Ametek : Rauland Receives Manufacturing Leadership Award in Operational Excellence from the National Association of Manufacturers

MT PROSPECT, Illinois (April 16) - Rauland, a business unit of AMETEK, Inc., has been recognized as a Manufacturing Leadership Awards winner for its achievements in Operational Excellence.

The award is sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

NAM honored Rauland for its innovative, multi-step implementation project that reduced operational costs while improving overall quality and efficiency for its Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA). In addition, Rauland was able to address the risks of being a sole source of populated PCBAs.

The project, which employed a Kaizen approach to improvement, sought to optimize the company's PCBA. Rauland's innovative design achieved labor and cost savings from implementation. With the use of a new common feeder deployment method on two fast assembly lines, and grouping PCBAs with similar bills of material, Rauland was able to reduce the average set-up time by 17%. The project resulted in overall annual cost savings of more than $1 million.

The company was able to reduce scheduled downtime for maintenance, achieving even greater time and cost savings.

'Alternate scheduling methodology during off-hours allows for further efficiency while the line is running,' explained Eduardo Jacobo, Executive Vice President of Operations at Rauland. 'We've been able to optimize our maintenance schedules to minimize downtime using this scheduling protocol.'

He added, 'We have enhanced our part scanning and verification process, created in-circuit testing efficiencies and panelized PCBAs to allow programming for multiple boards at the same time. As a result, test times have improved by 47%.'

Rauland's team will receive the Leadership Award at the 15^th Annual Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala held on June 12 at the Manufacturing Leadership Summit in Huntington Beach, CA.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Awards
The Manufacturing Leadership Awards, now in their 15th year, honor manufacturing companies and individual manufacturing leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Winning projects and individual manufacturing leaders have demonstrated achievement in one of a wide range of categories and are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that have delivered clear and compelling value, return on investment, and other tangible outcomes. There will be several winners in each category, including one High Achiever's Award in each category, as well as a 2019 Manufacturer of the Year for both small and large enterprises. Also unveiled at the Gala will be the ML Awards Manufacturing Leader of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

About the National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes $2.25 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development in the nation. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States.

The NAM's world-class staff of policy experts provide unmatched access and information on the key issues affecting your business and bottom line. We are on the front lines of a wide range of policy battles, from immigration reform and labor relations, to energy and the environment, to trade policy and taxes. At every turn, we are working on behalf of manufacturers in America to advance policies that help manufacturers do what they do best: create economic strength and jobs.
www.nam.org

About Rauland
Rauland, a business unit of AMETEK, Inc., is a respected leader in the design and delivery of critical communications, workflow and life-safety solutions for healthcare and education worldwide. AMETEK is a global leader in electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with colleagues at numerous manufacturing, sales and service locations in the United States and in many other countries around the world.
www.rauland.com.