CASE STUDY

COMPANY

• ASK Power – Aurora, Illinois
• www.ASK-Power.com
• 60 employees
• Global manufacturer of electrical components for the utility and industrial marketplace

SITUATION

After several years measuring against an internal set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Steve Kase, Managing Director of ASK Power knew how the business tracked to their own performance, but had no perspective for where they fell relative to their competition. The organization reached out to key customers for performance reporting according to quality and customer-specific deliverables, but the ASK team was lacking the targeted feedback needed to develop strategic, actionable improvement objectives. Needing to take their planning to the next level, Steve leveraged his relationship with IMEC to undertake the Promoting Business Excellence (PROBE) global benchmark assessment for the organization. “As our trusted partner, I knew through Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) we would be able to use the international benchmark to realize the level of industry data needed to be more strategic,” said Kase.

IMEC SOLUTION

Interested in the feedback for how they perform on a global level on a variety of functional objectives, the ASK team used the PROBE assessment to align their departmental priorities with the best-of-the-best in the industry; ultimately identifying the largest areas for improvement in human resource and accounting systems, as well new product development and technology. “The benefit of the transformative assessment was that it truly helped us compare our performance to successful competitors,” said Kase. “The sheer visibility of the areas where we are stronger than we need to be and those where we are weaker than ideal has been eye-opening and is unprecedented data for us.” Through a more strategic focus on the workforce, Kase and the ASK team were able to gain a lot of buy-in and feedback throughout the organization for the ideal future state. Instituting training for two and three levels of employees, prioritizing staff development, and optimizing the newly added roles in technical sales and engineering have been fruitful for the organization. Similarly, an investment in new product development secured them a new collaborative partnership with an industry leader yielding improvements in sales and technology growth that was not previously attainable. Kase indicates that following the PROBE assessment the initiative to add new people, target new markets, and bring new products on board has been successfully implemented, but that the upcoming year will truly be the year to harvest those investments for future growth and sustainability.

RESULTS

• $5,000,000 investment in new products and technology
• 3 jobs created
• $100k cost savings
• $500,000 in new sales

“Our IMEC experience, historically, and this year, has been a major source of continuous process improvement, critical to our success.” Steve Kase, Managing Director – ASK Power

ABOUT IMEC

Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center was established in 1996 to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Illinois' small and mid-sized manufacturing firms. We leverage the Baldrige Excellence Framework as a foundation for driving organizational improvement and then prioritize those improvements through a range of hands-on, goal-oriented solutions in continuous improvement, strategy, workforce, and more. Learn more at www.imec.org

World trade and political discussion emphasize how automation threatens the traditional manufacturing employee. How to support the evolution of these employees in the face of global competitive challenges is the question. Steve Kase, ASK Power’s Founder and Managing Director, the Illinois Manufacturing Association, and Chicago’s mHub have an answer: expand the skills and roles of the front line manufacturing person to create a valued worker who can evolve with automation and maintain a quality career.

This idea is being put into practice through Chicago’s new manufacturing innovation center, mHUB. Workforce Development and Manufacturing Innovation are the concepts that have made ASK Power the success it is today. “Training our employees to be full service process managers of Efficiency, Quality Control, Tooling Setup and Machine Maintenance,” explains Mr. Kase. “This investment in people has dramatically improved the delivery times and quality performance for our customers.”

The mHUB facility was designed to attract and support STEM trained personnel. These engineers and entrepreneurs in turn will provide innovative application solutions for small and medium-sized manufactures. “When we solve customer product development needs, we require new sets of talent and resources. mHUB is being set-up to help companies like ours,” says Mr. Kase.

Read more about mHUB in this month’s addition of The Illinois Manufacturer

Naumovich, Dan. "mHub is Chicago’s first manufacturing innovation center - opening in January"The Illinois Manufacturer Fall 2016: p23-24. (PDF version)

The Grand Opening of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII) on Chicago’s Goose Island was on May 11, 2015. It was a big day, after 2+ years of anticipation! A very exciting grand opening with all of the notables present! It was nice to be invited as recognition for the work we have been doing in representing small to medium manufacturers.

The DMDII led by UI Labs is a consortium of 73 companies, nonprofits, research labs and universities partnering with the federal government to create a novel partnership between world-leading manufacturing experts and cutting-edge software companies to enable interoperability across the supply chain, develop enhanced digital capabilities to design and test new products, and reduce costs in manufacturing processes across multiple industries.  The digital hub is backed by $70 million Department of Defense grant and another $250 million in private sector, academic and and other local governmental funding.

The vision of the DMDII is to be “a unique public-private partnership acting as a world-class, first-of-its-kind manufacturing hub.  The Institute has the capabilities, innovative spirit, and collaborative expertise to transform American manufacturing.”  The institute will be a research and development center for digital manufacturing and design plus workforce development and education specific to digital manufacturing.

Links to other articles and press releases regarding DMDII:

Chicago Tribune - UI Labs set to open doors of new digital manufacturing Institute

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-ui-labs-to-open-doors-bsi-story.html

World Business Chicago

http://www.worldbusinesschicago.com/dmdii/

NBC Chicago - Emanuel: "Olympic Gold-Winning" Bid Helped Land Digital Manufacturing http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/obama-midwest-manufacturing-247086581.html

Chicago Magazine - The Immense Ambition of Chicago’s Digital Manufacturing Hub
http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/March-2014/The-Immense-Ambition-of-Chicagos-Digital-Manufacturing-Hub/

Press Release - President Obama Announces Two New Public-Private Manufacturing Innovation Institutes and Launches the First of Four New Manufacturing Innovation Institute Competitions
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/25/president-obama-announces-two-new-public-private-manufacturing-innovatio

Industry Week – Advancing the Business of Manufacturing
http://www.industryweek.com/innovation/chicago-new-home-digital-manufacturing-and-design-innovation-institute

On October 2nd,  President Barack Obama issued a presidential proclamation declaring October 3, 2014 National Manufacturing Day.  The President stated the following in his proclamation:  “On National Manufacturing Day, more than 1,600 American manufacturers will open their doors and take up the important work of inspiring our young people to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering. Today's science, technology, engineering, and math graduates will power the next chapter of American production and innovation, and harnessing their potential is an economic imperative. When our manufacturing base is strong, our entire economy is strong. Today, we continue our work to bolster the industry at the heart of our Nation. With grit and resolve, we can create new jobs and widen the circle of opportunity for more Americans".  Presidential Proclamation.

In a speech Obama made at Northwestern University on October 2 he stated: “When our manufacturing base is strong, our entire economy is strong. Today, we continue our work to bolster the industry at the heart of our Nation. With grit and resolve, we can create new jobs and widen the circle of opportunity for more Americans.”  Video of remarks made at Northwestern University

President Obama also announced several initiatives aimed at manufacturers including a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute competition, a Digital Tour of American Manufacturing, and resources to help manufacturers locate in the United States.

On the Third Annual Manufacturing Day more than 1,600 U.S. manufacturers are opening their factories to members of the public and it will be the largest to date.  Working with schools, local governments, and communities, manufacturers are welcoming more than 50,000 people into American factories to experience the strong future of American manufacturing and to excite young people about the promising careers in manufacturing and engineering. This effort is supported by the Department of Commerce and manufacturing industry associations.