Calcables New Management Team: 4 Business Resolutions for 2014

Calcables New Management Team: 4 Business Resolutions for 2014: Watching television lately, it seems every other commercial is advertising gym equipment or a weight loss plan targeted to a consumer's...

4 Business Resolutions for 2014

Watching television lately, it seems every other commercial is advertising gym equipment or a weight loss plan targeted to a consumer's success in 2014.  Smart advertising, right?  Everyone has their own checklist for making 2014 a better year by losing a few pounds, getting into better physical shape, etc.  Apply that to your business and it is slightly different, but the theme is definitely the same.  What's really "hot" for making business boom in 2014 that is worth a look?

1.  Google Search Engine, Google Plus, Etc.  Google recently stated that they do approximately two tweaks to their algorhithm every day.  If your business has the advertising dollars to spend, Google has the tools to push your website to the stratosphere.  Simply stated, you can outposition your competition just by having a better website, which translates into being able to offer better products, services and enhancing the visitor's experience to your website.

2.  The age of the "Smart Phone".   It can definitely be said that smart phones (Androids, iPhones, etc), have moved into the market and are here to stay.   Busy executives, management are utilizing the tools for "mobile status" to plan their day, execute email, run conferences, etc.  Every smart business owner is looking at the mobile website versions and applications they can offer to make visits to their website user friendly by mobile users.

3.  Actually looking at "Stats, Facts, and Audience" that your website is generating.  Where is your website traffic coming from?  Break that down further into what search engine they use to enter your site.  This is valuable information that Google is smart enough to recognize and make it simple and easy for any tech savvy or non-tech savvy business owner.  This is valuable information and a great tool to tell you what is working with advertising and what is not.

4.  SEO/social media sites and "grouping your statuses"  What does that mean?   Hoot Suite and several others have an all in one "tweet" if you will, to save busy business owners time and money by posting one status or tweet in one place in all of your social media sites all at once.  Hoot Suite is definitely easy to use and saves valuable time logging in to Twitter, Facebook, Google Places, Tumblr, etc., to put up your photos, sales, savings, discounts, new products, etc.  Wish I would have thought of that, but that's a whole different blog.

Of course, there are many other great places to push your business forward and advertise, advertise, advertise, just like Weight Watcher's and Bow Flex, catering to the audience of choice (couch potatoes?) to get them to buy your products.  Okay, so that is an easy example, that we can all understand and relate to, but when it comes to the computer and what tools to use and how to use them to target your market things get a little more difficult.   These are the easiest suggestions we can all use to push our business on the Internet and get going with some new resolutions to strive to thrive in 2014.

Calcables loves social media, but we take our products and customer service seriously!

Plant Manager/Operations Manager - Mirror Challenges at Calcables

Plant Manager/Operations Manager - Face Challenges Together With A Common Sense/Cents Approach:

Learn about the differences between a  plant manager and operations manager.

HOW THEY'RE ALIKE

These two job titles are often used interchangeably and while they do indeed share many common traits, they each have a set of roles and purposes that are entirely unique.  These positions mirror each other, and are interdependent with each other.  The plant manager is considered a subset of operations management because it is just one part of the entire production operation. But they do share a similar end goal: to enhance the bottom line by reducing costs and increasing efficiencies.

How they achieve this at Calcables?

Plant Manager, Russ Hayward, is an integral part of the management at Calcables, pulling together the whole team like a "connect the dots" puzzle.   In a world where businesses are utilizing management techniques such as Kanban, JIT and Kaizen, our smaller business is combining the resources of the plant manager and operations manager with "common sense/cents" management.  It makes sense, because our management team is focused on the value of your "cents."

Operations Manager, Cheryl Benson, holds the giant bucket of fiscal responsibility while overseeing the whole picture and helping assign new development to the team, trusting the management to hone out the fine details and achieve the desired quality results.

Operations management focuses primarily upon activities that happen within a company's walls to manufacture a product or service. This includes formulating policies, managing the daily operations and workflow, overseeing workers, and participating in the design, planning and the physical production of the product. In short, it's the giant bucket that contains all of the smaller buckets of jobs necessary to complete the goal.

Calcables is in an exciting phase of growth  With managers skilled in working with external partners to procure parts and raw materials needed to produce the product, create the inventory, and sell the product to outside markets. Our professionals evaluate suppliers and negotiate contracts with vendors. Because this role is a vital necessity, you can see why our management team thrives under the umbrella of our management team. Without materials, there are no products to manage and no need for workers to make the products.

Get to know our team better and get the inside knowledge of our new products launching in 2014, by contacting our plant manager/operations manager for more details.

The Calcables Spin on Just-In-Time (JIT) Manufacturing

Buzz words like JIT or Just-In-Time Manufacturing is the process directed at eliminating additional inventory by producing/ordering only the right amount of product needed at the right time.  Why?  Inventory that sits on a shelf adds cost with no value to the product.

Therefore, minimizing the non-value products or inventory that is not moving off of the production line is the goal to implementing JIT.  The result?  Supposedly, better on time delivery performance, better equipment use, less space requirements (for stocking inventory), lower costs, greater profits.

Is it always true?  Holding a certain amount of inventory in-house can certainly be of benefit in certain situations. Our economy is difficult to forecast (unless you have a crystal ball).  Not implementing essential planning can result in a higher cost to obtain desired materials with extra costs on expedited shipping or the cost passed on from a supplier to stop their production and expedite a product for an urgent need (if they provide this service).

In case you didn't know, JIT was founded, perfected and developed by a gentleman named Taiichi Ohno of Toyota.  He developed this philosophy to meet customer demands with minimal delays and primarily to produce goods so customer orders were met exactly when they needed the products.

Manufacturers employ various philosophies when it comes to managing their business effectively, JIT is just one of those.  We have all heard of "Lean Sigma", Kanban, Kaizen.   JIT which is also called "lean production" or "stockless production" is felt to be successful in reducing inventory levels to absolute minimum.  This, in itself, requires excellent coordination and communication between work stations.  Production flows are often set up so assembly lines are smooth and unimpeded eliminating bottle necks in production and is most applicable in automotive assembly "where every car undergoes the same production process as the one before."

    

Guidelines to Successfully Utilize JIT:

Calcables offers solutions to automotive assembly lines utilizing JIT as well as other similar production lines.  Semiconductor companies such as Calcables are too complex to completely utilize JIT; however, we offer solutions to the problems incurred by JIT philosophy:

1)  Encourage good preventative maintenance on all equipment utilized on production lines.  Scheduled maintenance provides regular review of semiconductor needs, and review of adequate semiconductors in stock.

2)    Consignment Implementation - Outsourcing the regular review of semiconductors/power leads utilized by the supplier lessens the burden of maintenance/purchasing with alerted messages (email or mobile) when inventory runs low.

3)     Cross train personnel to gain a flexible, educated and empowered workforce.

   

Successfully utilizing Just-In-Time philosophy (or Kanban, etc) is effective, efficient and economical; however, avoiding the pitfalls of JIT will keep this philosophy successful.  Calcables recommends  a few guidelines to ensure its success and avoiding the pitfalls of needing to order supplies such as semiconductors/power leads for unexpected down production lines which translates into huge unexpected costs/losses financially.  These extra costs include expedited shipping costs with freight (particularly around the holidays), costs associated with same day delivery (Calcables will swing into action to provide same day shipping of power leads; however, there are expedited costs in pulling off of our regular lines), as well as production team members unable to continue their assembly lines, not meeting production goals, etc.  The costs trickle down into a large lump sum of loss.  Thoughtful planning and coordination with your welding cable partner will provide cost effective solutions keeping your production lines up and running effectively.

Cheryl Benson, Calcables CEO, has solutions for your business - Power leads for robotics, robotic welders, spot welders, resistance welders..we specialize in welding cable solutions.

     

Calcables New Management Team: Scheduled Maintenance Saves Your Business Valuable...

Calcables New Management Team: Scheduled Maintenance Saves Your Business Valuable...: Implementing "lean" manufacturing processes includes the maintenance of your robotic welders and the two weeks prior to the new ...

Scheduled Maintenance Saves Your Business Valuable Dollars

Implementing "lean" manufacturing processes includes the maintenance of your robotic welders and the two weeks prior to the new year, January 1, 2014, is an ideal time to plan for maintenance.  Robotic welders as a part of automation equipment produces major benefits to your business including cost reduction, improved efficiency and consistent quality.  To achieve these benefits, a thorough maintenance program should be maintained and implemented to ensure 100% efficiency of operations.

Preventative maintenance includes taking steps to ensure equipment is clean and in good condition and thereby eliminating breakdowns which result in down production lines.  Replacing power leads and ensuring you have an adequate inventory of power leads is vital to ensuring your assembly line has no down production time.  This may also include cleaning, painting, lubricating and adjusting parts.

ADVANTAGES OF MAINTENANCE OF ROBOTIC WELDERS, SPOT WELDERS, RESISTANCE WELDERS, PRESS WELDERS INCLUDES:

  * Increased efficiency and speed of your welder.

  *Conserving on energy and life of your equipment.

  *Reducing costs associated with breakdowns - including cost of expedited parts and repairs.

  *Increased return on investment (ROI) and maximizing the life of your investment saving your time, costs and time of your employees.

Consignment Implementation is a program offered whereby your purchasing department can eliminate the need to manage inventory of your robotic welding power leads.  Calcables provides reports and automatic emails to purchasing allowing them to be alerted as to when supplies of any particular size power lead is low on inventory and can even automatically generate a purchasing order for recommended replacement which they will then approve and officially submit.

Regular maintenance consists of a simple daily inspection or more in depth maintenance on a scheduled basis.  Taking the time to make maintenance a priority and utilizing your welding cable partner, Calcables, your robotic welding equipment, spot welders, resistance welders will run efficiently and effectively.  Putting those valuable dollars associated with down time (actual costs for breakdowns are an estimated 4-5x more than routine maintenance costs) allows you to plan your budget concisely. Seriously, I don't know of a business owner that wants to forego purchasing new equipment or inventory due to unexpected valuable dollars that had to be re-allocated to breakdowns and down production lines.

All robots and automation equipment develop wear and tear over time, so maximizing their usable life makes sense both from a production and fiscal perspective. Don’t wait until your equipment is showing signs of failure, even a small component issue can create a ripple effect of major, long-term problems.

To better understand how Calcables can help your routine management of robotic welders, spot welders and various other pieces of equipment on your production line, contact us by clicking the "Calcables link" above, and let us start saving your business valuable dollars today.

Cheryl Benson - Calcables Chief Operating officer

Calcables New Management Team: New Products to Include Busbars and Insulated Busb...

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