EDI's Kevin White, left, discusses production issues with Scott Newell, president of BlueWater Ropes, a Carrollton-based manufacturer.
Macon Plastics called on Randy Green, ME 78, an information technology specialist in EDI's Dublin office. Green saw an opportunity to streamline the processes. He built a database that linked to the company's existing software package and generated a daily scheduling report. While this was an improvement, it got better. The second phase eliminated all the paper by using computer terminals throughout the shop. The new system is real time, showing the orders on the computer terminals and rearranging the priorities. Macon Plastics' software improvement has yielded tangible benefits, including a 26 percent increase in sales. Work-in-process has been cut by more than 50 percent and lead times have been slashed from five to seven days to one to two days. "The results so far are better than we ever hoped for," Jim Woods says. "It's overwhelming how much more efficient everything is." lueWater Ropes, a Carrollton-based manufacturer of specialty rope products, confronted a market flooded by Asian and eastern European imports. Scott Newell, president of BlueWater, turned to EDI because of both its understanding of the manufacturing process and its relationship to Georgia Tech. Newell says EDI helped stabilize employment, increase productivity and cut costs. Kevin White, EDI project manager, helped the company
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develop a comprehensive business plan — including creating a Web site, conducting market research and establishing quality standards certification. Newell says Tech's assistance reduced costs by 15 percent, boosted productivity by 10 percent and helped avoid a layoff that could have taken 20 percent of the company's jobs. The changes enabled the company to enter new markets, manage resources more efficiently and improve training and marketing. Assistance for BlueWater came from the Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center. Operated by EDI for the U.S. Department of Commerce, the center helps companies that have been hurt by competition from imported goods. "Georgia Tech's assistance provided great marketing information on what our customers thought of us as a company and what they thought of our products," Newell says. -Z-GO — the world's largest manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles — faced a potential traffic snafu in the workplace. Its 1,000 employees, 39 lift trucks, 40 maintenance vehicles, more than 25 golf cars and 35 incoming tractor trailers were competing for right-of-way. Tim Pletcher, E-Z-GO Textron's recently retired vice president of operations, says there was serious potential for a workplace traffic jam. "We called Georgia Tech and told them we would like some help in approaching the traffic problem as a civil engiSummer2004 'GEORGIATECH
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