MFG Operations Conference 2019

Operational Lessons Learned — Stories of One Manufacturer’s Journey to Success

How can a business go from good to great? It helps to Think Big. Several years ago, Jim Richards and his team from Total Security Solutions (TSS) began making a series of choices that would change the company’s trajectory. Today, the TSS sales team is more empowered than ever, revenue is growing, and the business enjoys state and national recognition — their future has never been brighter.

What happened?

TSS will share with attendees their strategies for pushing past operational barriers to achieve the growth goals every company imagines. You’ll learn how to:

• Identify the existing weak points in your day-to-day operations
• Ask the right questions of your sales team
• Know when the time is right to step back and delegate your way to success
• Seek out external partnerships ’ and avoid the ones that won’t work
• Embrace the risk-taking side of manufacturing

Small manufacturers don’t have to think small! Discover how TSS set and met their goals to become thought leaders in their industry, and continue to help drive Michigan's manufacturing economy.

A Principled Approach to the Paid Medical Leave Act

For the first time in Michigan’s history, employers are required to provide paid sick time to workers. Hastings Fiberglass Products’ Shawn Diebel, Miller Canfield’s Kurt Sherwood and MMA’s Delaney McKinley will provide practical insights to help employers comply with the Paid Medical Leave Act, which goes into effect in March.

Attendees will receive practical information and actionable applications to implement right away, as well as insights into:

• Implementing new policies
• Employee rights
• Employer responsibilities
• Advice on records retention
• Keys to compliance

You’ll learn everything from the scope of the new law and the obligations you have as an employer to penalties for non-compliance and the key definitions that form the foundation for paid medical leave.

Winning the War for Talent

The “Talent War” has left many HR leaders struggling to locate the skilled workers they need. To help your team fight and win this war, EDSI’s Ken Mall will share top strategies for manufacturers looking to develop, attract, retain and manage the talent they need. Attendees will also learn how to analyze their current workforce and project their needs years down the line.

• What manufacturers can do to bridge the gap between what they need now and what they’ll need in the future
• What different options to consider when filling that skills gap
• How to develop a winning long-term talent strategy

Session participants will learn across four unique styles — visual, kinesthetic, aural, interactive — and complete EDSI’s proven proprietary talent survey.

Create the Culture Change Your Company Needs

A strong culture can be the difference between a company’s success and failure. This session will take a different look at the idea of “culture” with a practical guide for manufacturers to mold their culture into something that will help them achieve the results they want. John Keuning of Express Employment Professionals will share with attendees the four-step process necessary to change their culture and break away from the competition.

• How to use change to affect change
• How to develop your change path
• Tools to help communicate change to your entire team
• Use your current cultural result to map a plan for change

Attendees will be taught a unique thought process that works for both introducing small, incremental change OR large, sweeping culture shifts.

Demystifying a Vast Marketing Wasteland

CEOs, presidents and business executives care deeply about the direction of their brand, but even the most well-intentioned leaders can get in their own way. The Whole Brain Group is one of the state’s top marketing firms and will share the strategies they’ve developed to ensure any manufacturer can succeed at marketing their brand to local, national and global markets.

• How does a business begin to navigate the vast marketing wasteland?
• Ways to thrive at marketing without blowing your budget
• Questions to ask to find the marketing team that’s right for you
• Why stepping back is the best bet for moving forward

Attendees will learn how proven manufacturing methods like defect-free thinking and necessary marketing processes like trial-and-error don’t always mesh — and why that’s not a bad thing!

Employee Motivation and Engagement

Keeping your team motivated and engaged is a hot button topic as we come to the realization well-engaged, highly-motivated employees tend to stay longer than those who are disengaged or frustrated. John Keuning with Express Employment Professionals will walk attendees through four elements designed to increase your employees’ sense of value and set yourself up to effectively engage them in ideas, strategies, projects, action items and improved productivity.

• Learn a four-step approach to motivation and engagement
• Develop a list of actions to help bring the four steps to life for your organization
• A list of actions to try with suggestions customized for your unique situation
• An onboarding template to help develop a retention plan

Participants will work to create a “motivational pathway”, write and explore a SMART goal and create the company-wide genuineness to remind your team how much you value their role in brand success.

Technology Trends for Forward Thinking CFOs

The Digital Evolution has made significant changes to manufacturing, including reimagining the role of the Chief Financial Officer and finance department. James Meyer of Maner Costerisan will discuss the top technology trends affecting the finance function and provide examples of how these technologies are being applied and how companies like yours may benefit from them.

• What the key technology trends that today’s finance professionals need to be aware of
• How these trends can be applied and what are the potential benefits
• Ideas that can be immediately applied to improve automation and streamline operations
• Tips on how to stay in tune with technology trends

The automation and technology trends of Industry 4.0 are impacting the finance function, not just the shop floor and supply chain. Finance professionals need to understand and embrace these trends at they lead the digital transformation for their companies. If you know what to expect, there is no better time to be a finance professional than right now.

Improving Morale & Teamwork for Workplace Success

No matter the title — supervisor, foreman, manager — an employee's immediate supervisor plays a crucial role in their career development, job satisfaction and engagement. Those supervisors also affect whether an employee chooses to stay and thrive or walk out the door, ultimately costing your business money, time and productivity. Charlie Westra with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center will engage attendees in an interactive presentation addressing the most essential aspects of leadership, from how to inspire and motivate employees, to how to increase engagement and build trust among workers.

• Explore the purpose-driven model behind motivation
• How to create enthusiasm, drive, ambition, initiative and determination
• Learn ways to better relate to subordinates and peers
• Apply proven listening and communication strategies to improve morale and department efficiency

During this session, the audience will be asked to complete a Workplace Assessment Survey and participate in small group discussions to develop first-hand solutions for specific on-the-job issues they face each day.

Employee Onboarding: A Manufacturing Perspective

You’ve hired them — now what? What happens after the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring processes are done and a new employee shows up Monday morning? Do you have a plan for them? Is there an onboarding process for them beyond the safety video and payroll paperwork? Express Employment’s John Keuning will discuss how to embrace and train new employees while giving them the roadmap forward.

• Construct your own “First 90 day plan”
• Learn how to create employee identity with our brands
• Discover best practices in retaining new employees, especially entry-level and millennial workers

Attendees will explore the new workforce’s desire to be part of something bigger and review the proven best practices to help retain employees — specifically in a manufacturing environment.

Get Lean for Possible Dark Days Ahead

The sun is shining on Michigan manufacturers as a robust economy continues full steam ahead. With nearly a decade removed from the Great Recession, memories of those tough times are beginning to fade, yet more than ever manufacturers need to be planning for potential dark days ahead. Ann Playter and Dennis Theis of Maner Costerisan will present attendees with proven techniques to implement across multiple functions of their day-to-day operations and introduce processes to identify possible improvements to prepare for leaner days.

• Why a focus on the future and preparing for a recession is important?
• Lessons from historical failures to incorporate the risks of recession into planning
• Incorporate data analysis and improved communication through dashboards and forecasting
• Why planning for a future downturn in good times is important to long-term success?

Manufacturers will engage in an open dialogue to discuss the challenges of the last recession and what strategies should be in place for the next one.

Purchasing Principles: How to Negotiate a Great Deal and Keep It

You’ve struck a great deal with your customer or supplier. Now how do you keep it? This presentation will teach you how to avoid common errors in purchasing and anticipate the unexpected volume fluctuations, engineering changes, and shorter-than-expected program durations which erode profit margin. Learn from contracts attorney Adam Kochenderfer of Wolfson Bolton how a single sentence on a purchase order saved one manufacturer thousands and why strengthening your purchasing documents can prepare your business for good and bad economies alike.

• Discuss how to avoid some of the pitfalls that manufacturers encounter after a purchasing agreement has been reached
• List specific steps a manufacturer can take to protect profit margins
• Increase the likelihood of fully recovering capital expenditures
• Protect your own supply chain

Every manufacturer engages in the purchasing of subcomponents, raw materials, or both — now discover how you can strengthen your processes, ask the right questions and be prepared to make the most out of any deal.

Contact MMA’s Sarah Martin, at 517-487-8521 or martin@mimfg.org, to discuss upcoming sponsorship opportunities.