Managing Projects and Work Flow

Presenter: Mike Elsholz

Company: Steelcase Inc.
History: 25 years experience
• Engineering
• Project Management
• Test Lab Supervisor
• Model Shop Manager

Outside interests:
family, golf, football, wood working.

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Victor
Steelcase's history of innovation and sustainability began 100 years
ago with Victor, a metal wastebasket designed to reduce fires
caused by ashes in wicker wastebaskets.
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 Presentation Outline
based on my recent Model Shop
transformation/move

• Business Strategy and Objective

• Shop Layout
• Strategy
• Workflow
• Project Tracking
• Use of a database
• Procedures and Safety

Questions are welcome

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Identify your business:
• What do you do
• Who are your customers
• What is your focus
• What is your core competencies (areas of strength)
• What is your work environment
• Functional model vs. soft visual models

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 Steelcase CDC
Opportunity for Reinvention

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Opportunity for Reinvention Steelcase CDC

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Opportunity for Reinvention
We were planning to move out of CDC
• Should the model shop move
• Disband, move as is, move and modify
• Shop size (sq. footage)
• Evaluated who we are
• What we wanted to be
• Determined our strengths

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Who we are
• An internal shop of a large Corporation
• Support New Product Development
• Our Customers are
• Engineers/Designers
• Show rooms
• Mock-ups for customers
• Facilities
• Sales
• Other

Philosophy on Modeling
• Build to learn
• Build it, see it, touch it
• Repetitive model builds
• Visual and factual
• Hands on modeling (design and engineering)

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We Focused on our Capabilities
core competencies
• Sheet metal
• Upholstery
• Wood
• Painting
• Welding
• Assembly

other areas
• Machining
• CNC milling
• 3D printing

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Outsourced Capabilities

• CNC milling
• 3D printing
• Casting
• Molding; vacuum, injection, …

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 Model Shop Reinvention

Mission statement:
An integral component of New Product Development that is a collaborating part of
Design and Engineering thinking. Making design ideas tangible and assessable
through quality modeling and providing hands on learning. A part of the building
of intelligence in new product development. Designing and modeling on the edge
of solvability.

Objectives:
 Build models collaboratively
 Providing input and feedback on product designs
 A source of knowledge
 Continuously improving turnaround time of prototypes, Excel
 Can do attitude (not limited)
 Easy to work with
 Problem solvers
 Versatile team with large skill set and experience
 Agile/Flexible
 Principles
A) Modeling makes Design thinking tangible and
assessable. A part of the building of intelligence in new
product development.
B) Modeling as method for hands on learning is integral
to New Product Development and the collaboration
between Design and Engineering thinking.
C) Modeling is a means to defining the edge of solvability.
D) Modeling is a tool, as drawing is a tool, and requires
immediate and dynamic accessibility.
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RECOMMENDATION:
It is critical for New Product Development to have a Model Shop located in close proximity to PD&L
where product development is being controlled and design decisions are being reviewed and made.
The new Model Shop will have the appropriate capabilities and capacity to adequately support new
product development. It needs to be staffed with talented, creative, forward thinking Model Makers
that can work in a professional and collaborative environment that fosters creativity. These
individuals must be able to interact and share ideas with co-workers, Designers and Engineers. The
Environment needs to be conducive to creativity , learning and support a collaborative work space.

BENEFITS:
•Improves PD&L development time lines through faster turnaround on prototyping builds.
•Improves cycle time on learning cycles which improves PD&L intelligence.
•Control of our design confidentiality and intellectual property
•Improves the collaboration between the development teams and the Model Makers which provides
better designs from increase learning .
•Control over Priorities (i.e. “HOT” emergency jobs)

NEGATIVES:
•Larger move cost (relative to a Basic Shop).
•Larger utility and overhead cost (relative to a Basic Shop).

NOTES; Recommendation is based on analysis of our experiences of outsourcing and discussions

with leaders with in PD&L (Engineering and Design Directors).
Work Flow

Let’s look at our work flow

order

machining

3D assembly
wood

Completion $$$

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Restructuring Work Flow & Layout

What is your work environment?

How do you work?
Individually/independently
Collaborative
Creative
Hands on
Teams

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 The process we used
Analyze your current layout
• Involve your Team
• Analyze by area
• What works well
• What does not well
• Wish list
• Pros/Cons
• Prioritize Requirements

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 Work Flow and Shop Layout
Steelcase
new
Our focus was on collaboration and interaction (high to low)

High
 Office
 Benches and assembly area
 Sheet metal
 Upholstery
 Wood
Low
 welding
 painting
 Machining
 Rapid Prototyping
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Engineering
Design
marketing

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Welcome to
our new home

Jan. 2014

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Repurposed an old plant

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Concept Shop
Rapid learnings
Hands on modeling
Designer and Engineering

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Project Tracking
How do you track your projects?
 Use of work requests – mini form
 Spread sheets
 Electronic vs. paper
What information do you want to track?
 Cost
 Timing
 Status of projects
 Work flow
 Completion
 Reports
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Database
Use of a database can help track work requests, cost,
status of work, communication with customer and
reports.
Assign work request to team leads or model makers

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Database
Steelcase
We currently are using MS Access as our data base
Readily available
But has limitations
Need some training
We are in the process of changing to SAP
It our company standard
It’s powerful
But can be more than you need
Need training

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Current Database Back office

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Current
request
form

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Current Database

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New Database Criteria

Improve target areas:

 Visibility
 communication
 Tracking
 Through put
 Ease of filling out request, adding tasks, split orders

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New Database Criteria
adding tasks and split orders

request

Model Sheet
maker metal

Model outsource
maker
2

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 New Database Criteria
Work Order/ Request
 Generate unique number per work order
 Our work instructions
 Require: Name, Phone and email
 Date Needed
 Cost Center#, WBS#
 Cost Center Owner
 Back up Person and Phone#
 Cost Estimate requested (auto email back to requester)
 Work Instructions (similar to current)
 Wood
 Sheet Metal (s/m)
 3D Printing
 General Model Making
 Drawings/Prints, Data files linked to WO to include Rev. level
 Easy work request creation (Auto Population) of new WO and for add on
 i.e. Button on original WO that uses pertinent information (use of an extension or new request
number)
 Auto Message (email) as to which Model Maker was assigned
 Auto Message (email) when Work Order completed
 Bar code generated and assigned to each W.O. for tracking purposes
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 New Database Criteria
Database Requirements
 Houses Work Order
 IP Protection
 Storage (Data, Prints) 5 years
 Attach and store prints and pictures
 Scanned PDF
 Legacy Data Base
 Keep?
 How long?
 Where?
 Or convert to our New Database

Cross Charge/Finance Team (SAP)

 Track labor hours and cross charge each month to Cost Center & WBS
 Track material costs and cross charge each month to Cost Center &WBS
 Track outsourced costs and cross charge each month to Cost Center & WBS
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 New Database Criteria
Tracking: Through Shop/Process/Department
 What do we Track, (outsource, split order, Process Paint, Weld,
Laser, % completed, who is currently working on it)
 Auto email sent to requester each time the status is updated.
 % complete is updated each day
 How do we track it (Scan Bar?) scanner throughout the shop
 Model Maker notes and activity of project captured on Work
Order(story)
 Who sees it (Transparency, Process, on Touch Screen) i.e..
Requester, Model Maker, Cost Center owner
 Tie Purchase Orders to Work Orders
 Time/hours work on each job (similar to today)
 Need to output to Finance
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 New Database Criteria
Reports
Cost by Requester , Person, Cost Center, WBS#, Supplier, In-
house, Outsource, and Project Name (Same as Today)
We Want Monthly Reports on (General Performance)
 Number or requests
 On Time
 Outsourced
 Cost to (Requester/Model Shop/Hours)
 Quality
 Jobs on the Floor
 Projects

Is every WBS# and Cost Center in SAP?

Controlling Data/Reports vs. open to all?
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Procedures and Safety
Set safety procedure and policy
Overall shop
Each machine
Consequences for not following
JSA
Safe machine operation

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JSA – Job Safety Analysis

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Safe use policy

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