Do Your Team Members Know Your Parts?

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Do your team members know the parts they run? Do they really KNOW the parts they run?

Yes they do! They know the material spec. They know which program to run. They know how to set up their machines. They know how to check tolerances. Of course, they know the parts they run.

But do they know what happens to the parts once they’re completed? Do they know what products they end up in? Do they know the applications or uses for those products? Do they know anything about the customer or end-user of the parts? Does it matter? Darrin Baker thinks it does.

Baker is a Swiss lead machinist for Pindel Global Precision and its sister company Liberty Precision Manufacturing Technologies — both global manufacturers of precision-machined production parts and solutions located in New Berlin, Wisconsin. He is responsible for a team of eight people that perform machine operation, setup functions and project management.

“It makes a difference when our team members know the story behind the parts,” Baker says. “What is the part for? What is the reason we make it that way? They like knowing what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.”

Baker recalls a specific customer visiting his team. The customer brought along a product catalog that showed the consumer product which used the part Baker’s team was running. One customer even showed up with a cutaway (a manufactured assembly where part of the external housing has been removed to reveal the internal components) to help those machining the part understand how their component fit into the end product. “When the customer does that the team feels invested,” Baker says.

Indeed, taking the time to educate the team on the uses for the parts they manufacture has numerous benefits.

Machinists, machine operators, setup people and others should take pride in the work they do, and knowledge of part end-use can help them take credit for that work outside the workplace. “It’s one thing to say, ‘I’m a CNC Machinist,’” Baker says. “But often that’s the end of the conversation. If they know how the parts they machine are used, our team members can share that story with others outside the company when they talk about what they do.”

When employees understand the end use, they can speak more articulately about the work they do and perhaps even inspire others to consider careers in machining.

Customer relatability can also be augmented by involving the production team in customer interactions. During one customer visit, Baker was included in a meeting with several engineers of a company who shared renderings of the assembly for which his team would be machining several components. “I felt ignited,” he says. “I thought, this is cool, man, to be working with these engineers from this huge company.”

Isn’t it interesting how the simple act of including a key member of the operations team in a design- or sales-related meeting can pay huge dividends in motivating and inspiring the people responsible for producing production parts?

The more “mission-critical” the part, the more acutely this can set in. Understanding a component’s role in a farmer’s combine harvester, marine engine, biomedical bone screw or a hunting scope are all examples of how component end-use knowledge can make team members feel closer to the customer. Baker believes that such awareness engenders even more pride in workmanship and commitment to quality.

Machining companies looking to take the next step in fostering employee enthusiasm, effectiveness, commitment and retention would do well to heed Baker’s advice. “Get the whole team rallied around the product. Get them excited,” Baker says. “When a new member joins our team, I show them every step of the process and give them as much background on a part as I can. Some might say machining can be a little mundane. Our team knows the part, they know what the part is for.”

“I show them how the projects we work on can be really interesting,” Baker emphasizes.

So should every machining industry leader.