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Business assistance keeps work and profits flowing into Iowa The Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) and the Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership (IMEP) provide practical solutions for Iowa businesses. Cummins Great Plains of Des Moines, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes industrial power systems, engines and related technologies, called upon these Iowa State University Extension entities to solve a consolidation workflow challenge in its Des Moines plant. When the Cummins corporate office announced a consolidation with another Cummins distributor in Missouri, the already busy Des Moines plant needed to prepare to process additional custom engine orders. Surrounded by other factories and buildings, space was at a premium. “I appreciated the way CIRAS and IMEP worked with everyone in the company, including the guys on the floor,” said Steve Carnine, branch manager. “They looked through the facility, listened to our ideas, brainstormed with us and presented their ideas.” CIRAS industrial specialist John Van Engelenhoven worked with company management and employees to come up with a layout that optimized space and efficiency. With a final draft of the layout in hand and Carnine’s approval, the company prepared to rearrange the facility. Operations manager Dale Koenig and foreman Mark Berg led the reorganization over a long weekend, taking only one and one-half days out of production. With changes recommended by CIRAS and IMEP, Cummins Great Plains of Des Moines has increased the number of engines processed per month, invested in more equipment and added a new position. These changes have yielded more than $100,000 in company savings. “CIRAS and IMEP helped
us tremendously with our reorganization but most importantly, they
were good at following up and checking our progress.
We are now more productive and profitable thanks to the assistance
we received from CIRAS and IMEP,” Carnine said.
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The Extension Connection is a quarterly publication of Iowa State University Extension. Laura Sternweis, editor, lsternwe@iastate.edu Nondiscrimination statement and information disclosures Last update:April 2005
* Plant-based resources build Iowa's bioeconomy * Extension increases effort to help Iowans slim down * Learning at Lakeside Laboratory goes year-round * Producers get answers to soybean rust questions * 4-H involves youth in government * Tax school delivers ISU teaching in communities * Support program helps military families cope * Caregivers empowered when communities offer 'Tools' program |
From
left, Dale Koenig, Mark Berg and Sam Failla work on a Cummins engine.