Tulsa Tube Bending Earns Award of Excellence
Dr. Roy Peters, President of the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence
presents the Award of Excellence, the state's top manufacturing award to the
people of Tulsa Tube Bending.
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Tulsa Tube Bending
Production Boosted with 'umbrella effort'
Tulsa Tube Bending is a pioneer and a leader.
More than forty years ago they pioneered the use of hydraulic bending machines.
Today they are the industry leader-the largest tube and pipe bending operation
in the country.
But it's not easy being the best.
"To grow in market share in this tough manufacturing environment we must
continue to drive down our cycle times and look for ways to reduce our costs,"
said Brad Frank, the second-generation owner and president. "A couple of years
ago, we started looking for a way to empower our employees and improve the
overall corporate environment at Tulsa Tube Bending."
That's when Frank turned to The Alliance and Manufacturing Extension Agent JC
Stafford. Discussions centered on Lean Enterprise, a comprehensive way of
eliminating waste and creating flow throughout the entire company.
Virtually all of the products at Tulsa Tube Bending are custom, made-to-order.
The company serves a diverse list of buyers with pieces varying from
traditional petroleum applications to modern architectural designs. Capable of
bending pipe in sizes ranging from 1 inch to 28 inches in diameter puts the
company on a very short worldwide list of suppliers with such ability.
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Traditional shop floor control of work produced long lead times, high costs,
large inventories, and quality problems. The skill and experience levels of the
employees were high, however, and lent themselves to team formation,
participatory decision making, and Lean Enterprise.
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"We were looking for a company-wide initiative-an umbrella effort," Frank said.
"Lean manufacturing was the best tool to help us achieve this goal...The
improvement in culture has improved our overall productivity."
Initially, Frank and other managers attended a Lean introductory course
coordinated by The Alliance and Tulsa Technology Center. The overview was
administered by Industrial Solutions, a local consulting firm, and it convinced
Tulsa Tube Bending that Lean could address quality, set-up, delivery times,
bloated inventories, and the other chronic impediments.
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Stafford helped secure funds through an Existing Industry Grant to offset the
expense of several training courses and implementation programs.
Lean methods rely heavily on continuous improvement through employee
participation, ideas, and decision-making. The first priority for The Alliance
and Industrial Solutions was to train a core group through hands-on Lean 101
workshops. About 35 key employees attended the classes. Industrial Solutions
then facilitated a Value Stream Mapping workshop at the plant for about 15
employees. Breaking the group into three teams, the group mapped the flow and
process details of three separate production areas. In the process of teaching
mapping techniques, management also gained great insight into the highest
priority targets for initial rapid improvement team events-Kaizen Blitzes-which
followed.
The first Kaizen Blitzes focused on two primary production areas: rotary
benders and coil benders. Although huge amounts of waste were obvious from the
Value Stream maps, these projects found most of the non-value-added activity
centered on setup and general job readiness. These activities consumed at least
half of all employees' time. Primary efforts were placed on improving the
information and work flows using Lean tools like 5S Workplace organization and
Point-of-Use storage. After implementation of these tools, total job-change
time was reduced by more than half. Because a large percentage of Tulsa Tube
Bending's machine time is spent in setup, the overall capacity was increased by
more than 25 percent.
The next step was unique for a company in the early stages of a Lean
transformation. After assessing the employee pool, it was determined most of
the future conversions could be performed using in-house leadership. Working
with Industrial Solutions, a five-day facilitator training seminar equipped a
group of about 15 shop and support personnel to initiate future actions, build
teams, and manage activities of Kaizen Blitzes.
Employees have completed several more Kaizen Blitzes in purchasing, sales,
receiving, and other shop areas. "It's an evolutionary process," Frank said,
"like a spiral staircase that loops around the business. The first time through
you get the low-hanging fruit. The second time around it's tougher, but you
continue to improve the process."
Other big steps-like an employee "gain-sharing" program-helped initiate the
comprehensive shift in Tulsa Tube Bending's corporate culture, Frank added.
"Our gain-sharing program is tied to our improvement goals," he said. "Part of
what we learned through Lean Enterprise was the importance of open
communication and group decision-making.The employees always know what the
score is. Everything is out front. There are no hidden management agendas." And
the improvements transcend the company itself, making a real difference in the
lives of workers. "We have people going back to school; expanding their
horizons; bettering themselves in all areas, not just things directly affecting
our operations.They are looking at life through different eyes. They are better
for having worked at Tulsa Tube Bending and that makes me proud."
One striking result was the reduction in employee turnover. That rate of change
was reduced from 175 percent to 17 percent last year. "That's the kind of thing
that directly affects our bottom line. It costs our company anywhere from
$40,000 to $50,000 when there is a personnel turnover."
What might be most impressive is the timing of all this change.
"With the help of The Alliance we are doing great for any economic cycle,"
Frank concluded. "We're growing in market share as the market shrinks. We've
come through these efforts much stronger-stronger than we've ever been."
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A few of the improvements at Tulsa Tube Bending.
Faster delivery times. The
98.6 percent on-time rate
is the industry's best.
Lead times reduced from a month to a few days.
A 22 percent reduction in inventory.
Workers are involved and know the importance of their work to the success of
the company.
Quality is up and rework
is down.
An elimination of waste resulting in cost reductions of 15 to 30 percent.
A 20 percent increase in business due to the inability of competition to match
TTB production.
Sales per employee hour worked are the best in company history.
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It's Everywhere.
You never know where Tulsa Tube Bending pipe is going to show up. It's used all
over the world:
NFL goalposts
Pipe coil heaters along the Alaskan pipeline
The Mexico City train station
Fertilizer coils in Chile
The largest polypropylene plant in the United States
Beach houses along the ocean
Sears headquarters in Chicago
California highway signs
Canadian lumber plants
Signs along the road to Mecca
Sports car roll bars
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