Does your manufacturing organization have the “Critical Mass” to grow?

Definition of Critical Mass:

A size, number, or amount large enough to produce a particular result.

 

By Bill May, President HVM

Based on information from the Institute for Supply Management, economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in December 2024 for the ninth consecutive month and the 25th time in the last 26 months, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

During these 26 months of contraction, most organizations have continued to shrink their workforce. This is particularly true of management, leadership, and technical staff.

 

 

Manufacturing Optimism

The business atmosphere has changed significantly in the past few months.

High Value Manufacturing (HVM) recent research indicates the following:

  • The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) conducted surveys that found 16 of 18 manufacturing sectors anticipate growth in the 1 to 4% range in 2025.
  • The US manufacturing sector is on the cusp of a significant recovery after navigating a prolonged period of economic challenges.
  • Many manufacturers are pinning their hopes on the Trump administration to usher in more growth and investment while slashing regulatory burden.

As the manufacturing sector continues to recover, the challenge becomes one of how to grow the workforce, particularly the leadership team.

 

 

Issue: Vacancies or Inexperience

Numerous manufacturing plants have a significant shortage of skilled employees in Manufacturing Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality Engineering, and Supply Chain.  Attempts to hire recent college graduates usually have not been fruitful. Typically, the “critical mass” of the leadership team prevents successful operations of the plant while simultaneously hiring and training new employees.

HVM’s research indicates that many manufacturing plants have at least 25 to 30 percent of their management leadership positions open at the current time.  In many cases, even in the positions which are filled, the employee lacks capability to perform their tasks due to inexperience. This leads to significant performance problems with day-to-day operations and launch of new product programs, which exacerbates the plant’s performance issues.

Even more concerning is the inability to fill the open positions in a timely manner.

 

Solution: Experienced Contractor Resources

HVM has engaged in previous situations to assist clients temporarily fill these open-leadership positions, identify potential permanent replacements, and mentor new hires.

HVM has the ability to provide highly experienced Manufacturing Engineers and Managers to assist with the day-to-day operational initiatives as identified by Plant Leadership. HVM’s resources have 25+ years’ experience with the day-to-day operations of manufacturing plants and with launching new products, processes, and equipment.  HVM’s past experience indicates that each Skilled Contractor can replace, mentor and provide on-the-job training (OJT) for 3 to 5 newly hired college graduates or limited experience employees.

Contractors’ experience and knowledge will include new program launch, equipment start-up and system debug with focused experiences in lean system design, project management, maintenance & manufacturing operations. Check out HVM case studies about project successes.

 

 

Hands-On Impact / Mentorship

In addition to performing the day-to-day functions of the unfilled manufacturing positions, HVM contractors will mentor the existing less experienced engineers and supervisors. Also, contractors will support the hiring efforts of the plant by interviewing and vetting new employee candidates.  After onboarding the HVM contractors will mentor and provide OJT for the new hires.

Specific tasks will include:

  1. Perform daily duties and functions for the Operations, Production Control and Logistics, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, Facilities and Maintenance staff open positions.
  2. Work directly with Plant Leadership to identify priority areas.
  3. Identify and resolve gaps in engineering, scheduling and maintenance systems and processes to improve operations throughput and eliminate
  4. Identify and resolve gaps in manufacturing processes capability and quality to improve daily output.
  5. This work will be performed during the six segments identified below:
    • Perform the daily duties of open positions.
    • Mentor existing resources.
    • Develop/verify job descriptions and skill requirements documents.
    • Vet and interview new candidates.
    • Mentor and provide OJT for new employees.
    • Document and institutionalize this process.
  6. Provide transitional support and mentoring as needed to Plant Leadership and Manufacturing Managers for a set period (TBD).
  7. Provide monthly “Mentoring Check-ups” 2 days per month.

Contact us to learn more or schedule a free consultation to discuss HVM services and resources.

 

About HVM

High Value Manufacturing works with OEMs & Tier 1/2/3 suppliers in automotive, aerospace, and defense industries to increase productivity, cut costs, and generate cash to the bottom line. The highly experienced team at HVMC understands what it takes to be successful in today’s manufacturing environment. We rely on vast professional experience, best practices, and innovation to produce quick response solutions for clients.

 

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