Material Shortages

[drewkaree]

Lean Sigma, aka "just in time" manufacturing.

I wish I could choke the crap out of people in my company so myopic as to not consider how taking a step back to look at things might help in the short AND long term with what's going on.

We will deliver, HOURS away from our depot, to a place or places that are a pitching wedge away from a place we delivered to mere hours or a day prior. The waste in labor, fuel, and lost time simply for JIT servicing.. . SMH at the rigidity of some companies and the unwillingness to adapt to what is clearly going on all over.

The plus for us was a national contract that did not stop with new installation (and business) during all of this - the exact opposite of the DFW experience, they're coming out of this better prepared AND cutting their costs as their business increases

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm in heavy manufacturing for bulk material processing. Vibrating conveyors, rotary dryers, fluid bed dryers, baghouses, cyclones, feed screws, that sort of thing. Some of our machines are on the order of 50 tons of steel. In a typical year, we ship between 4 and 5 machines a week. Business hasn't slowed down even a little for us, however lead times on raw materials is killing us. We're being forced to order material on "verbal" PO's to get around long lead times (especially on stainless, AR400, or any exotic metal), and truncated customer schedules. Typical schedule for a high end dryer is 14-16weeks from PO to delivery. We have customers asking for 8-10week deliveries, and asking what the expedite cost is to make it happen. We'll take their money, and then fight our way through getting material and manpower in place to make it happen.

Truth be told, manpower is just as scarce of a resource as raw material. I can't find fitters/welders that want to work. We're hiring it at the high of industry average +10-15% pay, have excellent benefits, and are an ESOP company. I've had 3 guys just this week leave us and go across the street for $2/hr more. How do I compete with that and remain competitive? In the mean time my guys that are being loyal and sticking around I'm having to ask for (4) 12's and an 8 to get production met. They love the paychecks with overtime, but they're getting burnt out.

It's a strange market we're in, and I haven't cracked the code on how to overcome it yet. Currently just a suffer-fest at a high level.

 

[J-RAD]

The cabinet industry is no different.

Functional hardware -
We are having to purchase whatever drawer guides are available at the time and ordering for projects months in advance and hoping they arrive. Trying to order a assortment every couple weeks to build a consistent inventory to cover projects. We're told it's a shortage of steel and labor and industry wide panic buying. Distributors have started implementing quotas for many buyers.

Manufacturers of cabinet accessories using the same guides for roll-outs like garbage cans have been on backorder for months. We finally installed a pantry pullout in a project we completed 3 months ago.

Wood -
MDF sheets have been scarce and increased in price due to resin shortage, they're had to start substituting particle board as the core for wood veneer sheets. Imported materials like Baltic birch plywood used for drawer boxes have been scarce and prices have increased dramatically.

Decorative hardware -
It's down to customers picking from whatever is left. We've had some in backorder and dates keep pushing back.

Finishes -
Having to change lacquer brands due to the white tinted base being unavailable, with no projected dates for restocking.

The building industry in general is booming in Utah despite everything. This has been our best year and our worst year. Best because we've done more business than ever and the worst because of everything above and the endless hours of overtime required to keep up.

 

[haknslash]

Many things are contributing to the supply issues that have resulted in a perfect storm. One of the biggest factors in my opinion is Lean Sigma, aka "just in time" manufacturing. Toyota pioneered this years ago and it caught on with US manufacturers. I have personally been involved with a dozen lean sigma events. The problem with this just in time "perfect engine" manufacturing plan is that one good disruption and you find yourselves in the situation we are in now. That's the case with the computer chips that are holding up the auto manufacturing business. If you limit your supply of raw materials and parts to an order in order out limited inventory process, you have no where to go. Toyota experienced this with the Earthquake that caused the tsunami. They realized just in time works for some raw materials and parts, but may not work with the more delicate hard to source parts, so they scaled up inventory of those items and did not for others.

So if you have all of these different manufacturers in the US running on just in time delivery methods, and then throw in a pandemic which slows down shipping, the whole thing compounds itself to the point that we have these massive lead times.

Covid most certainly is hampering the supply chain due to China ports shutting down and worker shortages at the 2 major ports in SoCal, but I firmly believe that our desire to limit inventory and run on a just in time process really screwed everyone up to the point there was no breathing room for supply shortages.

I cannot agree with this more!!

We are one of the world’s top extinguisher manufacturer and adopted to Just in Time about 7 years ago. When it works perfect, it’s great! I could burn that damn Toyota book right now!! However as you know, in times like this it’s a real cluster F***!! It has been amazing what my Product Engineering department and our Purchasing department has been able to achieve this year in terms of procurement hurdles and obstacles. The fact we haven’t had to do a plant shutdown is honestly shocking at this point but we just keep trying to explore all avenues to keep raw materials and parts pouring in. Of course upper management brass has no real idea what it has taken to keep products flowing. They just want to know how to make the lead times shorter ...ugh!

I was never a big fan of Lean Manufacturing as you could see just how borderline crazy it is when you’re running on the ragged edge of getting product in the door and keeping just enough on-hand for low inventories and floor space consumption. Unfortunately despite how crazy and hard it has been for manufacturing these past two years, the CEO’s and fat cats of this nation will stick to their guns and continue to buy overseas rather than invest as a whole into our country. I know it’s easier said than done but this is the reality our country needs to face. Be a strong producer of goods and control the flow or be at the mercy of the storms with zero protection all in the name of higher profit margins. It gets really frustrating at times seeing how we love to shoot ourselves in the foot in this country for the mighty (inflated) dollar.

It doesn’t matter how big or small. We’ve had shortages of everything from glues and adhesives, hose suppliers (same folks that make well known tires in some instances) not be able to get nylon thread for the booster hoses, tons of stainless steel coils for cylinder forming, lumber for heat treated pallets, adhesive for label backing, pressure gauges, steel coils for brackets and cylinders and on and on. Honestly I feel this isn’t about plants shutting down in China but rather a very smart way to become the worlds strongest super power by turning the faucet down to a slow trickle for the rest of the world. Basically it’s better than bombing a country, having to fire a single shot or put a troop on the ground. As long as we are as dependent as we are on raw materials and products from overseas we will always be at their mercy and flow of goods.

 

[Robconn]

I once had a manager that had a six sigma black belt in healthcare management. Before covid, I would wonder why the shelves were sparse with the day to day items we used. I was told it was about efficiency in the work place. That stocked items were considered inefficient. I guess? I thought ok so you adopted six sigma from the Japanese philosophy of industrial management and applied it to all aspects of management. But how did that translate to healthcare when items we used were essential. When you need it to be there on the shelf for when a patient needed it. I’m guessing with covid that philosophy will have to be tweaked at best. Now we are in a world where your glad the truck shows up at the loading dock and deflated when half the order is back ordered or cancelled. Anyone with six sigma knowledge out there? I would be interested in how that philosophy is holding up in the current economic market.

 

[2kwik4u]

I once had a manager that had a six sigma black belt in healthcare management. Before covid, I would wonder why the shelves were sparse with the day to day items we used. I was told it was about efficiency in the work place. That stocked items were considered inefficient. I guess? I thought ok so you adopted six sigma from the Japanese philosophy of industrial management and applied it to all aspects of management. But how did that translate to healthcare when items we used were essential. When you need it to be there on the shelf for when a patient needed it. I’m guessing with covid that philosophy will have to be tweaked at best. Now we are in a world where your glad the truck shows up at the loading dock and deflated when half the order is back ordered or cancelled. Anyone with six sigma knowledge out there? I would be interested in how that philosophy is holding up in the current economic market.

Depends on how it was applied.

For us, it's still working great, however we applied the lean philosophy more to the process side than the inventory side. We kept 2x "normal" lead times inventory on hand, and have adjust to 4x with supply shortages. We buy in bulk to get discounts and house on premise to shore up supply chain, however things like the product development and marketing processes were heavily scrutinized, as well as small items like welder/fitter workstation layout, tool crib organization, and work flow within the building. Lean isn't always targeted directly at inventory, when implemented wholistically it's still a great way to increase efficiency within a business.

Just like Dave Ramsey on personal finance, or the number of glasses of wine at the winery with the wife......all good things in moderation, and personal application is key.

 

[ripler]

Worker shortage is hurting our business just as much as material shortages. We are no bidding jobs because we don't have enough workers. The first question that a lot of our customers are asking is do we have the manpower to do the job.

 

[Robconn]

Just had my roof re- shingled. It had been seven years since my insurance company paid for the last roof project. The cost was in line with the previous job. My deductible was the same. I asked the contractor with the increase in supplies how did the price not go up? He said the owners were strategizing when the market will return close to normal pricing and they were prepared to eat costs temporarily. That was May of this year. With the natural disasters with floods, fires that happens since, add in covid and lack of manpower, and the building material prices have risen again.

 

[swatski]

Okay, I was not ready for THAT. there is a shortage of white dress shirts at Jos. A. Bank.

This is starting to affect my sleep, lol.

--

 

[swatski]

The good news is, ships are coming again, and the BIG ones, heading to unload at the Port Elizabeth NJ-NYC; some of them barely fit under the Bayonne bridge.


In bet one of those containers is full of white Jos. A. Bank shirts!!! Pleeeese.

--