Always Made in America – Quality Digest

A couple of recent events have given me an opportunity to showcase a great American manufacturer.

First, the events:

1. The 2014 Massachusetts Advance Manufacturing Summit, held April 29, 2014, at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, featured keynote speaker Harry Moser, a national champion for reshoring manufacturing. Through his organization, The Reshoring Initiative, Moser has highlighted the fallacies of “low cost” offshore production and has created a new momentum to bring manufacturing back to the United States.

2. During May 5–6, 2014, as part of the Shingo Institute’s annual Shingo Conference, GBMP’s Shingo-certified instructors taught the Institute’s Discover Excellence course at Whirlpool’s Findlay Operations in Findlay, Ohio.

And that brings me to the great American manufacturer, one that will not “reshore” because, despite all the offshoring frenzy of the last two decades, the company kept jobs here in the United States. Whirlpool has always been “Made in the USA.” I asked my friend, Kevin Spradlin, the assembly leader at Findlay, to share their story. I hope you’ll find it as inspiring as I have:

Always Made in America

It’s interesting to hear about companies proclaiming how they’re bringing jobs back to America. They often refer to it as “reshoring,” “in-sourcing,” etc. The compelling part about Whirlpool’s story is that we have always been committed to U.S.-based manufacturing. Two decades ago as companies left our shores to follow “cheap” labor, we kept most of our manufacturing in the United States. One has to ask, “How did you compete when all of your competitors left?” The answer is simple, but the journey has been hard. We had to develop a mindset of continuous improvement.

In the beginning, a small group of individuals completed a rigorous training called “Operational Excellence”—Whirlpool’s version of Six Sigma. At that point in time, projects were bountiful and gains were huge. Several years of training, developing Black Belts and Master belts through hands-on, tacit learning under the tutelage of a coach, yielded tremendous results in our products and our profits. But top leadership was looking for more.

Our lean transformation

At the turn of this century, a core group of individuals began to study The Machine That Changed the World (Free Press, 2007 reprint) about Toyota’s lean production system, written by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos. During our initial lean journey, we thought of lean as a set of tools; much like how anybody on the outside looking in thought of operational expenditure (or OPEX, as we call it). However, after five to six years of starts, stops, and learning more, we began to understand this is all about people! Further, if people at all levels understand what a culture of continuous improvement is all about, a culture can truly begin to change.

My own journey started well before my Whirlpool days when I was working for Delphi Automotive Systems and had the chance to work with John Shook’s TWI group. My first teacher was a man named Jim Parcus. Jim had worked at the Georgetown Toyota facility as a team member, team leader, and area manager. He was introducing us to lean concepts and tools, and, although I didn’t realize it at the time, lean behaviors. I brought that education with me to Whirlpool, but didn’t truly understand kaizen—and what behaviors it took to support kaizen and problem-solving—until I had the chance to work with the YOMO consulting group at the Marion Division from 2007–2010. During that time, I had the privilege to work with many teachers, but our main teacher was Hajime Ohba.

Mr. Ohba was the former leader of the TSSC (Toyota Production System Support Center). He brought in a team to teach us how to do a lean transformation on the Marion Division of Whirlpool. Our “target” was to dramatically reduce the cost of our front-load dryer by $50. We were also taught how to change our human behaviors and how we could coach people in the continuous improvement way of thinking. 

Mr. Ohba had a way of asking great questions that made a person really think, and I was always amazed by his humility. He often said that “nobody is an expert.” I interpreted that to mean that we are all always learning. The most important thing I learned about lean is that it provides a vehicle to do greater things by unlocking the potential of people. Lean, kaizen, continuous improvement—whatever you call it—is the competitive advantage as long as it is used to nurture and grow your folks.

Fidlay Operations today

So fast forward to 2014 in humble Findlay, Ohio, and what you find is the world’s largest dishwasher plant. We have 2,200 employees and are the largest employer in Hancock County. We are part of Whirlpool’s overall Ohio presence of five plants employing more than 10,000 people. Clyde, Ohio, is home to the world’s largest washing machine plant and Marion, Ohio, has the world’s largest clothes dryer plant. Ottawa, Ohio houses the upright freezer facility, and last but not least, Greenville, Ohio is home to the legendary Kitchen Aid stand mixer plant. We just announced a $40M expansion to the Greenville plant that will add 400 jobs to the local economy. Overall, Whirlpool employs 22,000 employees in North America—more than all of our major competitors combined. This did not happen by accident. It was fueled by a commitment to continuous improvement at all levels. Whirlpool’s passion for American manufacturing has never waivered.

Whirlpool proves its deep commitment to U.S. communities by providing good-paying jobs and supporting community service. We support Habitat for Humanity, Cook for the Cure, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and our local United Way agencies. As a matter of fact, Findlay Operations has built several Habitat homes in the community—we were proud to be the first plant to build a Habitat Home in seven days! All of the credit goes to our greatest resource: our people. Nearly half of our employees have worked at the Findlay operation for more than 20 years; and it’s not “just” a job. All of these folks live locally, shop locally, pay taxes, tithe at church. Our plant is the “lifeblood” of the community. We believe everyone working here is part of something bigger than ourselves. We represent something far greater than just building dishwashers; we believe we are creating a legacy that will endure for generations to come.

Finally, Whirlpool’s Findlay operations are on a journey to become a continuous improvement organization. We want to be the “undisputed choice” when someone goes to buy a dishwasher. We believe in putting the customer first, the dedication of our people, and staying committed to continuous improvement wherever the work is done. We will accomplish this using the following nine principles:
1. Respect for the capabilities of all people
2. Common objectives
3. Business results driven through an external customer focus
4. All decisions are principal-based, not rule-based
5. Personal development
6. Teamwork
7. Continuously improving
8. Decision making at the lowest level as we problem solve
9. Productive use of differences
 

Thanks, Bruce, for the chance to tell our story—the story of a company invested in American manufacturing.

Warm regards,
Kevin Spradlin
Stainless Steel Assembly Leader
Whirlpool Findlay Operations in Findlay, Ohio,  USA