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Businesses learn the value of efficiency

Sinclair's AIM Center lets manufacturers try new technology before they buy and Lean workshops streamline workflow.

(Article from The Dayton Daily News, July 16, 2006, by Nakeisha Rowe, Staff Writer)

DAYTON | You're a Miami Valley manufacturer. You want to try out a piece of $50,000 equipment before you buy it. You may have a solution in downtown Dayton.

The Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Center at Sinclair Community College lets companies try industrial machinery before they buy it, or use them to produce new products.

"We're here to help keep area companies ahead of the game when it comes to technology," said David Dilley, manager of the industry services group at the AIM Center in Building 13.

Manufacturers can use the AIM Center to make, test and optimize their products.
GM, Honda and Chrysler have used the AIM Center's model factory, Dilley said.
The U.K.-based Smiths Aerospace and the U.S. Air Force made and tested new products and improved service and quality through Lean Manufacturing classes that helped them streamline processes and maximize space.

"We saw a 50 percent decrease in cycle times after we went through the Lean course," said Stewart Campbell, director of manufacturing at Smiths Aerospace's Vandalia branch. "It's definitely a wonderful tool for all businesses to utilize."

Donna Hoying, a Gold-level certified Lean project manager, said she has helped companies improve production.

"There was a company that came in once and we helped them take their set-up time for a certain product from 90 minutes to 8½ minutes," Hoying said.

"They were pretty surprised once they went through the course."

Sinclair's AIM Center also helps its co-op students — who get on-the-job experience as part of their academic program — learn more about manufacturing and technology by using the machinery in engineering classes and by letting students help when companies use the machines.

"This is definitely a good way to learn about machines and stuff," co-op student Johneil Kimball said. "I'm glad I could come here."

New Product Development Center Located at the AIM Center

The Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC), teamed with Sinclair Community College, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Third Frontier Project to develop a new product development center at Sinclair.

The PDQ Center for Accelerated Product Development (Products Developed Quickly
Center) is a collaboration of EMTEC and Sinclair, and an expanding list of regional and statewide Ohio manufacturers including Iten Industries (Ashtabula, Ohio), Nexicor (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Erico (Solon, Ohio). The PDQ Center is located at the Advanced Integrated Manufacturing (AIM) Center on the Sinclair campus and managed by
EMTEC.

Companies using the new development center are able to utilize FlexiTracTM, a tool that provides innovative product development services to small- and medium-sized Ohio-based manufacturers dealing with advanced materials. The economic impact of this project is expected to be $25 million annually, with 142 jobs being created or retained over five years. The goal of EMTEC’s PDQ Center is to establish and grow a self-sustaining new product development resource to assist small and medium size companies in the region and the state in gaining a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

“Small- to medium-sized companies don’t always have the talent depth, development tools, or processes in place to rapidly develop new products,” said EMTEC President Frank Svet. “The PDQ Center will provide additional talent, state of the art development tools, and a design process to enable small companies to get their best ideas more rapidly to the market. The PDQ Center will become a regional strength, enabling us to organically grow as well as attract new companies and jobs to our region.”

According to David Swenson, EMTEC vice president, “Competitive success for technology-based, small- and medium-sized companies increasingly depends on speed to market and speed to profits. Developing a competitive advantage now requires a business culture of rapid innovation and concurrent change—a managed complexity.”

EIT Dean Dr. George Sehi noted, “The PDQ Center combines the statewide industrial client reach of EMTEC, hands-on applied engineering design and application at Sinclair and its AIM Center, and seasoned product development, engineering, business, and marketing professionals.”

EMTEC, located in Kettering, is one of seven Edison technology research centers around Ohio. The state established the program in 1984 to coordinate research by industry, government laboratories and universities to develop materials and industrial processes that can make Ohio businesses more competitive.

Funding for the center comes from the Ohio Third Frontier Project, a 10-year, $1.1 billion initiative representing Ohio’s largest ever commitment to expand the state’s high tech research capabilities and promote start-up companies to create high paying jobs for the future.

AIM Center Achieves ISO Certification

The Advanced Integrated Manufacturing (AIM) Center is pleased to announce the awarding of an ISO 9001:2000 registration from SGS Systems and Service Certifications. The registration took effect August 31, 2004, and continues until August 30, 2007.

To obtain the registration, the AIM Center’s Quality Management System achieved compliance with well over 200 requirements in the ISO 9001-2000 Standard. SGS external auditor Ken Bettinger praised the AIM Center’s “dedicated top management,” which includes David Dilley, manager of the AIM Center, and Monica Pfarr, director of the National Center for Manufacturing Education. “We’re very pleased to have achieved certification,” Dilley said. “It’s a very important step in improving our processes and increasing our customers’ level of satisfaction with our products and services.”

The scope of this registration covers the AIM Center’s work for all manufacturing and industry markets, excluding design (7.3.1–7.3.7). This includes training and workforce development, process improvement, and publication services in addition to production support for all the work done in the AIM Center’s Model Factory.

Donna Hoying, Quality Management Representative and the Project Manger for Lean Manufacturing, said of the certification, “It was my goal to improve quality without adding any unnecessary waste. We have achieved that goal, and we continue to strive for improvement every day.” “I think our Quality Policy says it best,” said Hoying. “We AIM to create value and customer enthusiasm and continually improve the Quality Management System.”