Author: Bethany Tap

Categories
That's Fasten-ating!

Intelligent Spending

Most people know the importance of intelligent spending. But how do companies “spend intelligently?”

How to Spend Intelligently

There a lot of ways to spend intelligently, including:

  • Ensuring that you are buying what you need and what you will use within a reasonable timeframe,
  • Finding the best value items (a combination of price and quality),
  • Negotiating better pricing for existing items,
  • Being innovative with how you utilize your supplier base, and
  • Being cost conscious about the resources you have on hand.

Intelligent Spending at Fastco

Intelligent spending innovations at Fastco this year included:

  • Negotiating material costs as practicable
  • Oil conservation efforts
  • A cost conscious focus on repairs, supplies, and contracts
  • Ongoing market testing in our Purchasing Department

 

Be Intelligent with Usage

Spending intelligently doesn’t strictly apply to buying things. Resources such as labor, machine time, and tool life all have a dollar value.

Here are some ways that Fastco “spent intelligently” through conserving resources in 2023:

  • Improved tooling performance by 50%
  • Reduced scrap as a percent of sales by over 1%
  • Implemented process improvements to increase uptime by 18%
  • Developed an ergonomic solution to dump pans, saving labor time and effort


It is also important to note that solid setups can help improve die life. Our Tool Room also churns out high-quality tooling that lasts longer, saving the company time and money.

In-House Tooling - inserts and punches
Fastco manufactures more than 80% of our tooling in-house.

At Fastco, we are always striving to meet customer expectations and add value to our community through continuous innovation. Spending intelligently is one way that we can achieve that goal.

 

by Aaron Headrick, Purchasing Manager, and Bethany Tap, Sales & Estimating Team Leader

Categories
Manufacturing

Fastener Coatings

fasteners-cold-heading-services

Fastener Coatings

A fastener’s job is to connect and secure objects to one another. It is essential that applications use the appropriate fastener for structural integrity. This includes taking into consideration a fastener’s coating. Coatings provide protection to the metal underneath. Since exposure to harsh environments or chemicals can drastically shorten a fastener’s life span, it is important to coat exposed fasteners properly.

Salt Spray Testing

Manufacturers like Fastco rely on salt spray testing to determine the corrosion resistance of coatings. The more hours of salt spray that the coating can withstand before oxidation or rust occurs, the better (and often more expensive) the coating.

 

Zinc Coating and Others

One of the most popular fastener coatings available is zinc. In fact, zinc coatings are so popular that they represent nearly 60% of total annual zinc consumption. It is a relatively inexpensive coating and protects well against rust, making zinc-coated fasteners perfect for humid environments.

 

Zinc plated clinch stud

 

Beyond standard zinc coatings, a zinc-nickel coating adds longevity if a part exists in a corrosive environment. Zinc-phosphate coating is a lower performance coating used as a primer or when little corrosion protection is needed.

 

Electroplating and Galvanizing

Zinc is often applied via electroplating, a process that uses an electric current to dissolve metal and adhere it to a surface. Besides zinc & nickel, tin, gold, silver, and copper can all be used in electroplating.

favorite fasteners: concrete anchor bolt
Galvanized concrete anchor bolt

 

Electroplated coatings are thin, much thinner than galvanized coatings, which are more durable and provide longer protection against rust and corrosion than electroplating. While more durable, galvanized plating may not be as aesthetically pleasing as electroplating.

This article is only brushing the surface of available coatings and coating methods for fasteners. If you’re looking for a specific coating, Fastco works with a number of trusted outside processors to meet your fastener coating needs.

Categories
Department Spotlight

Quality Department Spotlight

Quality Department Spotlight shows team member inspecting product

Quality Department Spotlight

For this Department Spotlight, we are highlighting the Quality Department’s progress in 2023.

In 2023, the Quality Department’s greatest achievement was helping to lower the Cost of Poor Quality/Scrap by performing extra audits when needed in various areas to aid in this. While the end of the year’s COPQ was not ideal, we are still lower than 2022’s totals!

Fastco team member in quality
A team member inspects parts for quality assurance.

The department’s goals this year have included increasing audits and adding a layered process audit system for dimensional checks on the floor in manufacturing areas. This enables all levels of Fastco teams to review product and document it, from team members to team leaders, and managers.

A team member conducts quality checks as part of the cold heading production process.

I believe that open book management has helped most team members see where the company is financially. It has also helped team members understand our long-term stability. This has helped to raise morale, get more discussions going, and build an ownership mindset in team members.

We look forward to seeing more process improvements in 2024. We will continue to prioritize safety, quality, and production, in that order, during this year and beyond.

 

by Brian Kropp, Quality Manager

Categories
That's Fasten-ating!

Favorite Fasteners Roundup 2.0

Favorite Fasteners Roundup 2.0

It’s time for another Favorite Fasteners Roundup (version 2.0 – see version 1.0 here.)

This week, we are rounding up five more favorite fastener spotlights. Click on the links to learn more about each of these types of fasteners.

Sheet Metal Screws

These fully-threaded screws with a pointed end are used in sheet metal applications. Another name for sheet metal screws is “self-tapping” screws.

sheet metal screw - favorite fasteners 2.0
Sheet-metal (or self-tapping) screw

Hex and 6-lobe drive bolts

Both hex drives and 6-lobe (or hexalobular) drives provide means of torqueing bolts and screws into place. A 6-lobe drive is specifically designed to increase torque transfer. They are very popular in the automotive and electronics industries. Hex drives, or Allen drives, provide a user-friendly alternative. As such, they are very common in the furniture industry.

Hex and 6-lob drive bolts

Shoulder Bolts

A shoulder bolt is a headed fastener with external threads on the end and an unthreaded shaft between the head and the threads.  They are used in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, for brakes and clutches; aviation, for securing landing gear systems and fuel tanks; and other industries, such as furniture, medical equipment, and construction.

Shoulder Bolt

Hex Head Bolts

Like any bolt, hex head bolts secure objects with a nut. The hex head allows for greater torque than circular headed screws. They are popular in the construction industry because their mechanical properties are critical.

Hex Head Bolts

Double-End Studs

Double-end studs are threaded on both ends with an unthreaded section in the middle. Like typical studs, they do not have heads, though they may have hex or collar in the middle.

Double-end stud
Categories
Department Spotlight Manufacturing

Production Control Update

Production Control Fastco Semi-Truck

Production Control Update

It’s time for a Production Control Update from the department that manages logistics, material handling, and trucking.

This year, the Production Control Department’s greatest achievement has been taking a more active role in managing our raw material supply chain. We’ve worked hard to negotiate pricing with our long-time steel suppliers and keep material costs stable. Raw material is Fastco’s largest expense. Keeping steel costs controlled enables us to better support our customers and avoid price increases. It also helps us remain competitive in the market.

Goal for 2024 (and beyond!)

Another Production Control Update is that our number one goal for 2024 is to lower machine downtime both internally and due to waiting on supplier. The more the machines run, the higher our absorption can be. This leads to higher productivity and better on-time delivery to our customers.

Open Book Management

Open book management has had a significant impact in helping us achieve our goals. The biggest impact has been the success at engaging everyone in the profitability of the company. Everyone likes the little extra money a profit share can provide. Understanding that cutting costs on raw material and keeping machines running is a big bonus (pun intended) to the potential for continued and higher profit sharing among team members.

Categories
Manufacturing

What is Lean Manufacturing?

Inside a cold header open for maintenance in Fastco's Cold Heading Department

What is Lean Manufacturing and Why Does it Matter?

The concept of lean manufacturing is, arguably, centuries old. Some say it dates back to Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno and the Toyota Production System. In the late 1980s and 1990s, TPS became lean manufacturing. The term was first coined by quality engineer John Krafcik in 1988.

In a world that is increasingly considered with excess waste and waste management, lean manufacturing remains an important concept today. So what exactly is it?

Lean manufacturing involves streamlining processes and procedures with the goal of eliminating waste. Below is a list of the 8 wastes of lean manufacturing, including their advantages and disadvantages.

Unnecessary transportation:

This includes excess transport within a facility. Benefits of eliminating unnecessary transit include: reduced pollution & faster processes.

Excess inventory:

In a global economy increasingly under supply chain stresses & disruption, this aspect of lean manufacturing may be least relevant. It is important that companies think about their specific industry, lead times, and potential disruptions when regulating inventory.

Unnecessary movement of people, equipment or machinery:

This is a subset of unnecessary transportation and provides the benefit of less wasted time, money, and energy.

Waiting on people or idle equipment:

Time is money, so it makes sense that waiting on idle equipment isn’t good. That being said, some things take time and it is important not to rush processes simply to go faster.

Over-production of a product:

As with excess inventory, this waste-reduction tactic has fallen somewhat out of favor due to supply chain concerns.

Over processing or adding unnecessary features to a product:

Here, the benefit would be cost effectiveness. However, when a company is constantly trying to only produce the bare minimum on a product, this can dampen the drive to innovate and create.

Defects that require costly correction:

There is probably no benefit to a defect in a product. Some amount of scrap and cost of poor quality in products is inevitable, but it is essential that companies mitigate this with strong quality processes and well-trained team members.

Unused talent & ingenuity:

Sometimes, we talk about this as “having the right people in the right seats.” Another way to think of it is that every team member is an expert at what they do. Companies should value their experts and rely on them for innovation.

inspection Fastco employee careers careers at fastco

 

Other methods, such Six Sigma, also focus on the elimination of waste in manufacturing processes. Waste reduction is a key pillar of continuous innovation. It is something all companies should strive toward.

Categories
Department Spotlight Manufacturing

Tool Room Update

Tool Room Update

Recently, the Tool Room’s greatest achievement has been the ability to keep up with required production. We have been a little short-handed. All of our tool room personnel have done a great job working together to keep the tooling output at a high level in order to minimize downtime in other areas due to waiting on tooling. We also had some help from the Engineering department filling in. Thank you to those who helped us out.

 

I would say our #1 goal for 2023 would be to focus on working on the right tools and keeping up with production. By doing this, we can help to ensure parts are available to minimize downtime in other production areas of Fastco. This allows production to continue and get more parts out the door. In the long run, this means more profit for Fastco and more profit sharing for the employees.

The south side of Fastco's main tool room.
The south side of Fastco’s main tool room.

The positive impacts I have seen from open book management in the tool rooms is more buy in from the employees. People have begun to ask “what can we do to help.” I would like to see the tool rooms continue working on new and improved ways to increase our output and overall abilities. I want to see Fastco continue to move forward and try to perfect the Great Game of Business.

by Tom Fredricks, Interim Tool Room Team Leader

Categories
Manufacturing

Favorite Fasteners Roundup

Fettered and knurled pins

Favorite Fasteners Roundup

 

It’s time for a Favorite Fasteners Roundup!

This week, we are rounding up some of our favorite fastener spotlights. Here’s our top five fasteners to make and why. Click on the links to learn more about each of these types of fasteners.

Concrete Anchor Bolts:

These big boys are Fastco’s bread and butter. Used to fasten components to concrete, concrete anchor bolts come in a variety of lengths. Our large cold formers are ideal for forming up to 3/4 inch diameter bolts.

favorite fasteners: concrete anchor bolt
Concrete Anchor Bolt

 

Weld Bolts:

We love weld bolts for their simplicity. They are an ideal part to cold form and we make a wide variety of them.

favorite fasteners: weld bolts
Weld bolts with a range of head designs.

 

Rivets:

Among the oldest and simplest fasteners in existence, rivets can be as basic as just a body and head. At Fastco, we form solid rivets and semi-tubular rivets.

Semi-Tubular Rivets

 

SEMS fasteners:

A combination of a screw/bolt and a permanently attached washer (or set of washers), SEMS fasteners have many benefits. Fastco has a dedicated SEMS unit for SEMS fastener assembly and can run a range of sizes, depending on specific part geometry.


 

Knurl and fetter pins:

On solid pins, knurls and fetters both act as locking features, cutting into the host material and creating the friction required to hold the pin in place. We roll and form knurls and fetters, depending on material, design, location, and tolerances.

Fettered and knurled pins
Categories
Department Spotlight

Maintenance Department

Sign for the Maintenance Department

Maintenance Department Update

This year, the Maintenance Department a lot to be proud of, but it’s greatest achievement has been completing repairs and projects in a timely manner, despite working with fewer team members and several new team members. Though we have a small crew, we are continuing to keep unplanned maintenance downtime low.

Maintenance Goals

Keeping downtime low is the Maintenance Department’s main goal. In addition, we are focusing on the top 10 list for fixing and/or replacing key equipment in all production departments.

Maintenance team member, Dale McGarry, cleans the shop floors.

 

Open Book Management

With the growth of open book management at Fastco, the department has gained an increased understanding of the need for keeping machines running so that parts can run and be sent to the customer. I think seeing the sales numbers has a big impact as well.

I would like to continue to see effective training of our department’s newer team members. For example: electrical repair, machine repair, and planned inspections on key equipment are all areas where we can continue to learn, grow, and improve. For the company as a whole, I want to see continued education of team members on the Great Game of Business. Every team member should know how their job can make an impact on the company.

by Steve Kowalczyk, Facilities Manager

Categories
Industry News

The UAW Strike and Supply Chains

A man, woman, and child at UAW Strike

The UAW Strike: What will it mean for supply chains? And how can we weather the storm?

There is a general consensus among most economists that a short-lived United Autoworkers (UAW) Strike will probably have limited consequences for supply chains.

For one, these last few years have been wrought with supply chain shortages that could leave automakers reticent to cancel orders with their suppliers, at least initially.

Likewise, layoffs should be slow to occur as well. The tight labor market makes most companies rightly wary of laying off workers.

However, as the strike drags on—and it is already in its second week—we are likely to see order cancellations begin to bottleneck supply chains.

What can Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers do to mitigate some of these issues? To be certain, the biggest risk in the supply chains are these smaller companies with fewer resources and small bank accounts. But smaller companies also have the benefit of dexterity that many larger corporations do not.

 

Diversification

One key to resilience that Fastco has learned through the years and has made a strategic priority is diversification. Keeping all of your eggs in a basket like the automotive industry can be fatal for a company. Not only that, it is important to have a variety of customers even within a given industry. In automotive, this means diversifying outside of the Big Three to OEMs like Honda, Nissan, and Tesla.

 

Communication

But diversification is not something that a company can achieve overnight. As a result, it is imperative for companies that rely heavily on the automotive industry communicate with their customers in automotive and outside of automotive. Within the auto industry, we should be asking about upcoming demand and forecasting. Do the Tier 1 suppliers plan to use this time as an opportunity to build up a backlog? Or will they immediately be cancelling orders? Likely, there will be a combination of responses that will shift and change throughout the strike, if it is long-lasting.

Outside of the industry, we should be striving to expand our business. We should be asking for new opportunities and ways that our companies can add value for our customers. In short, we should be taking this time to seriously try and grow in industries outside of automotive.

Finally, we should be communicating internally with our team members and relying on their knowledge and expertise to help us figure out how to weather this storm.

inspection sorting and inspection

Cooperation

At Fastco, we have many team members who have worked through strikes and economic downturns over the last 50+ years that we have been around. A company is as resilient as its workforce, and we are lucky to have a resilient one.

Companies that only rely on the decision making power of a CEO are missing a key component of what it will take to successfully ride out an extended strike: cooperation.

Innovation

All of these things require innovation. We need to be thinking outside of the norm because these are not normal times.

 

Strikes are the growing pains of a tight labor market and an expanding middle class. They are likely to become more frequent as American manufacturing continues its comeback. It is important to have mitigation strategies in place to not only survive a strike but to thrive in its aftermath.