Moonshine Crew: Innovation at home
In a market where platitudes like cost cutting and synergy run amok with government bailouts and ongoing layoffs, true innovation is a breath of fresh air, or in the case of Kimball Office, a swill of home-grown moonshine.
At the furniture manufacturing division of Kimball International a team of machinists and engineers, known as the moonshine crew, have been working behind the scenes to develop smaller, product-specific machinery to increase efficiency, cut costs and improve safety.
"When you transition from traditional manufacturing to lean manufacturing you find a lot of equipment is not suitable for 'just in time production,'" said James Christopher, lean production office manager.
Initially developed in the production facilities of Toyota, the concept of "moonshining" stemmed from the Japanese "kaizen," or continuous improvement.
Christopher said that while kaizen is evolutionary and involves slow improvement over time, moonshining is revolutionary — a re-conceptualization of the entire manufacturing process.
In 2006, the moonshine crew generated its first production cell, Chaku-Chaku — Japanese for "load, load," known on the floor as the "smurf line." The machine design allows personnel to load parts, and leave the equipment unattended as they move around to other machines in the cell. Alternatively, every machine could be staffed to increase production flow to maximum levels.
In addition to the "smurf line" the moonshine crew has built two other production cells for the office furniture lines, and Christopher said he ultimately hopes to be able to replace all of the larger equipment with the product-specific machinery.
"What we're doing here is trying to build a competitive advantage with the skills of our people," Christopher said. "That's the kind of thing competitors can't duplicate."
Insurance questions arise with snow melt
With the snow levels receding, and cleanup efforts well under way, an important conversation is emerging from the piles of rubble caused by collapsed roofs — insurance.
Some businesses have been fortunate enough to already be relocated, and up and running. For others the task or rebuilding and arduous negotiations with claims adjusters are just beginning.
"When you think you have insurance, its not all that you think it is," said Bobbi Nelmar, owner of Coeur d'Alene Muffler that collapsed last January. "They were OK with us," she continued, adding that the business had every type of insurance required but that replacement values of her equipment had been deducted by 40 percent.
Michael Schmidt, attorney for Lukins & Annis, a law firm that represents property owners, warned that because of the numerous issues surrounding property owner's rights to insurance coverage, the language of the policy does not cover every eventuality.
Ultimately, policyholders are responsible for knowing what their policy covers.
Over at Harris Dean Insurance, owner Fred Harris said that there were policies available that wouldn't cover all losses.
"It's like everything else, if it's too good to be true, you better check it out."