
One of the key parts of this re-tool isn’t just fixing existing issues, but preventing their return and strengthening the company going forward, ensuring long-term sustainable growth. This has been achieved by creating a coded forward scheduled workload system. Originally the system just controlled the Engineering Design activities, so it was expanded to cover Manufacturing.
Described as the end of a 2-3 month period of constant pains, Weldlogic is starting to see the profound benefits that have been achieved, not just in terms of on-time shipment of products but cash flow, the volume of works completed and reduced multitasking. All of which have increased the monthly turnover and profit of the business substantially.
Weldlogic was started in 1978 by Robert Elizarraz to design and build Automatic Welding Systems that solved critical welding requirements for the growing Medical, Sensor, Aircraft, Military & Oil Industries.
Our engineering has continued to follow technology advancements and has expanded our product line dramatically to include roll forming systems and Welding systems that integrate the best weld process for the requirements. We serve an international market with quality representation and service worldwide.
We now offer Laser Weld Cells, GTA Weld Cells, Plasma Weld Cells & Mig Welding Cells.
Weldlogic offers contract manufacturing services through our in-house sister division W.S.I. (Weldlogic Services, Inc.)
Metal forming and full service machining
Welding Services: Tig, Mig, Laser, Plasma, Resistance, Induction
Helium leak checking, pressure testing, cross sectioning, X-ray
Laser marking, chem-etch, electro polishing
Mechanical / electrical assembly
"Williams upfront, direct, no-nonsense approach to retooling our engineering department has been refreshing. The methodical approach to streamlining our processes has been invaluable. We are already seeing measurable results in staff attitudes and workflow productivity."
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