One of the keys to success for Honeoye, N.Y.-based Stone Construction Equipment has been efficient production. In an era of increasing pressure on margins, many manufacturers are re-examining their production methods. In a recent interview with RER, Stone CEO Robert Fien looks at current and future manufacturing trends, employee empowerment and the future of CIMA.
RER: A few years back, there was a major movement toward just-in-time manufacturing, with manufacturers moving away from carrying large inventories. Will that trend continue?
Fien: Although there has been a lot of buzz about JIT over the past few years, I'm not really sure how many manufacturers are truly [operating] on a just-in-time basis. JIT is extraordinarily beneficial for inventory control and cash management, but is extremely difficult to implement. It took us seven years to become fully operational. It means eliminating all paper from the manufacturing process — no more work orders. It means setting up cellular manufacturing, which is not the traditional way of manufacturing. It means massive cross training of your people. It means setting up physical triggers to tell the various work cells what parts are needed and when. It means totally rethinking your production-control disciplines. And it means developing strong, professional and ethical partnerships with your vendors.
Although the rewards are great, most manufacturers are daunted by the challenge and intimidated by the change. So the JIT concept will remain because it is an effective way to manufacture, but the hype of the past few years will disappear, and not all manufacturers will operate in this mode.
What other manufacturing trends are we likely to see more of during the coming years?
Clearly, technology will continue to reshape the manufacturing environment. Although robotics will make their impact, you will hear more about the self-directed work force. A number of companies are beginning to initiate the self-directed concept. Under this concept, broad goals are established for the next eight hours of the workday. The workers then decide on their own how those goals will be met and who will do what. During the course of those eight hours, the workers meet to monitor their progress and adjust, if necessary.
The concept of a self-directed work force will get a lot of play over the next few years, but it, like JIT, is difficult to implement. It requires a culture that is compatible with allowing the workers a greater say in how the business is run.
You've written in the past about the importance of developing an employee-empowerment culture rather than a strict, procedural, by-the-book philosophy. Can you elaborate?
Studies have consistently shown that a well-thought-out, positive corporate culture elevates the people's performance well above the norm. Employee empowerment is the result of the culture. It is not the culture. For example, at Stone we have a culture of respect — no status symbols such as privileged parking. We have a culture of trust — all signs of mistrust are taken away, like time clocks and quality-control inspectors. We have a culture of development — we teach people new skills like the concepts of JIT. We have a culture of communication — for example, each month we share our financials with all our people.
When these four elements take hold, they provide the atmosphere that makes people want to participate, to become engaged, to improve their performance. A strong, positive corporate culture will make an average company superior.
As the 2001 chairman of the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association, what do you see on the horizon for CIMA?
Clearly we're excited about the 2002 ConExpo/ConAgg. All indications are that this will be the biggest and best show yet. We will also continue our efforts started last year to provide meaningful services to our members in the international markets as well as ongoing strategic information and data.
Also, we are working on the possible merger of CIMA and the Equipment Manufacturers Institute. A great deal of work has been done by the officers, staff and members of both organizations to this end. The boards of both CIMA and EMI have approved a memorandum of understanding. Depending on the results of the due diligence process, we hope to take a recommendation to merge to the full memberships in July or August. There are many advantages to a merged organization and we are hopeful that this can be accomplished.
