At Dane Manufacturing, we are committed to delivering exceptional quality, reliability, and value to our customers. That is why we are excited to welcome Randy Hilgart as our new Vice President of Quality and Continuous Improvement. With expertise in engineering, production and quality systems, Randy will lead initiatives that enhance operational efficiency and expand our capacity – ensuring faster delivery times, consistent product excellence and an even greater trust in every product we deliver.
We took a moment to talk to Randy to get a better understanding of his background, goals and how his vision for quality processes and continuous improvement will help shape Dane’s future.
Dane: First off, tell me a little about your background and what led you to Dane Manufacturing.
RH: I have a broad background in product development and manufacturing engineering. I’ve worked across the automotive, defense, commercial, industrial and consumer products sectors, and have worked in facilities equipped with fabrication and paint line operations similar to Dane’s. Over the years, I have grown into managing manufacturing engineering and more recently into quality management. It has been a great journey, and I’ve had the privilege of leading ground-up rebuilding initiatives, developing quality management systems and refining numerous processes. I love looking at systems and processes to make them more efficient and effective in engineering and production.
Dane: With your new position as VP of Quality and Continuous Improvement, what are you learning and seeing at Dane already?
RH: There are a lot of good people here who work hard and are passionate about Dane. The company has enormous momentum and recently made its 9th Fab 40 list. People here are excited to take this company to the next level and Dane’s business has the foundation for extreme growth.
Dane: What is QRM, how do you see it being applied and how will it benefit Dane and its customers?
RH: QRM stands for Quick Response Manufacturing. QRM is a principle that looks at the entire manufacturing process, from order receipt to delivery, not just individual steps. It breaks the process down into two categories: white space (idle time) and grey space (touch time). The goal is to reduce the white space – those idle moments – through better organization and flow, both on the floor and in the office. QRM is a holistic approach to maximize overall productivity and can easily build on top of other efficiency tools such as lean and six sigma.
QRM targets to reduce the hidden expenses and remove as much idle time as possible. When operational, this will shorten the lead time that is needed for parts and allow for an increase in speed and agility on the manufacturing floor.
I specifically asked Dane Manufacturing President and CEO Troy Berg if he was all in on the implementation of QRM enterprise wide, and his answer was an emphatic yes. QRM is a critical part of the team’s strategy for Dane’s future.
Dane will begin its QRM implementation with training courses, hosted in Dane Academy, which will explain the value of this process, and how we make it operational throughout our company.
Dane: Refinement of quality management processes is also a goal of yours. What do you want to see happen throughout the organization?
RH: Well, Dane has a quality management system in place already. I suspect that has been part of Dane’s rapid growth trajectory in the past. However, as Dane continues to grow, we must keep evolving processes and integrating them throughout the entire organization. I plan to update our quality management system (QMS) documents and associated processes so that it is usable, memorable and ultimately drives the right outcomes. I have developed a similar structure in a previous role and the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP) now views this as the gold standard. What has made this quality system succeed is that it excels in simplicity. Every single employee in the company can quickly identify where they fit into the QMS. This in turn creates the environment for true cross-functional alignment, grass-roots continuous improvement and a highly functioning organization.
I also want to introduce a robust problem-solving methodology to drive and promote a continuous improvement culture through quality culture. Instead of the traditional “Corrective action report”, we are building what we call Continuous Improvement Action Plans (or CIAPs).
Throughout the organization, this will involve making sure the company is clear that the quality and continuous improvement (QCI) department is not solely focused on the quality of individual parts manufactured, but we will also work with the entire organization to solve systemic issues permanently and proactively make wise improvements. This will ensure that every product that leaves the facilities is the best product that Dane can offer. The long-term vision for the QCI department is to play a key role throughout the organization, setting other teams up for success, coaching and mentoring other departments in problem solving and continuous improvement, help identify and provide solutions to the root causes of problems and overall, to supply the tools necessary to drive quality performance throughout all levels of the organization.
I want to make it clear. The purpose of our quality and continuous improvement initiative is not just to make sure the parts we are making are good. The focus on quality and continuous improvement is about making sure our business is operating in the right way, and this is done by running a business model that sets everyone up for success.
Dane: How can you use your experience and expertise to help empower our team leaders on the floor?
RH: Well, we have great teams here at Dane. Our rapid growth will depend on our teams continuing to grow, improve and get better. Through my experience, one tool that I have found to be very effective is the SQDC+. SQDC+ stands for: Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and 5S and is listed in that order for a reason. Safety leads to good quality, quality leads to on-time delivery and so on. I have seen it provide major benefits for empowerment and accountability to all team members, not just the team leaders. We are going to integrate this into our team meetings during every shift. Team leaders, supervisors and sometimes myself will be present with the entire team on the shift and will quickly use this process to identify issues, wins, and opportunities for improvement. We will closely track problems, actions, owners and due dates to ensure accountability and empower employees to take action. As we begin to implement this, it will lay the foundation for our continuous improvement culture here at Dane.
Dane: With all this in mind, what does the future look like for Dane?
RH: The future looks very exciting. Dane has a vision for where it wants to go and is planning ahead for our current customers and the new ones we hope to bring on board. I am excited about the journey of building systems and cultures that will help support Dane’s growth trajectory. I will get to be on the front lines building those things with our teams and helping shape our company’s future. It’s exciting and the possibilities and opportunities for Dane are endless.
Have questions or want to start a dialog? Contact Us.