Elevating Customer Experience
Revolutionizing Inpro’s Manufacturing with Innovative Processes and Technology
Ayla Starr works at Inpro Corporation.
With a commitment to customer and employee experience, a dedicated team within Inpro’s Commercial Washroom Division embarked on a journey to leverage cutting-edge technology and improved processes starting at the production line.
Inpro’s Commercial Washroom Division manufactures shower bases, walls, partitions, seats and more, serving customers all over the world in Elevating Customer Experience industries like healthcare, education, and even modular construction.
As Matt Budnik, the division’s Senior Sales Director, simply put it: “Inpro is dedicated to investing in ways that help us hit our customers’ deadlines even faster.”
And yesterday’s unveiling of the latest technology on the manufacturing floor, was a great reminder of the remarkable impact this team’s innovation has had on various aspects of the business.
A Collaborative Quest for Improvement
Early last year, the Commercial Washroom Division team embarked on a mission to boost throughput by an impressive 30%. This mission encompassed manufacturing advancement, employee well-being, environmental sustainability, enhanced quality control and amplified capacity.
The team mapped out the manufacturing sector of our washroom’s secondary pour area, unveiling existing issues that begged for innovative solutions. Recognizing the need to rethink the layout and incorporate modern equipment, a team of internal operations and support partners joined forces, employing the minds throughout Inpro’s various departments.
To achieve their vision, the team turned to utilizing Lean Six Sigma and 3P – Production Preparation Process.
Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement approach that combines Lean Management and Six Sigma. The goal is to improve performance by eliminating waste and defects. Lean Six Sigma uses a team-based approach to systematically remove waste and reduce process variation.
3P is an events-based method for simultaneously developing new products, and the standards and workflows to support them, particularly to elevate product design and/or production.
The scope and “hows” of the project evolved over time, but one aspect remained constant: collaboration.
The Driving Force Behind the Transformation
By integrating new technology, the goals of this project aimed to bolster manufacturing capacity and streamline turnaround times. The results did just that.
- The ergonomic design of new cranes ensured both efficiency and employee safety.
- Upgrading to energy-efficient ovens demonstrated the application of Inpro’s commitment to environmental responsibility.
But the integration of technology wasn’t merely about efficiency—it was also about quality assurance. The newly adopted processes allowed for meticulous control at every stage, from mixing to pouring and curing. This commitment to precision directly translated to a higher standard of product quality.
Dave Hendrickson, Plant Manager of the Commercial Washroom Division, remarked: “Utilizing the 3P methodology our team came up with a plan to not only meet our current goal of a 30% throughput improvement; but at the minimum allow us to double that throughput. With the input of frontline employees and the support of senior management, we are utilizing automation to allow us to decrease lead times, increase quality, and improve the safety of our partners on the operations floor.”
- These advancements significantly increased the division’s capacity to serve its clients, effectively doubling Inpro’s ability to meet our commercial washroom deadlines.
- Shipping logistics underwent a strategic repositioning, optimizing for present and future shipping volumes.
- Racking systems were strategically installed for efficient storage of raw materials, packaging, and finished products.
- Post-cure ovens helped decrease noise, improve energy efficiency, and enhance productivity.
- Bridge cranes now spanned a larger area, accommodating simultaneous production of varied base sizes and styles.
And Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Autocaster machine was a reminder of the progress that’s been made over this last year. The Autocaster removes the laborious task of manually gathering, weighing, and mixing raw materials with technology that allows the machine to perform those tasks according to a strict recipe, controlled by an operator.
The new Autocaster took a process that once consumed 75-90 minutes, streamlining it to a mere 10 minutes.
“Since we began this project a year ago, the scope has changed and changed again somewhat,” says Zach Frankowski, Continuous Improvement Manager. “The group at every step has worked together and collaborated each time to ensure they had buy-in from each other. I am so excited for this team and the journey of improvement they are on. This has been an awesome project and we are already working on the next area of opportunity for our Commercial Washrooms division.”
This team’s dedication to elevating customer experience through technology and innovative processes is a testament to Inpro’s commitment to customer delight. By enhancing manufacturing efficiency, product quality, and overall capacity, the Commercial Washrooms Division has not only met the needs of the facilities and the building professionals that serve them, but has set a new standard for customer-centric manufacturing in the industry.
More from Modular Advantage
How Rebel Concept Harnesses AI as a Design Tool to Improve the DFMA Process
“The complexity of projects and the size of project are so large, and the technology is so complicated that AI would do it so much faster than we are,” says Kris Droszcz, CEO at Rebel Concept. “Everybody’s struggling to control the manufacturing processes according to the design. And I think that’s what AI will do.”
One Answer from AI Can Provide Innumerable Opportunities, says Stack Modular’s Jim Dunn
The Stack AI Engine is not fully functional yet, but it offers an unlimited number of productivity benefits. Currently, the company is using AI for cost estimates, most recently for a project out in California.
GrayWolf: Building the Future of Modular Data Centers to Power the AI Revolution
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based applications has created an urgent need for data centers capable of managing massive amounts of data. As businesses across industries increasingly rely on digital infrastructure to power their AI tools, the demand for data centers has skyrocketed.
Artificial Intelligence: Yes, it is a Construction Game-Changer
Much like other sectors of the economy, AI is reshaping construction, revolutionizing how projects are planned and executed across the country. While it is obvious that AI cannot do certain things by itself, like laying bricks, paving roads, or shingling roofs, its impact stands to be both massive and positive.
The Potential and Possibilities of AI for Offsite
AI is everywhere. Many industries have incorporated AI into business as usual with new organizational structures and new dependencies to be more efficient and to automate repetitive tasks. Offsite construction will not be immune to AI’s ubiquity. The technology offers unique benefits to the offsite building process.
Moving from AI Hype to an AI Advantage
Learning about AI will help you see past the overinflated hype and identify the opportunities specific to your own business. Learning about AI is like peeling an onion – each layer reveals something new, and occasionally it might make your eyes water. But in the end, you’ll have all the ingredients you need to cook up some real innovation in your organization.
The Blueprint for Smart and Ethical AI Integration in Your Business
The journey toward smart and ethical AI integration involves crafting a strategic vision that aligns AI’s transformative potential with your organizational goals. True success with AI is measured by its capacity to enhance human capabilities, foster sustainable growth, and generate value for all stakeholders while actively avoiding ethical pitfalls and harmful risks.
Five Factors for Success When Shifting Your Business to Modular
As labor, competitive and cost factors push more contractors and developers to embrace the opportunity to go modular as a first choice and not a last resort, it’s become clear that adopting this new model requires more than just a willingness to make it happen. Here are five factors to consider as your company moves to a modular construction model:
UniCool-Edge: Optimized Cooling Solutions for Modular and Edge Data Centers
In an industry where efficiency, scalability, and security are crucial, the UniCool-Edge™ system is a revolutionary solution for modular data center manufacturers. By offering external mounting for maximum space utilization, energy-efficient cooling, and pre-commissioned reliability, UniCool-Edge helps manufacturers stay ahead in the rapidly evolving AI-driven data center market. As edge data centers continue to expand, solutions like UniCool-Edge will play a vital role in supporting the next generation of modular data centers and their data center infrastructure.
Building Skills in a Virtual World: Immersive Training for the Modern Workforce
As both the hardware and software for developing and deploying XR applications continue to become more affordable, the investment in this technology as a training tool is increasingly appealing. XR also offers several other benefits, including performing potentially hazardous tasks in a safe environment and acquiring new skills without the immediate need for physical materials.