On November 21st, members of the Bluewater Wood Alliance attended the Plant Tour Focus Group at Windmill Cabinets located in Chatham, Ontario. The 40,000 sq. ft. facility opened its doors to the BWA and focused the group challenge around its product flow and the layout of the facility.
Above: BWA Members gathered in the showroom at the start of WindMill Cabinets Plant Tour Focus Group.
“We are looking for opportunities for continuous improvement, this is a time we welcome interaction with our employees during this tour. Please feel free to ask them questions about their workspaces” Will Holsappel of Windmill Cabinets remarked at the beginning of the tour.
Above: BWA members interact with employees at WindMill Cabinets as they look for solutions to the plant tour challenges.
After the plant tour, all attendees grouped off to discuss and share ideas of things they liked seeing and areas the facility could improve. This was followed by each group reporting on all ideas discussed and suggestions for improvement.
Above: Mike Baker, Executive Director facilitates the discussion after the Plant Tour.
“I liked the good use of the distance between machines” One member commented to the group; there were many more ideas and suggestions for the host – however, to be part of the action, it’s necessary to attend and see everything up-close and in person.
Members also had the opportunity to take time to expand their connections as it was observed mini discussions by the attendees were building new contacts to continue after the tour.
Upcoming Events: https://www.wmco.ca/events-2/
The BWA hosts Plant Tour Focus Groups throughout the year with an emphasis on Kaizen (Continuous Improvements). Tour hosts have the benefit of presenting a challenge to the tour attendees and receiving solution-oriented feedback on how to improve processes, systems and address ongoing challenges in a truly collaborative environment.
If you are a wood manufacturer and would like to host a plant tour with the BWA, or if you would like to attend a Plant Tour Focus Group and are not a member of the BWA, please contact:
Mike Baker, BWA Executive Director
p: 226-668-5455
e: manager@bluewaterwoodalliance.com
The BWA is Southwestern Ontario’s only industry-led managed cluster of wood manufacturers facilitating the needs and challenges of wood companies.
Want to be connected in the discussion and collaborations? Interested in training and skills development of your workforce? Navigate to our membership registration page here and find out how to get involved: https://www.wmco.ca/joinnow/
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