In this issue:
Trus Joist Builds Class A Into New Plant
P&G Speaks on S&OP at Softworld Conference
the
Oliver Wight’s Four Steps to Bottom Line
Results
wight line
Trus Joist Builds Class A Into New Plant
Very few companies get the opportunity to
start from scratch and build a Class A
operation right from the beginning. Trus
Joist's new Evergreen, Alabama, operation
did have that chance and took advantage
of it to achieve Class A status in just 20
months.
As plant manager Randy Isacson put it,
"The advantage we had was that we never
had to introduce or break any bad habits.
We started off with the bar raised to the
Class A level and this is how we started
operating from day one. It became a
process of us learning how to fine tune the
plant and then working with our associates
to a point that we could achieve Class A."
Trus Joist is an $800 million manufacturer
and marketer of engineered lumber prod-
ucts. The 300,000 square foot facility in
Evergreen, Alabama primarily produces
products the company calls TJI® joists
and Microllam® LVL that are used in resi-
dential construction in joists, headers, roof-
ing beams, and other areas.
Year 2001, Issue 2
Oliver Wight consultant John Proud gives
Isacson a lot of credit. "He and his staff
had a vision and really embraced the
company's efforts in deciding to run their
plant this way. They wanted to work in a
Class A environment right from the start."
The actual impetus for the changes in
the Evergreen, Alabama plant came from
the corporate level of Trus Joist in Boise,
Idaho. The company had to step back
from an initial problematic SAP installa-
tion and realized that it needed not only
to re-implement the SAP software but
also to get everyone on the same page
philosophically. That's when the Oliver
Wight team entered the picture.
As Randy Isacson says, "A critical part of
this whole process was that we had to
have the conviction of all associates. If
you get that commitment and the man-
agers are present in the training meetings
and show their concerns and present the
benefits, then everybody will buy in." Trus
Joist's Evergreen, Alabama, plant certainly
illustrates that commitment.
Results
✓ The plant has been within 2/3 of a
percentage point on its performance
to the production plan
✓ Customer service numbers are now
equally high with results at 99%
✓ Bills-of-material as well as routing
accuracy are 100%
✓ Inventory record accuracy is at 99%
✓ Past-due work is virtually non-
existent
✓ All of the associates have embraced
the ERP system, have used it, and
want to be accurate with it
What is Class A?
For 30 years Oliver Wight has been guiding
companies along The Proven Path to
achieving business excellence. Class A
certification means that a company's oper-
ations and management processes are
effectively structured and implemented, as
outlined by The Oliver Wight ABCD
Checklist, the manufacturing industry's
standard for measuring performance.
Hundreds of companies have seen a dra-
matic return on their investment in Class A
certification.
P&G’s Pietrak Speaks
on S&OP at Softworld
Conference
Walt Pietrak, Internal Logistics consultant
at Procter & Gamble, will present a case
study entitled "Delivering the Business
Strategy using S&OP" at the Softworld
eVolving Supply Chain Solutions
Conference in Boston on April 10 and 11.
The presentation will cover how 14 major
business units of P&G, using the Sales &
Operations Planning process along with
consulting support from Oliver Wight, deliv-
ered against their business strategies
through refocusing and aligning their func-
tional resources.
Pietrak's talk will be given twice, on
Tuesday & Wednesday, April 10 & 11,
2001, at 10:00 - 10:45 AM, each day.
The Softworld eVolving Supply Chain
Solutions Conference takes place at the
World Trade Center, 164 Northern Avenue,
Boston, Massachusetts.
Readers of the Wight Line may attend the
conference free on both days by register-
ing online at www.softworld.com. Simply
use Customer Code SBD008 when regis-
tering and save $75. If you come to the
conference, be sure to visit the Oliver
Wight booth (#505) in the Exhibition Hall.
It's a decision-making
process that ensures that the
tactical plans in all business
functions are aligned and in
support of the business plan.
What Is Sales & Operations Planning?
Sales & Operations Planning is a process
led by senior management that, on a
monthly basis, evaluates revised, time-
phased projections for supply, demand and
the resulting financials. It's a decision-
making process that ensures that the tac-
tical plans in all business functions are
aligned and in support of the business
plan. The objective of S&OP is to reach
consensus on a single operating plan that
allocates the critical resources of people,
capacity, materials, time, and money to
most effectively meet the marketplace in a
profitable way.
Four Steps to Bottom Line Results from
Education and Training - Every Time
a conversation with James G. Correll - Chairman, Oliver Wight Americas
Most companies recognize the importance of Education and Training (E&T). Industry
leaders are always making statements about how E&T is a key ingredient to achieving
success when a new technology or business process is being introduced. Top-level
managers are always talking about how important the people are and how committed
the company is to developing them. Yet budget constraints too often restrict the
amount of education and training. If the truth were known, management isn't really
convinced that the money spent on E&T gets the results.
Jim Correll, Chairman of Oliver Wight, has decades of experience in using training as
an integral component of Class A projects and other consulting engagements. But, as
one who knows the value of training, he also knows that management is not entirely
wrong in its skepticism.
"Most E&T processes don't deliver the results," says Correll. "Why don't they deliver
results? The answer is simple. We don't demand enough from the E&T. When was
the last time you went to a training session and you were checked for competency on
the material delivered? When was the last time that the expectation was established
prior to the E&T to use the knowledge gained? When was the last time performance
evaluations were tied to the behavior change? No wonder we don't get results."
It's not hopeless. Correll offers a four step process that, if properly implemented, will
change the view of E&T and assure that a new technology or business process can
achieve it's potential. Before implementing the four steps, a company needs to
change the view of senior management. They must see education and training as a
strategic
advantage. This means aligning the strategic initiatives and the education and training
to assure the right E&T is done and that it is cost effective. Every new technology ini-
tiative or new process must have an appropriate E&T budget to assure its success.
Step 1 - Set the expectation that there will be a behavior change at the begin-
ning of the E&T
There must be a commitment from management that everyone that is expected to use
the technology or participate in the process will be educated and trained. When stu-
dents are sent to the class they are told why they are going and what the expected
results are.
Step 2 - Do a competency check
To check competency we could use a written test or just a simple observation. What
is important is that the students understand that they must master the technology or
process before they are allowed to perform the function on the job. The competency
check should not be threatening, but one that encourages the student to learn the
process.
Step 3 - Measure the effectiveness of the new process
Any new technology or process needs to be measured to see if it is being used effec-
tively. These measurements need to be done on a regular basis until the process has
become a part of the culture. Even then, ongoing measurements are often a good
idea to assure that the process doesn't unknowingly change.
Oliver Wight Public Education
Thousands of manufacturing professionals and executives have experienced Oliver Wight courses during the last 30 years. Every Oliver Wight instruc-
tor is a consultant with many years of hands-on experience in both corporate-level strategy and shop-floor-level tactics.

Each course is designed so that it can be a stand-alone experience to enhance your personal understanding of a critical topic or serve as an integral
part of a larger implementation project. Participants get a thorough understanding of the fundamental issues, tools, and knowledge requirements to
perform their jobs effectively.

Oliver Wight’s public courses provide a unique opportunity not just to learn from industry experts but also to share experiences with peers from similar
and different industries.

Course Title Tuition Days Who Should Attend

ERP: Achieving Class A $1,895 4 Effective use of ERP Systems requires full, cross-functional
Supply Chain Performance collaboration of all operating managers

Sales & Operations Planning/ $1,450 2 The general manager, his/her staff, marketing managers, product Demand
Management managers, sales managers, master scheduler, demand planners,
customer service managers, ERP and Supply Chain project managers

Inventory Record Accuracy $ 985 2 All p;people who are responsible for inventory records and their accuracy

Lean/Agile Enterprise $1,095 2 Senior executives and their direct reports

Master Scheduling $1,550 3 People from materials, engineering, finance, master scheduling, sales,
manufacturing, marketing and customer service

Forecasting and Demand $1,095 2 Experienced and newly appointed demand managers, demand planners
Planning and forecast analysts and anyone responsible for forecasting demand

Bills of Material $ 895 2 Everyone with a direct stake in the design and accuracy of the Bill of
Material / routing system

Executive Management Course $1,895 2 The general manager, his/her staff and direct reports, the CEO’s staff and
direct reports, new line managers who need a high level overview of
Strategy and Management

Advanced Planning Systems $1,195 2 Managers who are investigating the introduction of Advanced Planning and
Scheduling into their operations

E Business Strategy $ 895 1 Executives who are considering or implementing an e-business initiative

ERP: Successful Implementation $1,350 3 The project leader and other members of the project team, along with key
systems and data processing people

Fast Tracking New Products $1,495 3 Managers and engineers who want to learn to cut product development time

High-Performance Purchasing $ 895 2 Those with purchasing responsibilities and those who manage inventory

Making Change Stick $ 795 1 Executives, managers and leaders who must manage or implement
projects involving change

Plant Scheduling and Capacity Mgt $1,095 3 People who manage capacity and schedules in manufacturing companies

Supplier Managed Inventory $ 595 1 Those responsible for supplying, planning and consuming materials
on both sides of the customer-supplier relationship
Four Steps to Bottom “Ask a Consultant”
Line Results If you have a question, please feel free to
(Continued from Page 2)
send it to us and we will have a qualified
Step 4 - Tie leader and employee per- Oliver Wight consultant answer it! And we
formance evaluation to successful may print the question and answer in one
application of the knowledge gained in of our next Wight Lines. Email your ques-
the E&T tion to shansen@ollie.com.
Since we already have the performance
measure, this should be simple.
Unfortunately, actually following through on
Write for Wight Line
measurements and holding people Do you have a story to tell or a point to
make about manufacturing processes? Has
accountable is something that many com- your company succeeded in applying tech-
panies do not do well. If management is nology in a more effective way? The Wight
really serious about accountability and if Line welcomes unsolicited articles.
the people have received the training
required to perform the function, problems Just send an article of 500 words or less
can be quickly resolved or even avoided (or a 50-word synopsis) to Susan Hansen
entirely. at shansen@ollie.com and we will try to
bring it to our readership.
"It's time for Education and Training to
become a real strategic advantage," says
Correll. "Whether it is implementing new
technologies or taking the current process-
es and making them work properly, E&T is
a requirement." Following these four steps
will assure that the E&T is done properly
and will guarantee bottom line results.

About Oliver Wight

Oliver Wight is a global professional services firm consisting of consultants and educators who specialize in making manufac-
turing companies successful. Our strength is our extensive knowledge of business processes and our unique ability to help
your people deliver sustainable results. Oliver Wight helps clients to initiate and improve Sales & Operations Planning
processes through consulting engagements,public seminars, and private seminars and workshops. To learn more about
Oliver Wight, call us at 800-258-3862 or visit www.ollie.com.

About Oliver Wight Worldwide

Oliver Wight is perfectly positioned to serve both local and global clients. Oliver Wight Americas, based in New London, New
Hampshire, covers the entire Western Hemisphere. Oliver Wight Europe / Africa / Middle East is headquartered in Gloucester,
England. And Oliver Wight Asia / Pacific is based in Hurstville, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney.

OLIVER WIGHT AMERICAS

New London, New Hampshire

OLIVER WIGHT EUROPE/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

Maisemore, Gloucestershire, UK

OLIVER WIGHT ASIA/PACIFIC

Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia