Spuncast, Inc. in Watertown uses centrifugal force to ensure that each metal casting they manufacture has a perfect circular balance for maximum strength.  But just six months ago, it took a different sort of force for President Ron Rohrmayer to realize that his organization was out of balance and losing strength – and momentum – fast.  Rohrmayer recalls that although Spuncast had been growing for years, the economy started delivering consecutive blows that were increasingly difficult to manage.  In his opinion, “We needed a stable organization that was going to be able to bounce back on their feet and keep running.” 

WMEP manufacturing specialists Maureen Brom and Sam Miller performed a comprehensive assessment of the company and determined that Spuncast’s organizational structure was not supporting the goals and growth they were trying to achieve.  Brom and Miller helped Spuncast’s 106 employees build a Lean Enterprise Culture, a force based on teams, cooperative leadership, effective communication, and continuous improvement.  As one part of the process, Miller utilized personality assessments to convert potential team conflicts and weaknesses into opportunities for team growth. In Brom’s opinion, “In terms of employee involvement, the company has turned itself around … in the beginning there was very little communication, and everyone was stressed out … they went from virtually no involvement to over half of the workforce participating in continuous improvement activities in just six months.”

Although it is still too early to quantify, Spuncast will measure their return on investment according to hours and dollars they’ve spent on training, employee involvement in continuous improvement activities, improved work attendance, and increased productivity.  All of these measures will contribute to the positive impact on costs and profits they expect to see in the coming quarters.

Rohrmayer knows that investing in an empowered workforce will bring him results: “To get a healthy organization, you need to put hard work in before you realize anything.  As we’re developing our people, we’re building a stronger, more versatile organization.”