You can tell a lot about a shop by what you don’t see…
I had the privilege to attend Technology Days at Paul Horn GmbH in Tubingen, Germany.
Horn USA is a PMPA Technical Member.
While we know this company as a supplier of tools to the precision machining industry, what many of us did not know is that over half of their revenues are for “specials-” custom engineered tools not carried in their general catalog.
So with over half their production classified as “specials” their shop faces many of the same demands as we do in our make to order shops.
Here are some views I saw in my 10 hours of shop touring; what don’t you see here that you see in your shops?
(Click on the photos to see full size.)
OK, I’ll give you a more literal view.
What do you not see here, that you see in your own shop?
Tools as Jewels…
In my extensive time on the shop floor I didn’t see any clutter, rags, materials or spills on the floor, dunnage, used inserts.
The difference between what we see in our shops and what we don’t see in this make to order shop is our opportunity to improve.
I saw best practices- at work!
Thanks to the team at Paul Horn GmbH for sharing a glimpse of what best practice in custom manufacturing can look like.