Business review leads to 15% improvement
Business Review Leads to 15% Improvement
A cold call by an Enterprise Connect Business Adviser has led EMC Pacific to achieve a greater than 15 per cent improvement in productivity.
For EMC Pacific, this means they will be able to continue to grow the business without additional labour costs. With exports set to double over the next 18 months from the current level of 10 per cent, the effect on the company’s bottom line is significant.
Based in Dandenong South, EMC Pacific was formed in 1996 to produce world class cycloaliphatic epoxy (polymer resin) insulators, bushings and custom components for the electrical industry, its major customers being utilities in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Enterprise Connect is an Australian Government initiative that provides business reviews at no cost to eligible businesses and grant assistance to implement recommendations from the business review.
Andrew Sorensen, Managing Director of EMC Pacific, took advantage of the free review after Business Adviser Mal Clark explained how the service operates and how it could benefit through a grant of up to $20,000.
Lean manufacturing consultant
“One of the areas identified as needing improvement was our manufacturing process,” Mr Sorensen said. “We appointed a Lean consultant, Michelle Brown from TXM, with experience in the repetitive plastics manufacturing industry who recommended many changes in how we operate and the factory layout including location of machines, ovens, workbenches and parts.
“Another interesting concept that turned around our current practice was ‘the machine waits for the man’. We operated the other way around and now the machine is always ready for when the operator comes back to the machine to do what he has to do. This meant we also had to change the way we staffed the factory. Rather than having one man-one machine, we appointed a supervisor who provisions all the machines and assists each operator. This means operators don’t have to walk away from their machine as often, which increases productivity.
“As a result of implemented changes, we are achieving a much greater throughput with the same levels of labour and equipment. Fortunately our sales are growing so we have been able to increase the throughput in the factory without laying off any staff.
“This has reduced our labour cost per tonne by more than 15 per cent, which is one of our key measurements,” Andrew said.
Unique technology offers safety features
With more than half a dozen patents for its unique technology, EMC Pacific’s products underwent rigorous and exhaustive testing before they could be supplied to the industry where they are required to be in service for more than 40 years.
Insulators and bushings are manufactured as a tough one-piece construction, which eliminates the problematic metal fitting failures and brittle fractures typically associated with ceramics and composites, thereby reducing the risk of mechanical failure.
In addition, the use of polymer resin makes them half the weight of traditional porcelain products, which minimises OHS issues for linesmen. Other unique features include:
· high lighting puncture resistance
· greater dry arc and leakage distances due to the moulded designs
· reduced discharge activity and ability for pollution to wash away more readily
“Our products also performed very well in the bushfires with very few failures in fire affected areas compared to other products,” Andrew said.
“These combined benefits and our attractive unit cost are the main reasons why we believe our products will be adopted in the US and Canada, where we are now seeking acceptance from the regulators.
“Through Enterprise Connect our business is more efficient and able to handle our existing and planned growth. Mal and the Department really made it easy for us every step of the way.
“We are now looking at implementing other programs that were recommended in the business review,” he added.
