Culture-changing tools

One of the activities I enjoy most in connection with my job is visiting production facilities, because I get a chance to see how parts and products are made and have face-to-face interactions with talented metalworking professionals—not to mention that it gets me out of the office now and then.

My most recent trip took me to MTU America Inc., Graniteville, S.C., which manufactures diesel engines for off-road and stationary applications. I initially learned details about the company during a meeting at IMTS 2016 with Jeremy Diebel, senior manager of machining and apprenticeship coordinator. A feature-length profile of the company’s machining operations and apprenticeship program is scheduled for our April issue.

During a shop visit, I typically conduct an interview, frequently involving several members of a company’s team, followed by a plant tour. I always find it fascinating to see how a shop and its workers operate, and the cutting tools, machine tools and other production equipment the company employs.

What was unique about my trip to MTU America was that, in addition to the interviews and tour, I was able to attend the machining group’s shop-floor meeting and the subsequent plant operations shop floor meeting, as well as witness Diebel’s online call with his industrial engineer at MTU’s headquarters in Friedrichshafen, Germany. At these meetings, the groups covered a multitude of daily production details, such as the overall effectiveness of the department’s five medium and three large machining centers, addressing any issues, no matter how minor they might seem to an outsider.