Roanoke Electric Cooperative

All of Roanoke Electric Cooperative's services and operations are based on four particular core values of success:

•integrity
•accountability
•innovation
•commitment to community

In order to ensure that these values are manifested in all that we do, REC is committed to maintaining a highly skilled and dedicated workforce through continuing education and training.

Why? To achieve three goals.

The first is to deliver excellent customer service. Why? Because the customer of the 21st century demands excellent service. With all of the competition among services today, customers can pick and choose at will, searching for companies most in tune with their needs and their pocketbooks. And while they may not be able to choose their electric utility, they have the same expectations for top-notch quality and service from REC.

The growing significance of meeting -- or exceeding -- customer demands for quality service has certain implications for our not-for-profit company. We have an opportunity to set ourselves apart from other well-known and prominent utility companies and to show why the cooperative way of business is the best way to do business.

REC operates on the premise that good customer service starts with our employees. So how do we make ourselves stand-out? By making certain that our workforce is trained in communication, customer services, and time management skills. Individual excellence in these areas is essential to becoming a productive and confident professional who always puts the customer first.

The second goal is to develop a more skilled workforce. We recognize that a more skilled workforce results in increased economic productivity. The productivity of labor-the output produced per hour of work-is a function of what the employee knows and can do.

The third goal is to attract and retain talented employees. Studies show that employees and potential employees rate continuing education as a very important component of the job.

Part of meeting these three goals in the workforce has been through our workforce development training programs. In 2005, through an Incumbent Workforce Grant, REC offered employees workshops on stress, time, and priority management, conflict resolution, development planning, and computer software training. This focused training produced immediately recognizable improvements and results. As a non-profit organization we rely on grants like this to help us achieve excellence through education in the workplace, which can be difficult in rural, remote areas like ours, where educational opportunities are rare and where it is difficult to attract highly qualified employees.

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Carolina Cabinet Company

Carolina Cabinet Company in Black Creek, NC is one of the leading manufactures of custom commercial display cabinets on the East Coast. In order to meet the demands of their market, they had to make improvements to their current practices in producing and shipping products in a timely fashion. Because the administration at Carolina Cabinet was concerned not only with the quality of their work, but also the satisfaction of their customers in receiving their products, they decided that it was time to introduce changes to their current machining department. Carolina Cabinet utilized resources that were offered through Wilson Technical Community College and Incumbent Workforce Development Grant, though the NC Commission on Workforce Development.

In a very short period of time, through the lean manufacturing process, the company; saw a 75% reduction in overtime. During the same time frame, they also had a new product line rollout and saw a 25% decline in labor requirements, but double the output. The impact of the improvements has not only been surprising to management, but to staff as well. All 110 employees of Carolina Cabinet have embraced this most needed change.

Carolina Cabinet was introduced to value stream mapping with Wilson Technical Community College. They were provided with a picture of where they currently were and what that could accomplish by new implementations. They mapped the machining process, identified weak areas, and came up with an improvement implantation plan. Step one was to streamline the process. Carolina Cabinet was able to get rid of some equipment, reduce the size of others, all while freeing up 2,100 feet of potential production space. This enabled them to run products quicker, smoother and with fewer hang-ups. From time studies, they found that some jobs which had previously take two or more days was now taking between four and five hours.

Not only was Carolina Cabinet able to increase production, but they were also able to cut expenses. They were now producing 25 units per week, up from 10 units and they were able to ship products out quicker, which allowed them not to need a storage facility, that they were renting and now storing everything in a company owned building.

Within the last year, Carolina Cabinet Company has seen a 10% growth in overall company sales. Although the overtime has been cut, they made a commitment that no job would be lost; in fact they have hired new employees in order to handle larger contracts. The biggest success for Carolina Cabinet has been getting a contract with Sprint in November 2005, which would not have been possible without the many improvements offered to them through the Incumbent Worker Grant.

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Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products is a manufacture of automotive replacement parts and a supplier of Engine Management and Temperature Control parts for both domestic and imported cars and trucks. Because of the size of SMP, management found that it was imperative that the company performs as smoothly as possible due to the large amount of competition. After speaking with David Harrawood, SMP was introduced to Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt and also the potential to receive funding through the Incumbent Workforce Development Grant.

Six Sigma is a statistical measure of variability, the process ensures that service or manufacturing process is free of defects. In Six Sigma, Black Belts are technically-oriented personnel selected to become on-site implementers of Six Sigma. They are trained to reduce the variation of products to meet the level desired by Six Sigma. Green Belts are trained to use many of the statistical tools that contribute to the overall success of the company. Through the use of Green Belts and the implement of special projects, the company will experience tremendous savings that can be seen throughout the progress of the change process.

Since the implementation of Black Belt and Green Belt, Standard Motor Products has had an increase in its market share which has cause an expansion in the Wilson, NC facility. The company is also now better prepared to compete with larger companies for product production and contracts. Over the last two years, production has increased by approximately 35%, product defects are down more than 25%, and on-time delivery has improved by 50%. Not only has the company seen growth, but 19 employees have received certification in Six Sigma, there has been an increase in employee retention, a decrease in employee layoffs and a decrease in employee turnover. Most important to the employees, over 50% of employees have received a wage increase. None of this would have been without the Incumbent Worker Grant.

Tim Parrish, Plant Manager, had this to say; "The Six Sigma training, we have received has raised the quality awareness in our facility. It has also provided tools that have been used to reduce scrap and rework."
Scrap 2003= 4.58%, Scrap 2004= 2.3%, YTD 2005= 2.2%

Turning Point Workforce Development Board is proud to be able to offer grant monies to area businesses that allows for both company and employee growth.