Agenda
- Monday October 18th
- Tuesday October 19th
- Wednesday October 20th
| 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm |
Welcome Reception |
| 7:30 am - 8:00 am | Registration & Continental Breakfast | |
| 8:00 am - 8:15 am |
Welcome Address Tom Esposito, Assembly Magazine |
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| 8:15 am - 9:15 am |
Lessons From A Six Sigma Master Black Belt Ruben Coronado, Director of Operational Excellence, Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. What’s the best way to implement a successful Lean/Six Sigma program in your company? Use real-world, proven practices that can be adapted to your specific situation. Ruben Coronado, director of operational excellence for Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., will discuss such practices in the context of the successful Vought Operating System. Vought manufactures large complex aerostructure assemblies on a turnkey basis for such companies as Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin. Coronado is a Lean/Six Sigma master black belt who will offer essential lessons and insights that any manufacturer can benefit from. |
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| 9:15 am - 10:00 am |
Reducing Cost and Weight While Maintaining Out-of-this-World Quality Timothy Vaughn, Chief of Metals Engineering Div., NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center Many manufacturing engineers have to worry about cutting costs and slashing weight. Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have to do all that while addressing intense safety and complexity issues, not to mention gravity. The organization is responsible for building a wide variety of space hardware. The engineers are currently developing the equipment, assembly lines and processes for manufacturing the Ares launch vehicle, which will propel the next era of U.S. manned space exploration. When Ares lifts astronauts into space carrying the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander, it will be smaller, lighter and more cost-effective than the rockets used during the famous Saturn program of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Timothy Vaughn, chief of the Metals Engineering Division of the Materials and Processes Laboratory at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, will explain the daily challenges that he and his colleagues face in cutting manufacturing costs and reducing weight, while ensuring stringent quality and safety standards. He will share lessons learned in rocket assembly, in addition to tips and insights that can be applied to the production of refrigerators, radiators, respirators, razors and other down-to-earth products. |
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| 10:00 am - 10:30 am | Morning Networking Break | |
| 10:30 am - 11:15 am | In-House Equipment Builds Better Cars Cory Hauberg, Honda Engineering North America Sometimes, building production equipment in-house makes sense for manufacturers. Advantages include cost savings and a chance to gain a competitive edge. Honda Motor Co. believes in the advantages of having staff and expertise to tackle in-house projects. The automaker invests in a dedicated global team of engineers who develop new model tooling and equipment, solve various production problems, and improve process efficiency and reliability. At its state-of-the-art, fully integrated Lincoln, AL, plant, which produces a wide variety of popular vehicles, such as the Accord sedan, the Odyssey minivan, the Pilot SUV and the Ridgeline pickup, Honda maintains a branch office and a 10,000 sq. ft. facility that houses design and manufacturing engineers and technicians. The Alabama Division of Honda Engineering |
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| 11:15 pm - 12:00 pm | Shifting Gears: How We Cashed in on the Emerging Green Economy John Holcomb, General Manager, MasTech Wind Not that long ago, MasTech Manufacturing was riding high. A supplier of conveyors, welding cells and other equipment for the automotive industry, the company had won some major contracts. But then the automotive industry hit the skids. MasTech’s workforce went from 50 people to just three. If the company were to survive, it would have to diversify. That’s when MasTech got into the windmill business. Since then, the company has been assembling 100 turbines per month—a number that could increase to 1,000 per month within a few years. In this inspiring presentation, you’ll learn how the company did it. You’ll find out how the company’s determination to source parts locally has paid big dividends throughout Michigan. And, you’ll discover how your company can follow suit. |
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| 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm | Luncheon | |
| 1:15 pm - 2:00 pm | Developing World-Class Talent in Your Business Ernest E. Helms, Volunteer Executive, Employ Florida Banner Manufacturing Center of Excellence Eric Roe, Ph.D., Director, Employ Florida Banner Manufacturing Center of Excellence As American manufacturers face more global competition, hiring the best people and training them up is crucial for survival. Doing this involves the challenge not only of finding workers with the core knowledge and skills required for modern manufacturing—but also knowing where to look. In this session, Ernest E. Helms and Eric Roe, Ph.D., of the Employ Florida Banner Manufacturing Center of Excellence will explain how the center has helped Florida’s manufacturers find world-class workers since 2005. Learn about the center’s various programs, such as skills certification, apprenticeships and incumbent worker training, and how they can be adapted to your specific labor needs. |
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| 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm | How We Radically Reduce Warranty Costs Mike Shipulski, Director of Engineering, Hypertherm Inc. Warranty cost can make or break your brand. And as a metric, it’s a great surrogate for what your customers are experiencing. This session will describe two methods that have reduced warranty costs by 75 percent over a five-year period at Hypertherm Inc., a leading manufacturer of plasma cutting equipment. Hypertherm assembles its products in New Hampshire and ships all over the world. |
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| 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm | Surviving Cap & Trade: What's my Carbon Footprint and How Do I Measure It? Heike Lueger, Ph.D., Chief Environmental Scientist, Carbon Solutions America Manufacturers are increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint as part of corporate sustainability initiatives. However, if “cap & trade” legislation currently before Congress passes, every manufacturer will have to be concerned about it. But what exactly is a carbon footprint and how is it measured? More importantly, once manufacturers know their carbon footprint, how can they reduce it? In this timely presentation, Heike Lueger, Ph.D., chief environmental scientist for consulting firm Carbon Solutions America, will bring you up to speed. An internationally known researcher who was previously with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Lueger will tell you what you need to know now about your carbon footprint, and how to prepare for the future. |
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| 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm | Afternoon Networking Break | |
| 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm | Green Begins at Home: Ten Ways to Lower Energy Costs at Your Assembly Plant Marty Sorrentino, Senior Engineer, Progress Energy, Florida, Commercial, Industrial and Governmental (CIG) In today’s tough economy, manufacturing engineers need to find the most common energy-wasters in their factories—whether individual assembly machines or entire assembly lines&mdashand make them more efficient. Marty Sorrentino, senior engineer for Progress Energy, Florida, will discuss some easy things that engineers can do immediately to lower their energy bills. Learn how assembly equipment choices can impact your long-term energy consumption, and find out whether alternative energy systems, such as rooftop solar panels, can make a dent in your factory's energy bill. |
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| 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm | East Meets West: How to Do Business With Asian Automakers in the U.S. Galen Cox, Automotive Advisor, Japan External Trade Organization It need hardly be said that today’s economy is truly global. Japanese car makers Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi all have U.S. assembly plants and so, too, do their South Korean rivals Kia and Hyundai. What’s more, they’ve brought many of their suppliers with them. This phenomenon hasn’t been a one-way street, either. Many U.S. manufacturers are successfully establishing footholds in Japan. That’s not to say that setting up shop in Japan or becoming a supplier to a Japanese transplant is easy. How can American manufacturers best do business with Japanese companies that have located in the United States? How can U.S. manufacturers successfully locate offices in Japan? This session will teach you what you need to know. |
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| 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm | Cocktail Reception |
| 7:30 am - 8:00 am | Registration & Continental Breakfast |
| 8:00 am - 9:00 am |
You Can Automate That: Perspectives on Justifying and Applying Automation Milton Guerry, President, Schunk, Inc. Glenn Nausley, Vice President and General Manager, Promess Inc. Tom Rougeux, Sales Manager, Design Tool Inc. Chuck Rupprecht, Executive Vice President, BalTec Corp. Automation promises to lower labor costs, increase throughput and improve quality. So why don’t assemblers take full advantage of every opportunity to automate? In this lively panel discussion, you’ll learn strategies for automating all or part your assembly line from the best of the best in the business. Find out how to identify which processes are ideal for automation and which ones are better left alone. Understand how to justify investment in assembly technology and how to measure the impact of that investment. You’ll learn how best to work with suppliers of assembly technology, and you’ll pick up some tricks of the trade in designing your assemblies for automation. |
| 9:00 am - 9:45 am |
Are Your Product Designs Costing You Money? Phil Alvaro, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Harris Corp., RF Communications Div.
In this presentation, Phil Alvaro will discuss how Harris Corp. brings new products to market, from concept to shipping approval. He will focus on milestones of the product realization process, as well as activities that happen along the way. Resources and general examples will also be provided. Learn how to augment the design process through data-driven decision making. For Harris, this involves reducing sources of variation and mitigating risk. Reducing variation improves quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. Mitigating risk reduces and eliminates defects and serves as a baseline for continuous improvement. |
| 9:45 am - 10:15 am | Morning Networking Break |
| 10:15 am - 11:00 am | Lean Manufacturing: Lessons from the Field Ray Bard, Project Manager, Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
For years, the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership has assisted manufacturers—regardless of their size and the type of products they make—on their journey to become lean. In this presentation, Joe Trangata shares the success stories of various companies, based on his field experience. You’ll learn about the common pitfalls these companies experienced…and how they overcame them, implemented their lean programs and became more competitive and profitable. |
| 11:00 am - 11:45 am | Fostering Innovation: How You Can Invent the Next Big Thing Robert Brands, President, Brands & Co. LLC Have you ever used instant-foaming hand soap? It’s a simple product, and yet that one innovation delivered double-digit profit growth for its developer, Airspray. By fostering a culture and process of innovation, Airspray has been able to launch one to four new products each year. Innovation is the lifeblood of any company. Think of the dramatic growth of companies like Apple and Research in Motion, the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry. Innovation does more than generate profits. It motivates your workforce, creates excitement, and builds consumer desire to do business with the innovator. In this session, presented by the man who led Airspray’s development process, you’ll learn how to foster innovation at your company. The author of Robert’s Rules of Innovation, Brands will show you how to keep a steady stream of new products in the pipeline.
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| 11:45 am - 12:00 pm | Concluding Remarks Tom Esposito, Assembly Magazine |
| 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Plant Tour - Catalina Yachts Blending traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, Catalina Yachts has been designing and assembling sailboats since 1970. The company’s products range from 8-foot day-sailors to 47-foot oceangoing vessels. In this tour, you’ll discover how engineers use CAD software to optimize hull shapes for stability and speed. You’ll see how hulls are built up from layers of fiberglass and how doors, bulkheads and other wooden parts are made. You’ll learn how the company applies a variety of adhesives and fasteners, and you’ll find out how Catalina copes with high-mix, low-volume production. Whether you assemble large products in small quantities or small products in large quantities, you won’t want to miss this fascinating plant tour! Click Here to Learn More. |
