Elastic Therapy, Inc. Spins 5S into Leg Wear

Elastic Therapy, Inc. a private label medical hosiery company, was awarded the North Carolina State University Industrial Extension Service (IES) 1B4NC award on December 4th, 2008. The event drew in regional support including the Mayor of Asheboro, David Jarrell, as well as the Mayor Pro Tem, David Smith, Randolph County Economic Development Corporation representatives and ETI employees.

Mac Ramsay, president of ETI, thanked IES for their guidance and then turned to his employees, held up the 1B4NC plaque and said, “this is due to your hard work.”

The textile company reported over $2 million in value based on lean training consisting of an on-site training session facilitated by extension specialists at IES. Once they got a taste for the benefits of lean, they then toured an award-winning lean facility, which inspired them to bring lean into their own facility.

Bryan Trogdon and Gentry Hinson, both process improvement engineers at ETI, were instrumental in the implementation of lean, which focuses on lean’s 5S principles:

ETI began the lean process by moving one entire cell into a very condensed area. “We found everything but the kitchen sink in there,” said Trogdon. Lean emphasizes the elimination of waste and streamlining of process.

5S follows the rule that everything has a place and generally that ‘place’ is designated using a brightly colored masking tape which is applied to a location on the plant floor. “We’ve spent hundreds of dollars on tape,” said Trogdon. And it shows. The plant is impeccably clean and organized; a true exemplar of what a textile plant should aspire to in the 21st century.

Trogdon and Hinson developed a 5S analysis which helps associates take ownership of the process. Their overall 5S rating, which takes into account each of the ‘S’ components of 5S, has increased from 18 percent to 97 percent and downtime was reduced by 32 percent.

Both Trogdon and Hinson are on the plant floor initiating the process, but add that that is the easy part, and sustainability is truly the key. “We’ve got to get our hands dirty, so we understand what it takes (to make improvements),” said Trogdon.

The Asheboro plant, which has 197 employees and 200 knitting machines, produces hundreds of SKUs (Stock-Keeping Units) based on size, color and purpose. Their products include anti-embolism stockings, sheer products, surgical weight stockings and a variety of men’s and women’s socks, of various compression levels. One of their newest products include leg wear for those suffering from diabetes.

Trogdon and Hinson are already looking toward the next destination on their continuous improvement journey. They want to tackle standardizing work, initiating one-piece-flow, and reducing their inventory, much the same way their idols at Snap-On Tools had.

Adopting and implementing lean principles had led Snap-On Tools to win the silver North Carolina Shingo Prize in 2007. The North Carolina Shingo Prize is an award honoring North Carolina companies that achieve excellence in world-class lean manufacturing processes. This program is sanctioned by the North American Shingo Prize, which has been hailed as the “Nobel Prize” of manufacturing.

Last year, Trogdon and Hinson were fortunate to participate in a tour of Snap-On’s Murphy, North Carolina plant, which inspired them for greatness. Elastic Therapy, Inc. is no stranger to quality. They are ISO 9001:2000 and CE European certified.

“We want to be Snap-On,” said Trogdon.