With energy costs constantly rising during these tough economic times, the release of the new ISO 50001:2011 Standard for ‘Energy Management Systems’ will provide benefits for both large and small organizations.  The ISO 50001:2011 Standard provides a framework for organizations for better managing their energy use in an organized way through a management system similar to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.  It is estimated that the standard could have a positive impact on the world's energy use of up to 60%.

You cannot control the price of energy, but you can improve the way you manage your energy usage.  The ISO 50001 Standard looks like a good way to start or improve your present efforts to reduce your environmental footprint and its costs.  We have worked with many of the 19 Waste Water Treatment plants in Rhode Island over the past couple of years, along with Narragansett Bay Commission, URI and RIDEM to implement energy management systems to reduce their costs.  We adapted ISO 14001 for the task, but the new ISO 50001 Standard looks like a great starting point if you are just getting started.  Let us know what kind of efforts you have in place for reducing energy usage and costs.

In my years of implementing continuous improvement strategies the single most important factor of success has been a good steering team.  That is the team of leaders responsible for improving the system.  Many of you may think that this is common sense but none the less, the number of organizations that fail in their effort to sustain improvement is far greater than the ones that succeed.  This failure rate can be directly attributed to the steering team’s inability to stay focused and on track.

There are many reasons why this happens.  Some organizations use the argument of deteriorating business conditions or simply, “we don’t have the time to dedicate to this anymore”.  Other organizations put a “champion” in the organization with the thought that he or she will carry on the effort and do what they should be doing.  Some steering teams even think that their teams are under an automatic guidance system and will just progress on their own.  These types of arguments are all formulas for failure.   

A good steering team guides and steers continual improvement with a strategy that is in line with the organization’s goals and objectives.  The team meets on a regular schedule with structured agendas and action items.  It provides the time for core teams to meet and work on small and larger projects that lead to quality improvements, waste reductions, and process and safety improvements.  The steering team must review and have status reports given to them by the core teams and project teams. The Steering Team is the sounding board and decision maker for what gets done and what has to wait.  Steering teams are also responsible for the recognition of core teams and individuals by using a variety of ways to ensure good efforts are rewarded.  Lastly they should be monitoring the health of their system by having good metrics and audits in place that are clear and understood by all.   

Keeping the system of continual improvement in place is not easy.  Weather you are implementing a Lean or Six Sigma methodology or a combination of the two it takes dedication, hard work, and commitment.  Your people will follow your lead.  If a steering team places importance on the effort your employees will also.  The gains that can be achieved by staying the course far outweigh any of those arguments described above.

One last thought - Albert Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."  I think he was on to something.

We welcome your comments, stories or questions.

I think everyone will agree with me when I say that today’s businesses environment “is not your father’s business environment”.  And although there are still “basics” involved in every business type, even these “basics” are changing by the day.  Let’s take one simple practice – getting three bids for every job purchase – and generally, going with the lowest bid.  Pretty basic stuff.  Not any more!  Now there’s this new way of approaching the vendor/purchaser relationship called “Vested Outsourcing”.  

For anyone who is grappling with today’s business challenges, whether it’s “the basics”, or specifics related to today’s new technologies and innovation, the Fourth Annual Supply Chain Management Summit being held on August 25th at the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University is a “must do”.  And while I may be just a little biased, since I’m serving on the Summit planning committee, I have to say, it’s going to be an amazing event packed with current, topical, dynamic information significant to every person in business today.  But don’t take my word for it.  Check out the on-line brochure and register!  I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

I don’t know about you – but when I go to a conference I’m always wondering what will be the most significant “take away” – that thing that really drives it home that the trip was worthwhile.  When I attended the 2011 Annual MEP Conference in Orlando, FL in May, it came in the form of an explanation by Mr. Mark Troppe, Manager of Strategic Partnerships for the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), about the importance of our client surveys.

Each quarter a selection of RIMES’ clients are surveyed by an independent marketing firm to ascertain the benefits gained from their relationship with, and services received from, RIMES.  Well, we all know about surveys; there’s a survey for everything from what TV program people watch the most, to which toothpaste gets your teeth the whitest!  But sometimes those survey results can have a truly significant impact.  As Mark Troppe explained, the information MEP receives from the surveys conducted for its 52 centers provides the “big picture” of industry trends in the US.  This aggregate strategic development data is provided to key policy makers to assist them in determining where to target resources.  And what really hit home with me was that this information is important to generating funding for programs for manufacturers; for instance grants through the US Department of Commerce for innovation acceleration and other initiatives to help US manufacturers to be more competitive in the global economy.  Amazing what each little individual survey means when the “strength in numbers” principle is applied!

Companies decide to do facility changes for any number of reasons, from adding new equipment to incorporating a new business they’ve just purchased.  If yours is one of them, sharing some of my experience may help you.  When you start the process always remember to do the basics first.  Develop a current facility layout you can utilize for planning the future, and be sure to get accurate machine dimensions.  You can get yourself into trouble by just estimating your area or equipment sizes, only to find out too late your equipment won’t fit where you want it to.  As in any home project, always measure accurately to prevent future installation problems!

Challenges can also arise when working with equipment manufacturers and distributors.  Let’s say you’ve purchased a machine from a manufacturer or distributor and you want to have the utilities installed in your plant before it arrives.  You’ll need to obtain the actual machine dimensions, etc. from the manufacturer.  Typically this is pretty easy.  You can have the manufacturer give you the actual machine drawing CAD and you can then import that drawing into your new layout plan.  If you’ve added options to the equipment that changes its dimensions from the “standard” you’ll need to work with the manufacturer to develop accurate dimensions for the specialized design.  With these accurate measurements you can assure that your new layout will be correct and utilities can be properly placed for your new equipment when it arrives.

Actually getting the new equipment into your plant can be a challenge all its own!  Do you have an interesting installation experience you’d like to share?  Let’s hear from you, please leave it in a comment below!

One business owner told me: ‘I have been in this business for over twenty years and make a better product than my competition, but I can’t get the business if I don’t become certified.’

Piles of Paperwork? In the ‘old days’ (1990’s), quality management systems were over documented…with way too many procedures or work instructions.  We try to minimize and simplify documentation in the 21st Century.  Most of the time, many or even most of the requirements are already being performed within your organization.  If you were not doing them you would already be out of business…and, no you do not have to hire a person to take care of the documentation required.  Implementing ISO 9001 or other Quality Management Systems in a small company is not as scary or as burdensome as you might think.

Will it change the way I do business?  The simple answer is no…but…there may be some requirements that will have to be addressed in order for you to comply with the Standard.  However, you make the decision on how those requirements will be addressed in your organization and if you need to make process changes in the future.  

The ISO certification process is not something that should stand in the way of maintaining or growing your business. Make the Monster go away!  

“Amazing, awesome, humbling, impressive…”  Those are some of the words I’d use to describe my recent experience at the President’s State of the Union address in Washington, DC on January 25, 2011.  I attended the Address as the invited guest of Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.  Each legislator is issued one guest pass to the event.

Prior to the event, I had the opportunity to sit down, one-on-one, with the Senator at his Washington office.  The meeting was very gratifying; the Senator reinforced his understanding of and his support for manufacturing in Rhode Island.  A position paper recently published by Sen. Whitehouse clearly states his commitment to the sustenance and success of Rhode Island manufacturing, and for RIMES and the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership system.

The Washington visit was an incredible experience!

I attended the 5th Annual "First Tech Challenge" Robotics Competition at New England Institute of Technology (NEIT) this past Saturday, February 5th.  RIMES was one of the event sponsors. It was a GREAT day in which 29 teams of approximately 215 high school students in the state competed against each other. It was wonderful to see so many young people excited about a competition that centered around Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).  The event was also attended by RI Congressman Jim Langevin and RI Education Commissioner Deborah Gist.    

Providence Journal - RI Students Take Part in Robotics Competition
WPRI Eyewitness News (Channel 12) - Students Test Out Robots in Warwick

The students had to design, build, and program a robot that could compete on a small playing field by moving plastic batons into goals both autonomously and by remote control.  Another focus of the competition was teamwork.  Students had to partner with another robotics team to complete some of the tasks during the competition.

Most of the participants expressed interest in continuing their educational career goals in a STEM field as a result of what they learned during the competition.  With the skills gap facing the manufacturing sector, this proved to be a great way to introduce future job seekers to STEM fields.

To be an event sponsor or for information on next year’s competition please contact Erin Flynn, NEIT Manager of Admissions Outreach and Events, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Its a New Year and with it comes the new RIMES Blog.  I'd like to first thank you for stopping in and hope you continue to stop in at least once a month. We'll be putting up at least one new post or more and sending them out on our monthly newsletter.

The focus of our Blog is to talk about the current concerns facing our RI manufacturers and upcoming events.  With that I'd like to encourage you all to provide comments, feedback, or even what you'd like to hear about or discuss with other RI manufacturers.

When putting in a comment you'll be prompted to provide at least a name and email address.  The email address will not be displayed and only used to prevent spam.  

We look forward to hearing from you!