Friday, November 30, 2018

Lean and Kaizen - Standardized Work Approach


Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Definition of an Automotive Industry Tier 1 Supplier


A longtime resident of greater Cleveland, Tennessee, Carolyn Seale has a wealth of experience in the fields of industrial engineering and manufacturing oversight. For the past 17 years, Carolyn Seale has served as a manager with Denso Manufacturing in Athens, Tennessee, a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry.

The term “tier 1 supplier” can be applied to any manufacturer who distributes products directly to a company with no intervention from sales middlemen or additional manufacturers. In the automotive industry, however, the term takes on a more significant meaning. Certain components in automotive production must meet ISO/TS16949 Quality Standards that ensure their operational effectiveness. This means that these components must be made and delivered under stringent process controls that cannot involve outside companies or third-party entities. 

Identification as a Tier 1 supplier designates high levels of both credibility and professionalism. Major automotive companies rely on these suppliers to handle all aspects of component creation for specific vehicles.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

The Toyota Production System - a Brief History


Based in Cleveland, Tennessee, Carolyn Seale has worked at Denso Manufacturing for the past 17 years. In her management position, Carolyn Seale leverages the Toyota Production System (TPS) to boost efficiency in her team. 

An amalgamation of Toyota’s management processes and a philosophy of waste reduction, TPS is a foundation from which automobile manufacturers can improve their logistics and production operations. The history of TPS dates back more than 100 years when Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford developed what was known as “flow production.” This revolutionary process allowed the Ford company to expedite its production time by using “special-purpose” equipment for vehicle component manufacturing.

As other manufacturers began to lag behind Ford, the team at Toyota sought to build upon the concept of flow production with their own system. Kiichiro Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno sought to improve the manufacturing process by using basic concepts to move products through the system more quickly. They called the early version of their process “Just-in-Time.”

Over the course of nearly three decades, Toyoda and Ohno worked on their process, making numerous changes to boost its efficiency. The finalized TPS system involved the use of self-monitoring machinery that compensated for precise volumes of product and utilized the most efficient production sequence. As a result, TPS reduced the cost of production while greatly improving the quality of the manufactured parts.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. - Award-Winning Manufacturer


A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Carolyn Seale of Cleveland, Tennessee, holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and engineering management. Carolyn Seale leverages her training to serve as manager of industrial engineering at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. (DMTN). 

As DENSO Corporation’s largest manufacturing facility in the United States, DMTN consists of four plants that together make up 2.3 million square feet. The company’s 3,665 employees produce alternators, starters, instrument clusters, and automotive electronic products, as well as inverters for hybrid vehicles. 

DMTN’s clients include several major auto manufacturers, including Ford and Toyota, which awarded the Electronic Products Division its 2016 Toyota Excellence Award. The company has also earned the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Commissioner’s Award of Excellence and three gold awards from the GM Awards of Excellence program for its on-time shipping. 

Also dedicated to giving back to the community, DMTN funds local school programs focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas. Further, the company founded the Richard Williams, Jr. Leadership Development Academy to serve middle and high school students and equip them with skills needed for a successful future.