With 20 years at Memo, Kim Lood knows just about everything that goes on in the company. Right now might even be the most exciting period of his career. As a Production Technician, he plays a key role in the efficiency improvements planned for the coming years. “We’re working on several improvement projects aimed at reducing setup times – producing and delivering faster while maintaining or even improving quality,” says Kim.
One important efficiency project is already underway: expanding machine integration – meaning that the injection molding machines will report directly to the business system what they have produced. “That way, operators don’t need to start their shifts by reporting the number of units produced. They can get straight to work, which of course saves time,”Kim explains.
Many Memo employees have been with the company for a long time, and much of the knowledge resides in their heads. But as the company grows, clearer production instructions are needed, Kim notes: “I’m working on making sure instructions are delivered to the operators directly through the system, based on the order information, so they immediately know what to produce during their shift.”
Kim’s vision is full automation – from order to delivery. He sees machine integration and automated instructions as two important first steps, but full automation is still a few years away. “We are well-prepared, since our people welcome change and want to contribute to efficiency. We develop, test, and adjust in order to constantly improve,” concludes Kim Lood.
