Leadpoint Business Services’ Post

Thinking about a management role in manufacturing, warehousing, or distribution? This blog outlines the steps, from entry-level to expert! Learn how to gain experience, advance to Team Lead & secure your dream Management position. Click to read and see if Light Industrial Management is your perfect fit!

🚀 Spotlight on Brandon, Area Lead Supervisor. As part of our "Get to Know Sur-Seal" series, we're proud to feature Brandon Banks, our Area Lead Supervisor over Quick Pack and Assembly Departments. His dedication to overcoming challenges is what helps set Sur-Seal apart. 🎥 Discover Brandon's Story: https://hubs.ly/Q02p9nRD0 Brandon gives us an insider’s view of the Sur-Seal culture: "Here at Sur-Seal, the difference is in the effort that we go through to meet the customer’s needs. When it comes to challenges like an expedited request or an understaffed department, we really pull together and become very resourceful to make sure that the product gets out the door.” It's this "whatever it takes" attitude that exemplifies the spirit of our team. Our commitment to delivering for our customers is matched by our support for one another, ensuring that no obstacle is too great. 🤝💪📦 At Sur-Seal, every challenge is an opportunity to excel, and every team member like Brandon plays a crucial role in transforming these opportunities into successes. That’s the Sur-Seal Difference! #GetToKnowSurSeal #Teamwork #Innovation #CompanyCulture #SurSeal #EmployeeSpotlight #Manufacturing #MaterialsExperts

Being open with your people and sharing what is going on will gain you the trust of your employees. Most organizations rarely tell their employees about the status of sales, how the team is doing with safety, quality initiatives etc. So, when they hear “rumors” and then they start to speculate... "How well is the organization doing? How profitable are we? Are we doing well in the customer’s eyes?" When we share information, it sends the message that our people matter, and we trust them, in turn, they will trust you.

Over my career in continuous improvement and problem-solving within the manufacturing industry, I’ve discovered that all challenges—no matter their scale—can be categorized into three types of problems: Flow, Disruption, and Variation. 1. Flow Issues: These often manifest as time or production lost to non-value-adding operations, such as unnecessary movement or excessive process steps. 2. Disruptions: These are sudden, yet not unpredictable, stops in production that many of us encounter unexpectedly. 3. Variation: This problem arises from a lack of standardized processes, with different approaches to the same tasks. Without a unified starting point, implementing continuous improvement is consistently challenging. In my upcoming posts, I’ll delve deeper into each category, discussing strategies to effectively address and resolve these issues. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions!

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿? One of the toughest questions for a COO, President, VP or Divisional Head is, when should you fire your plant manager? It’s a crisis. They seem like the general on the ground. As a leader, it's crucial to assess whether the person at the helm is part of the solution or part of the problem. When a fire breaks out, do you call a firefighter or a pyromaniac? In this sense, has the plant manager contributed to the crisis? The key to deciding whether to retain or fire a plant manager lies in their ability to recover from the crisis. Give them 4 months. If results improve, increase the runway to 6 months. If, during this period, the plant manager demonstrates the ability to navigate and mitigate the crisis effectively, it might be wise to continue with their leadership. However, if the crisis persists beyond this critical period, and the situation remains unsolved, it’s time for a change in leadership. *** 3500+ manufacturing executives are already subscribed to the ‘On Plan, On Target’ newsletter. What’s inside? Every week, I reveal 1 proven strategy to increase your operating revenue by up to 15% in less than 60 days. Your blindspots - the ones that come out of nowhere and suddenly your plant is showing signs of real distress - let’s catch them before they catch us. Past editions include, 1. Clearing Massive Order Backlogs in 90 Days for an Automotive Parts Manufacturer 2. A New Disruptive Approach to Plant Performance Reviews: Trend, Granularity & Variability™ 3. 11 Supply Chain Trends That Can Make or Break Operating Revenue. 4. Closing a 40% Gap in Operating Revenue for a Defense Equipment Manufacturer 5. 5 Early Warning Signs for Decision-Makers to Prevent Plant Underperformance Would you like to subscribe? Click on ‘View My Blog’ right below my name at the start of this post I’m Frederic, the CEO of B2G Consulting. We’ll help you hit operating revenue targets, even in a crisis - turning around your manufacturing performance in 90 days or less. We've led over +120 successful operating revenue turnarounds for clients including Johnson Controls, Thales, Bosch and Schindler.

Our Advanced Manufacturing & Mission Critical team has incredible momentum this year, and we're not slowing down. 220% of Team Target / 622% Personal Target for the month (and counting...) This week I've spoken with several companies who mentioned that they have had negative experiences with head-hunters. The common theme? They weren't niche enough. Here's a list of our recent placements on Advanced Manufacturing facilities and Mission Critical projects. If you're looking for success - Use a specialist with a proven track record. #advancedmanufacturing #missioncritical

Growing up, my father would tell me that anything worth doing is worth doing right. That is a great lesson about always putting your best effort forward. While on site working with a client, I saw a maintenance manager with a John Wooden quote on the wall. “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over.” In our rush rush world it can feel like our only option is to hurry to get things done, but is this really the right approach? Rework is very costly and from a maintenance standpoint point it can be dangerous. Not only do you have additional parts, risk of failure, but you have spent twice as much time to do the job properly. How can we prevent rework? Plan, document, and do the work properly the first time. Can you identify the parts needed? Can you have the needed parts ready when the job is scheduled to be done? Can you have an equipment specific job plan that details all the necessary steps, including lock out tag out steps? Can you schedule someone that has the skills to complete the job? All of these will help you team get the job done correctly the first time. #leadership #achievemore #bestpractices

Dr. W. Edwards Deming's management points are as important today as they were when he wrote them in 1986: 1. Avoid mass inspections by designing quality into your product. 2. Stop awarding business merely on price and instead work on lowering total expenses by selecting suppliers based on quality and trust over time. 3. Always strive to improve production and service. 4. Assist people, machines, and devices in performing better. 5. Remove fear from the workplace so that everyone can work productively for the organization. 6. Break down departmental barriers so that research, design, sales, and production workers can work together to anticipate difficulties better. 7. Poor quality and low productivity cannot be solved with zero-defect slogans and targets since the problem is in the system, not the workers. 8. Remove the restrictions that rob hourly workers of their right to pride in their jobs by focusing on quality rather than quantity. 9. By deleting objective-based merit assessments, you can remove the hurdles that deny managers and engineers the right to be proud of their work. #tps #management #deming

In manufacturing, two critical rates determine success: the rate of production, which ensures quality products meet customer demand, and the rate of improvement, which drives long-term growth and excellence. While increased sales or improved quality indicate progress, identifying leading indicators of improvement is key to staying ahead. Consider these questions: Do you actively solicit feedback from your employees on potential improvements? Is there a regularly used and acted upon suggestion box for employees? Are the best improvement ideas tracked to completion? Are the individuals and teams implementing these improvements formally and informally acknowledged? Finally, is this all structured into a cohesive system? Fostering a culture of continuous improvement is not just about metrics but about creating an environment where every team member feels valued and empowered to contribute to ongoing success.