Eaton Corporation, Getting a grip

Eaton Corporation, Getting a grip

Manufacturing in Action, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : August 2005

Manufacturing Manager Alan Anderson helps writer Mali Schantz-Feld get a handle on manufacturing methods at Eaton Corporation’s Golf Grip division

For the past 36 years the vast majority of new or replacement grips on golf clubs have been manufactured at the Golf Pride plant in Laurinburg, NC. Golf Pride boasts 80 to 90 percent usage at virtually every level of major professional and amateur competition, with 23 of the top 25 PGA golfers in the world keeping their hands firmly wrapped around the product.

While some people just keep their eye on the ball, others devise new ways to improve their game. Thomas L. Fawick, inventor of the pneumatic clutch and brake, and also an avid golfer, conjectured that rubber golf grips would provide a more secure and durable gripping surface than the traditional leather, as well as being lighter, absorbing shock more effectively and providing a more positive, high traction gripping surface. He ventured to Akron, “the Rubber Capital of the World,” and entered into a manufacturing agreement with Westgate Rubber Company, which later became the Fawick Flexi-Grip Company. In 1968, Eaton purchased Fawick’s clutch and brake business and the golf division. Eaton, a diversified industrial manufacturer/vehicle components supplier with 2004 sales reaching $9.8 billion and a total of 56,000 employees, includes four distinct segments: Fluid Power, Electrical, Automotive, and Truck.

Early models were molded directly onto the club shaft, causing many problems. Logistics was costly, and molding the grips at remote locations limited production and created difficulties in servicing and quality control. Over time, the grip continued to improve, evolving from a molded-on product to a “slip-on grip,” increasing convenience for golf club manufacturers as well as lead-time for the factory.

Now, material development and rubber compounding abound at the grip design, testing, and manufacturing facility. Unable to support full-time six sigma due to the facility’s size, Eaton introduced Variation Reduction Kaizen (VRK) that uses six sigma tools to identify an issue and find a solution within a five-day period. “We focus on a certain problem area, attack it, and eliminate it,” says Alan Anderson, manufacturing manager, who points out that the firm has achieved a 34-percent increase in employee engagement, “actively getting employees on the floor involved in decisions.” He notes: “Our average worker here has 20 years of employment with us. They know what’s important. If we see a problem, we form a team and tackle it.” Starting in 1999, black belt or green belt status has been conferred upon several employees following six sigma training.

“Our lean manufacturing journey began in November, 2000,” with the inception of the Eaton Lean System (ELS), recalls Anderson, who has been with the company for a decade. Since then, eight people within the plant have earned LEAN certification from the University of Michigan College of Engineering. “Prior to 2000 we were a batch-oriented plant,” he describes, with lead times between 50 and 60 days. “Between 2001 and 2003, a lot of transformation took place in the plant,” as a result of the implementation of the first value-stream map. Internal supply departments were set up in a visual kanban system. “The operators are empowered to fill their empty buggies at a level that they feel is satisfactory for JIT delivery,” he says. Major customer work cells were created, and cycle times were reduced. A pull system was created to obtain natural and synthetic rubber from the supplier. Inventory was pared down. “We keep less than one and a half days of raw materials in the plant,” says Anderson.

Shifts were also modified. Anderson found “sub assembly was running every shift whether we needed them or not,” so internal supply departments cut back to one shift. Also, the factory layout was modified so that two operators could run three machines simultaneously. “We moved equipment, set up standardized work, and 5S and TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) practices were put in operation in a position where they could be successful,” explains Anderson. 5S prescribes principles of maintaining an effective, efficient workspace. The 5S’s are: sort; set-in-order; shine (regarding cleanliness); standardize, and sustain.

Employees’ suggestions regarding innovative machinery have improved production. In 2003, Laurinburg’s laboratory purchased the Rubber Process Analyzer (RPA 2000) that represents the latest in Rheological test technology in the rubber industry to date. This equipment purchase resulted from a Six Sigma Black Belt Project that was successful in reducing incoming variation of material quality to the mixing process. In addition, an on-site lab boasts “211 years of rubber and chemical quality expertise,” according to Anderson. “We can get prototypes to market in nine days when the best that our competition can do is 30 days.”

In February 2004, implementation of the second value-stream map resulted in the establishment of a pull system for a customer who faxes the pull order and receives the product seven days later. Golf Pride also brought a previously outsourced component (that Anderson preferred not to specify for competitive reasons) in-house to help with lead-time and inventory reduction. Raw materials were also brought in-house on a consignment basis to increase flexibility and reduce inventory