Process Improvement for Solon / Twinsburg area Manufacturers
I walk your floor, find where the money is leaking, and fix it with the people and equipment you already have. PCBA lines, medical device cells, machine shops, and assembly plants are all unique, so they can’t all get the same treatment. But a few things don’t change.
No capital investment and no six-month program required.
Here’s how I love to help across Solon and Twinsburg.
Where the money hides in Solon and Twinsburg plants
When we moved our family from Illinois to Ohio in 2014, Solon is where we landed. It’s quite the town, with strong education and industry.
Solon and neighboring Twinsburg (I won’t forget you, Glenwillow!) are incredibly important manufacturing towns. Swagelok has kept its headquarters here since 1965, and around it sit circuit board assembly plants, medical device contract manufacturers, precision machine shops, material handling manufacturers, polymer plants, and, of course, Rockwell Automation just down the road. Every one of those floors is different. They share one habit: people are busy running the place, so nobody has time to watch how the work actually moves.
I study, measure, time, tally, and analyze. This way I find and fix the real issues with the process. Not just the thing that sticks out at first glance, not the occasional random detour. But the many small and time-consuming actions of the “hidden factory” that destroy all hope of throughput and product flow.
There’s more to it than department layouts and walking paths.
In all the projects I’ve completed, really only one or two REALLY benefitted from an improved walking layout. Any massive walking path problems are usually solved by operators and supervisors. Usually we’ve got to get a little deeper than counting footsteps.
And yet, at one medical device company I worked with, a previous consultant moved a few desks, an oven, and a set of curing racks to shorten a walk from 22 feet to 15. The operators made that walk four or five times a day. Not sure if you’re aware of how negligible a fix like that is. Very.
…But it’s big and showy! You get to unplug everything and then re-validate all your equipment. What fun. Not really.
Meanwhile, a tray of units took anywhere from 6 minutes to 2.5 hours to clear each of 45 assembly steps. Didn’t want to look there?
Well, that’s just what we did. There could have been a whole book written just to document what we uncovered and improved.
What are we talking?
Most factories have about $200,000 a year sitting in plain sight. I have never walked into a factory and not found it. If you run a shop in Solon or Twinsburg, or nearby in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Portage, or Summit County, I will walk your floor and show you where yours is.
What does a manufacturing process improvement consultant do for a company in Solon or Twinsburg, Ohio?
I walk your floor, watch how work moves between people, machines, and shelves, and find where time and money leak out. Then I fix it with the people and equipment you already have. Most factories have about $200,000 a year sitting in plain sight, and I have never walked into one and not found it.
Do I need to buy new equipment or spend capital to see results?
No. The first fixes come from what you already own: layout, parts staging, handoffs, job design, and schedules. If a purchase ever makes sense, the numbers will show it before anyone signs anything.
Which local manufacturers do you work with?
I work with circuit board assembly (PCBA), medical device, metal fab & precision machining, and assembly shops. Each floor looks different. Waiting, walking, and searching show up on all of them.
How big is a typical client?
Small and mid-sized manufacturers, roughly 15 to 150 employees and $5M to $50M in revenue, many of them hiring outside process help for the first time.
Do you use Lean, Six Sigma, or Japanese terminology?
I use plain language. Belts, certifications, and all those “look-at-me” Japanese terms stay out of the room. Your team hears words they already use, like "waiting for parts" and "walking to the shelf," because a fix people can name is a fix people keep.
Where do you work?
I am based in Aurora, Ohio, and serve Solon and manufacturers across Cuyahoga, Geauga, Portage, and Summit counties. 44139, 44087, 44146, 44202
What happens first?
I stand on your floor and watch work happen. I start to meet a few key team members and get some idea of the strengths and struggles. Then, once someone stays still long enough to see it, the system begins to show hints at where it is weakest. Bleeding, even. Many owners and plant managers are too busy running the place to do that themselves.