Written by Mike Waight. IMEC Regional Manager 

Over the years, operating and management strategies have taken on new names, new packaging and even become their own “fads” within industries.  Who can forget Quality Circles in the late 70’s or TQM in the 1980’s?   Today, there’s TPM, TPS, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Training Within Industry (TWI), and Value engineering.  There’s ISO, TS, QS, AS 9100.  There’s SPC, PPAP, APQP, fishbones, paretos, scatters, and many hundreds more.

Regardless of what you call them or what buzz words are attached, most companies want to deliver products of impeccable quality, on time, at costs that will generate the highest profit margins.  If the pursuit of these goals is viewed as a short-term strategy, with a defined life span, it doesn’t fit the most appropriate and impactful name of all:  Continuous improvement.

Some call it game playing.  Others may refer to it as a simulation.  No matter what the name, the ability to test and validate proposed changes to processes before the first machine is moved can be a significant time and cost-saver.

An IMEC client recently asked us help them do just that on processes they were developing for a new product line.  We deployed the “Monte Carlo” method, which predicts potential outcomes within a complex processes by running statistical models off of randomized inputs.  Odds makers use the technique to model sporting events and predict which team will be favored to win a certain percentage of the time.  The term “Monte Carlo” was the code name given by scientists who developed a computational method for determining the performance of the atomic bomb.

Alliance will enable small and mid-sized companies to create jobs and improve their global competitiveness

Illinois’ premiere full service manufacturing association is combining resources with the state’s manufacturing improvement experts to provide Chicago land companies with new tools, capabilities and services to increase productivity and grow.

Under a new alliance, members of the Tooling and Manufacturing Association (TMA) will have rapid access to implementation-training and consulting services provided by the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC). Part of a nationwide network of federally-funded non-profit organizations, IMEC was recently awarded a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program to serve the Chicago land market.   IMEC’s expansion to the region makes it Illinois’ exclusive provider of quality, efficiency, cost reduction, and growth services under the MEP umbrella.