“ Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
Benjamin Franklin
Sur-Seal® is on a journey, Our World Class Journey. We firmly believe that we have what it takes to be a World Class company, and we are taking the steps necessary to get us there.
Sur-Seal® kicked off Our World Class Journey in January of 2010. We have a three year plan laid out to help us take leaps towards our goal, each year make improvements with a different end goal in mind. Year One was building a strong foundation based on lean principles, Year Two is to work on quality and processes with our customers, Year Three is to work with our suppliers. We know that this is a journey that never truly ends, because there are always new and innovative ways for us to improve.
In 2010 Sur-Seal® was featured in a presentation at the Association of Manufacturing Excellence 2010 conference in Baltimore, MD. The presentation was given by Mark Preston on his “13 Weeks to Lean” program and the changes Sur-Seal® had made since starting the program at the beginning of that year. Mick Wilz, with the help of Mark Preston, spearheaded the “13 Weeks to Lean” program for Sur-Seal®; educating the associates on Lean, developing visual tools to help organize and manage production, and implementing the changes.
Most recently at the 2012 Association of Manufacturing Excellence Sur-Seal was the recipient of the AME Manufacturing Excellence Award, presented at the 2012 AME Conference in Chicago. One the AME website they state "Two specific areas impressed the assessment team. First, the 20-point assessment system used to rate performance using elements such as leadership, customers, vendors, etc. Every year the entire organization rates each element using a spider chart for year-to-year comparisons. Overall trends were favorable. Second, a unique use of Legos to create a 3D image of Sur-Seal’s value stream map. It was kept up-to-date as the actual facility layout transformed from the current state to the future state. Value added per associate increased from $62 per employee in 2008 to $96 per employee in 2011." While Sur-Seal® is not finished with the program the benefits of Lean are already being felt throughout the organization. To read the AME Press Release about Sur-Seal receiving the award click here.