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A focus on manufacturing equipment and metalforming companies ■ How to getmore competitive in 2007 ■ The difficult diplomacy of universal safety standards

Hoist Liftruck relies onquality manufacturing andengineering expertise.

A Pioneer

Hoist Does theHeavy Lifting

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS ■ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS ■ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

Hoist Liftruck relies onquality manufacturing andengineering expertise.

A PioneerNational Instruments enjoys real success with virtual instrumentation.

Hoist Does theHeavy Lifting

A focus on manufacturing equipment and metalforming companies ■ How to getmore competitive in 2007 ■ The difficult diplomacy of universal safety standards

National Instruments enjoys real success with virtual instrumentation.

Hoist Liftruck Manufacturing Inc. Page 108

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H O N E Y W E L L S E N S I N G A N D C O N T R O L

Operating in Boyne City, Mich., for more than 54 years,Honeywell Sensing and Control’s Precision Aerospacebusiness produces actuators, position transmitters, cock-

pit and navigational equipment for military and commercial app-lications. Every system, certification and function of the manu-facturing site is geared toward fulfilling its place in the complex,electromechanical niche of the aerospace industry.

“We do well with complex projects that are low volume, highmix, largely because we understand that our supply chain is crit-ical – we must do well managing our supply chain and work

with key suppliers,” says MarkMarino, Honeywell senior prod-uct manager. “We also are highlyflexible, organizationally, withour senior product developmentengineers frequently involved insupporting production – in addi-tion to new product develop-ment activities. Having our leadengineers support every part of

the product lifecycle goes a long way in ensuring we are meet-ing our customers’ needs, and also builds better engineers in thelong-run. Strong cooperation between manufacturing and newproduct design engineers also allows us to do things quickly in tar-get areas that other manufacturers may struggle with.”

While growing its business through contracts to build legacyproducts, Honeywell is launching new products based on itsstrengths and experience in electromechanical aerospace prod-ucts. “Aligning both the supply chain and factory toward com-plex electromechanical equipment holds the same benefit fornew product launch as it does to win another contract for lega-cy equipment,” Marino says. “Many companies have all but neg-lected legacy product lines or sold them off because they believethey are in the technology business of launching new product.They may not recognize the benefits of properly sustaining ex-isting, valuable product lines like we do.”

As an example, to succeed in a contract that will result in al-most 30 percent growth, Honeywell has spent the last two yearsramping up its operations and supplier base in its Boyne Cityfacility. As a key success factor for this contract award, the oper-

Honeywell Sensing and Controlwww.honeywell.com/sensingMfg. site: Boyne City, Mich.Div. employees: 200 Products: Electro-mechanical equipmentMark Marino: “We areramping up to be the bestwe can be.”

P R O F I L E

HONEYWELL DIVISION BOASTSDYNAMIC MICHIGAN FACILITY BY STACI DAVIDSON

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Honeywell’s Boyne City,Mich., operation servesthe aerospace market.

ation was required to completely reinvent manufacturing pro-cesses and supply chain intricacies for an electromechanical air-craft product designed in the 1940s, but still in wide use today.Aside from being very difficult to manufacture due to strict tol-erances and materials, this is also a “very technically complexproduct,” according to Marino, and very few factories have thecapability to technically understand, build and sustain some-thing with this level of electromechanical complexity.

“We were awarded a much larger overall contract comprisedof actuation, navigational and flight-control products based onour ability and willingness to take on this one key product,” Mar-ino says.

As a part of that effort, Marino’s group succeeded in analyzingdesign dependencies, and then went further to automate cali-bration and testing of the product.

“We are in the business of producing complex electromech-anical equipment – low volume, high mix,” he says. “Our successat this contract demonstrates why we’re in business and grow-ing, while other manufacturing plants may shy away from thiskind of work. We are ramping up to be the best we can be.”

Honeywell mandates a focus on continuous improvement.Marino explains the facility cautiously implements lean manu-

facturing to its varied product mix, and has completed a numberof very successful Six Sigma projects that improve yield andreduce cost of parts – some of which may have been designedbefore the current project engineers were born. The company isalso deploying the Honeywell Operating System to improveoperations through standardized work, direct visible productflows, immediate problem solving, and by allowing leaders to actas mentors to build shop-floor successes.

GROWTH IN A GLOBAL ECONOMYAs Honeywell Sensing and Control’s Precision Aerospace busi-ness grows, it will continue to focus on building its supply chainand enhancing its operation, Marino says. These tactics willallow it to remain competitive, he notes, and will be importantin its ability to secure more contracts.

“This manufacturing site is extremely dynamic, and that isimportant for growth,” he says. “Everyone realizes the require-ments for competing in a global economy. As a result of our com-mitment to remaining an important part of this industry, wework toward continuous improvement in the relationship withour suppliers and our processes. When changes are necessary,we welcome them.”

H O N E Y W E L L S E N S I N G A N D C O N T R O L

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Published by Schofield Media Ltd. Tel: 312.236.4090 Fax: 312.236.4266On behalf of Honeywell Sensing and Control © 2007 Schofield Media Ltd. All rights reserved.